Chapter 3:
Sanaya's P.O.V
“Going out already?” My mother asked from the kitchen when I came out of my room.
For as long as I can remember, my mother, Samira Johnson, had always been an early bird. She liked to wake up before the sun rose and after some meditation and a shower, spent some time in front of the marble idol of Lord Ganesha and pray for our family’s welfare. Even though my father had been a Christian, he had never forced us to follow his religion. Which is why we had a Hindu idol at our house, as well as a statue of Jesus Christ.
“Yes,” I told her as I sat on the table and picked up the fork to dig into the sunny-side up, fried eggs and bacon sandwich that she had prepared for me. “I’ll be starting work at a new office from today onward.”
“New office?” My mother looked at me horrified. “Honey, did you get fired from your previous office? Did something bad happen?”
“Mom, relax, everything is fine.”I reassured her. “You can say I just got a promotion and now I’m working for my previous boss’s boss…kinda. I’ll even get a raise from now on.”
“Oh!” She let a sigh of relief and brought me a steaming cup of coffee, black with two cubes of sugar. “That’s good to hear. My daughter is all grown up and has become so capable! If only you could just get married, then I could di-“
“Mom!” I warned her with a glare. “You are only fifty one. You’re not dying any time soon and you definitely won’t be setting me up for a blind date by playing that emotional violin.”
“Sweetheart,” my mother sighed and placed her hand lovingly on my cheek. “We can never predict when our time in this world comes to an end. Had we ever imagined that your father would leave us so suddenly?”
Thinking about my father made me clench my hands into fists. No. he didn’t deserve to die so suddenly! He didn’t deserve to be crushed under a truck so badly thanks to a drunken driver that his head was completely smashed with no chance of his survival. The scene had been so horrific that the police had sealed his casket shut in order to spare us the horror. The only way we had been able to identify him had been by a DNA test.
My mom had become a widow only at the age of thirty five and I had lost my father at only eleven. Thankfully, my father had set up several accounts to help us live a happy life and made sure to save enough for my college tuitions, so my mom didn’t have to work to feed us. My parents had loved each other dearly ever since they were teenagers and losing my father had been a huge shock for my mother. She had never again been the same laughing, chatty woman that she once used to be.
She had however, never let me feel alone or sad and had done everything in her power to make me as happy as possible. But I knew she missed my father deeply, even now after so many years have passed. Moreover, she never wished to settle down with someone else or even looked at another man even though she had had her fair share of suitors.
Speaking of suitors, my mother had made it her life’s goal to find me one ever since my ‘breakup’ five years ago. Little did she know that what happened five years ago was a lot more than just a break up from my long time boyfriend. My life had literally crumbled before my eyes and I’d lost a part of myself and my soul that I would never get back again.
I shook my head to chase away the remains of that nightmare. I’d travelled down this path a million times in the last five years and thinking about the past has brought me nothing but despair.
“Don’t worry about me, okay?” I patted my mother’s hand and went back to finishing my breakfast. “I have a new boss to deal with so it might be difficult to reach me for some time. I need to get adjusted to the schedules and work timings. If you want something, just leave a voice message, okay?”
“I will, don’t worry about me.” She patted my head before taking my dirty dished and heading off to the sink to clean them up. “Work hard, okay? I’ll see you tonight.”
“Bye mom!” I gather my purse and planner and shoved my cell phone into my jacket pocket before putting on my nude stilettos and heading out the door.
My wristwatch told me it was seven thirty nine, so I hired a cab to reach faster. I couldn’t possibly give Lancelin Eustein any chances to complain right on my first day. Taking the subway would’ve been cheaper but I was running late. The cab took only ten minutes, giving me enough time to order a triple shot of espresso with three sugar cubes, from the Starbucks opposite ReefWood Inc. Mr. Eustein seemed to survive on five-star takeouts but every morning, he had to have his morning coffee from this specific Starbucks. I have no idea if this has any particular sentimental value or because it’s the closest to his office, but no other store would do.
