33

33


Loud jazz thrummed through the bar, making the walls vibrate. Helena swayed slightly on her stool. She dropped another dollar bill on the counter, sliding it towards the bartender.

"Another drink," she said, her speech slurred as she set down the empty bottle of whiskey.

"You good, miss?" the bartender spun on his chair with a coy smile. The music was lower, melting into the background noise from where they sat. Helena thought of taking to the dance halls, letting the music and madness take over her till she didn't have to see Amy's deceptively innocent grey eyes.

"I'm good," she waved her hand, ignoring the three empty bottles on the table, motioning vaguely to one of the ones on the wine shelf behind him. "What's that one called?"

"Bacardi rum," he reached for the clear amber bottle. He peeled out the foil, twisting the corkscrew into the cork. "19 dollars," he said, expertly pouring the drink into the glass.

Helena dug into her bag, her movements slow, searching for a few extra bills when the tall shadow of a man drew beside her.

"I'll get that," a deep voice said. A hundred-dollar bill landed on the counter. "And a scotch, neat."

Helena turned, her vision blurring slightly as her eyes landed on the lean man beside her. She took in his ash brown hair, sharp jawline that contrasted shapely with his pale skin, his olive green eyes that shone with a darker glint, but that might have just been the lighting.

"Thank you," she mumbled, taking a sip of the rum. It burned going down, but she welcomed the distraction.

"Rough day?" he asked, leaning against the counter, angling his body towards her.

Helena wrinkled up her nose at the paperwork she had to file in Amy's name. "Something like that." She took another drink, longer this time.

"Work?"

"Always work." She laughed bitterly. "And people who make work complicated."

He nodded slowly, his fingers trailing down her hair, getting tangled in them across the tips.

She wouldn't have thought he was lost in the shiny blond strands, if it wasn't for the sharp look in his eyes.

"Where do you work?"

"J and K," she replied without thinking.

They talked. Helena found herself relaxing, the alcohol and his presence creating a warm fog in her mind.

He asked questions, she answered, and somewhere in the conversation, his hand had found its way to her lower back, fingers tracing lazy circles that sent heat pooling in her stomach.

"Want to get out of here?" he asked, his breath warm against her ear.

Helena nodded before she could think about it. He guided her past the swaying bodies on the dance floors to a private room. The door clicked shut behind them and in the low light, she finally saw him clearly.

Her breath caught. Tattoos covered his arms, disappearing under his shirt, all the way up to his neck in intricate designs that seemed to move in the shadow.

"You... You have a lot of ink."

He stepped closer, backing her against the wall. His hands framed her face as he leaned in, his lips brushing hers.

"What's your name?" Helena managed, her knees going weak as his hands toyed with the buttons on her shirt, pulling them off.

His hands brushed against the curve of her bra, while he kept kissing her, his lips moving slowly down, lingering slightly on the side of her throat.

"You first," he pulled back, only slightly, just to watch her flushed expression.

"Helena... Helena Dragovich."

"I can make all your dreams come true, Helena," he whispered, his lips finding hers again.

And Helena, drunk and desperate and forgetting entirely about the name he didn't give, believed him.

————

The next day, Amy made it to the office early, still shaken up by Richard's betrayal, but determined not to let her work suffer for it. She was out of the mansion before Mikhail stepped out of his room, the breakfast they had the other day feeling like something that happened in her dream.

"Helena helped you file in yesterday," Riki walked into her private office half an hour into the day with files that were compiled in her absence, setting them on the table along with her morning coffee.

"That's nice of her," Amy accepted the coffee with a grateful smile.

Her fingers brushed over the documents. Guilt settled over her shoulder like a heavy crate. Every time she got absent from work, someone else had to suffer for it. It was no wonder why Helena resented her.

"The HR doesn't seem to mind," Riki gave an encouraging smile, as though reading her mind. "It's not your fault when you get sick, it's normal. Lady Gina understands you're human, not a machine."

Her face brightened up as she continued, "and besides, lady Helena was delighted to stand in for you."

Amy wasn't sure about the last part. "Thanks Riki," she muttered anyway, forcing a smile, knowing that the other girl was just trying to cheer her up. She drew her chair closer, sitting down, pulling open her MacBook.

"I'll be outside if you need anything," Riki reminded her, taking her leave, closing the door softly behind her.

Amy was thinking of the best way to approach Helena to thank her when the telephone attached to her desk rang.

A call from the HR.

"Yes ma'am?" She spoke into the device, her heart pounding in her chest despite herself, even when there was no reason to panic.

Mikhail had filed another civil leave letter behind her back. But even at that, she still couldn't shake off the feeling that she wasn't competent.

That she deserved a scolding.

"Cassie Riverdale, I need you to report to my office immediately," the HR informed her. "There's an urgent announcement that just reached the firm."

Amy was on her feet moments later, moving swiftly down the halls. She knew the corridors by heart, the HR's office was on her floor. She knocked twice before pulling it open.

Scanning the sea of faces in the slightly crowded room, her lips curved in a small smile when her eyes locked on Piper, seated on a sofa next to a male employee she didn't recognize.

Piper gave her a thumbs up.

However, the smile on her face disappeared the moment she saw Helena, glaring straight at her from her corner of the room.

"I'm glad you all were able to come at just short notice," Gina began.

Amy forced herself to concentrate but even as her eyes followed every of Gina's movements, she could still feel the angry pair of eyes boring daggers into her soul.

"There's a board meeting, this Friday. Partners from all over the globe will be present to meet the acquaintance of the new CEO who will also be making his first appearance."

Amy barely heard Gina's next words over the whispers and muttering around her.

"The new CEO..."

"... I heard he's cold and handsome."

The voices quietened down when Gina rose a hand.

"There would be no room for slips that day. Whoever performs below standards will be immediately paid off," she stopped slowly, surveying the sea of faces that had gone from laugh and fun to the sober realisation that their lives depend on it.

"In the board meeting, some of you would be chosen to talk in front of the board members, presenting our latest project," the HR continued, reaching out for her desk where she brought out a stack of freshly printed documents with blue bindings.

"And I need those of you chosen to study these in-depth. Cassie Riverdale? You're representing the company for your department."

Amy blinked, stunned. Piper pushed her forward, cheering her silently.

Amy stood in front of the desk, watching the HR place a neat stack of files on her outstretched hands.

"How could it be?" She shook her head. She barely survived the last interview with just Mikhail and the manager.

If there were in a room filled with important people and she ended up making a fool of herself, even the manager's obsession with pleasing Mikhail wasn't going to stop her from getting expelled this time.

There were a ton of other people more capable than her.

For instance there was... Her eyes traveled to Helena instinctively, just in time to see her cast her a dirty look.

Helena rose to her feet sharply, grabbing her phone from the table before marching out of the room in anger, not bothering to wait for the rest of Gina's speech.