Chapter 1

"Nikki!" I heard Chad Bush bang his hand on his table, causing me to flinch hard. I rolled my eyes from my desk and stood lazily.

I had heard stories of irritated CEOs with anger issues, but I think Chad had a justified reason to always be irritated at matters that involved me.

I was one of the few people the dictionary defined as clumsy. I never intended for it to be that way, but alas, that was always the situation.

He referred to me as Nikki, unlike many others that called their secretaries by their last names. I was half a step closer to losing my job if I ruined one more thing, Chad had said.

"Mr. Bush?" I acknowledged as I got to his office. He eyed me up and down, and I wished so dearly that he'd cut straight to the point.

"Where is David Park?" He inquired slowly yet sharply. His voice wasn't raised, which signaled that this was his 'I'm impatient, and I might get angry' kind of mood.

Uh-oh.

David Park was Chad's friend, and he worked with a neighboring firm. I was supposed to create a schedule to inform David that Chad wanted to meet with him after work.

If one could guess correctly, I had totally forgotten. Chad tapped his fingers impatiently on the table, staring up at me from his desk. The frown on his face demanded an explanation, and he waited for an answer.

"Sir, I can explain." That sentence was how I started most of my justifying reasons for my stupid actions. "You asked me to get in touch with Rebecca Black to tell her about your canceled date."

"The date I had you cancel so I could meet up with David, yeah, go on." He was speaking in a rush, and nothing about the way his muscles flexed seemed like they were ready to put up with excuses.

"Funny story, sir," I raised a finger like I was getting ready to answer a question from a high school teacher. "I was so carried away with that assignment that I totally forgot to contact David Park." I ended the statement in a very low whisper.

"That does it!" he yelled, standing up with such a loud bang on his desk that I felt the pain from the contact on my own palms. This had to be his craziest type of angry.

That does what? He couldn't fire me. There was no way. He'd managed to put up with me for an entire year. There was no way he could ask me to leave now, was there?

"You are—" He began to say, and I quickly cut him short with a yell.

"Sir, no!" I had no idea what I was going to say but yelling seemed like my best option. "Please listen to what I have to say, sir. There's still ten minutes left till it's actually time for you to meet. If I can get David Park over here, will you please let me keep my job?" I pleaded, rubbing both my hands together. I looked at him with my self-proclaimed 'puppy dog eyes.'

He sighed, clenching his fists beside him. This had to be pure frustration, and I was sorry for him, for myself. "Nikki Hood. One more mess up, and you are out of my life. I promise,” he said the words so calmly that it sent shivers up my spine.

Chad Bush just promised. As cliché as it seemed, Chad was one of the men who never broke a promise. Knowing myself, there was absolutely no way I could stop myself from making another mistake. It was my unique personality trait, an innate gift.

I gulped and nodded as fast as I could. I hurried out of his office to see if I could get David-stupid-Park to come over.

Nikki, one last fuck up, and you're done...

*

I got home feeling as exhausted as soldiers at war. I tossed my bag harshly on the bed and ripped my shirt off, violently undoing the buttons.

The day was fucking hectic and was not worth it at all. It never was worth anything. I sighed as I examined my closet for one of Tom's large shirts that I could wear.

I needed something comfortable to be in for the night. And then I needed to think straight enough to set my life in order. If I lost my job as Chad's secretary, then I'd be back to Pizza City, cleaning the floors after dirty customers. I would rather kiss a dead monkey than live with the humiliation that came with the disgust from the job.

The thought made me cringe, and I instantly brushed it off. All I needed was a more retentive memory, to rid myself of constant distractions, and learn to focus more on work.

I decided to dial Tom. I hadn't talked to him all day, and I assumed that talking to him at the moment would induce some relief. Tom was my boyfriend, and we'd only been together a month and a half, so our relationship was still off to a tasty start.

As expected, there were missed text messages from him, and I giggled as I read through each one of them. They were mostly about how sweet I was, how priceless a girlfriend I was, and all the other lovey dove stuff that came with being with someone.

My smile vanished as my eyes landed on the last text from him.

"I wish I was there with you. I have never been this horny before, and I honestly don't want to cheat on you."

I gasped and stared at the screen in surprise. What on earth had come over him was beyond my understanding.

Not knowing what to send, I texted him a question mark that denoted how confused I was.

"I need you to do me a favor, baby."

The text from him felt like I was talking to some random stranger on the internet. The kind that only wanted you to send them naked pictures because nothing else mattered to them.

I texted him back: "Anything, so long as you don't put some other girl in your bed. I promise you, if you do, we are done right this second."

A nervous feeling overpowered my curiosity, and I stared at my screen, biting on my lips impatiently, as the three dots danced, denoting he was typing.

"Well?!" I texted back impatiently.

"Send nudes."

My eyes almost dropped out of their sockets. I was a clumsy person, but I was not a sex worker, and I had never done anything that crazy in my life. Boyfriend or not.

"Nikki, are you there?"

"Nikki, I'm sorry. I promise to delete right after."

"Please text me back. I'm sorry, Nikki."

"Nikki?"

I wasn't ignoring his texts because I was mad. I was ignoring them because I was contemplating it so bad. It seemed exciting to try something new. I bit on my lips even more and then made up my mind. It wouldn't exactly kill me to do it, plus he was my boyfriend, and he deserved to see me naked.

"Fine. But just this once." I texted. I didn't wait for his reply. I jumped off the bed and then stared at myself in my mirror. I pulled his clothes over my head and then took off my bra. When I was left in nothing but panties, I pulled my phone out and took a mirror selfie. I looked really nice, I thought.

I sighed when I hit send.

Feeling crazy about my idea, I bounced on my bed and decided to doze off. When I hit the bed, my eyes began to close on their own accord. What was Tom thinking?

What was he doing staring at my picture?

Thoughts like this kept swimming in my head until I closed my eyes and eventually hit wonderland.

**

I woke up feeling nauseous. I stared at the time on my phone; it was a few minutes past midnight. I wondered why I woke up without cause, just like that.

I wondered why there was no message from Tom still. That seemed strange and uncalled for. I decided to text him to know why he hadn't texted me back yet.

As I picked my phone up, I gasped loudly. I was doomed. My life was over, officially, in every way.

I had texted the image to Chad Bush.