The seventeen story building shore bright as the early morning sun reflected off of the pale glass windows. Reefwood and BlueStar were both famous, independent companies with BlueStar focusing more on luxury resorts and spas and Reefwood on restaurants and bars or club houses, but both were still linked to their parent company, La Donna, one of the biggest hotel chains in the world which was run by the current Incubus King and Lancelin Eustein’s father, Nathaniel Eustein.
Most of the employees get circulated among these three companies and sometimes, Mr. Nathaniel Eustein himself chooses which of the brothers get which staff members after the initial five-year contract is up. My orders to transfer to ReefWood also came directly from Mr. Nathaniel’s Private Secretary.
As much as I knew, Incubi or most immortals used to live like kings or even Gods, once upon a time. Humans worshipped them and offered them all kinds of luxury. But now, it’s the opposite way around. The Incubi royalty and several others work as business owners aimed to cater to the human needs. But that doesn’t mean we have the upper hand.
I crossed the road and entered the main building of the ReefWood Inc. and was immediately greeted by a handsome man with sandy blonde hair and light blue eyes. He was wearing a blue suit jacket and matching pants with a white shirt underneath and looked to be in his early thirties.
“Good morning, Ms. Johnson, my name is Martin Oblonsky.” He gave me a slight bow as he introduced himself. “I’m Mr. Eustein’s personal chauffeur. He asked me to help you reach his floor and also, provide you with these.”
He held out a company staff card with a lanyard attached to it as well as a new planner. I took the planner with one hand and before I could ask he helped m put the card around my neck, since both my hands were full.
“Thank you.” I gave him a small smile.
“No problem,” he smiled back. “You better get going, the boss is expecting you.”
“Right! Thank you.”
With that, he escorted me to Lancelin’s private elevator and I was finally off to meet the devil disguised as an angel. It didn’t take me long to reach the sixteenth floor since this was a private elevator that only Mr. Eustein was authorized to use. And neither did I have to wait too long to be greeted by his presence because as soon as the elevator doors opened, he was standing right in the middle of his lounge, staring out the glass windows at the streets of New York.
The impact of seeing Mr. Eustein shook me to my core. Right now, standing by the window, illuminated by the bright rays of the sun, he looked no less than a God with his dark hair and golden eyes. Those eyes were said to be unique to Royalty alone and they shore bright like a topaz in the morning light.
He stood at almost six feet five inches, a few inches taller than Acelin’s almost six feet height. His shoulders were wide and the dark grey shirt that he wore was strained under the bulge of his muscles. He wasn’t wearing a jacket this morning and he had folded the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows, exposing the endings of a tattoo that looked like a bird’s tail, but I couldn’t be sure. His long legs were clad in pants of a lighter grey and his shoes were a spotless black.
I was snapped out of my trance when the elevator made a dinging noise and almost shut on me, but I immediately pressed the button and stepped out. But when I glanced up, it was only to find Lancelin Eustein looking at me with those intense topaz eyes, meaning that he’d already known I was gawking him right after I arrived.
“Good morning, Mr. Eustein.” I straightened my spine, put on my best smile and handed him his coffee. “Thank you for letting me serve you.” I gave a small courtesy and when I straightened; his eyes were on me once again.
For the first time in a long while, a man’s gaze made me self-conscious. That look that he’d given me last night was back once again, like a scientist inspecting an interesting bug under the microscope. It made me feel vulnerable, like he could look into my eyes and know the depths of my soul. But I couldn’t let him see my discomfort, so I shifted my attention to the tablet that I had been provided.
“This way, Ms. Johnson.” His voice sounded hoarse and he took a sip of his coffee to clear his throat. “Your cabin is right outside mine.”
He pointed to the right side of the lounge where there was a small glass cabin with a desk and chair and all other necessities. It was right next to Mr. Eustein’s office which had one opaque wall. The lounge area was usually used as a sitting area for the guests and was decorated with mostly sofas and a central table. Grey seemed to be the main colour scheme for the entire office.
Just then, I noticed something unusual.
“We’re the only one’s here.” I looked around but there was no one else on this entire floor other than the two of us.
“Yes.” This time, there was a hint of cunning in his smile. “Shall we begin the day, Ms. Johnson?”
I swallowed my nervousness without letting him notice. “Sure.”
Oh, what have I gotten myself into?