C5 FIVE

Liam reported to work more resolutely than ever. It was his first full day working for Anastacia Blaise and he was more than ready to begin. He placed a slight knock on the door and pushed it open immediately.

Anastacia was sitting behind her desk, sipping a cup of coffee and for a moment, Liam froze, trying to drink in the exquisite image in front of him. Her hair was perfectly curled and it covered most of her left eyes, making her look sexier than ever. Liam gulped and as he walked closer to her desk, he willed himself to focus on his purpose of showing up at her office that morning.

Anastacia had her eyes fixed squarely on him and Liam was fully aware of her hazel eyes on him as he walked, but he lowered his eyes since it was part of the rules. He just had to do as she had said so she would not have reason to lay him off.

"Good morning, Ms. Blaise." He greeted, not sure of what to call her. Mr. Blaise was okay with him calling him by his last name but he wasn't sure if his daughter felt the same.

Seeing how she didn't react to her being called her last name, he deemed she was also okay with it.

"What's my schedule like? Any important appointment today?" She asked, bringing her cup of coffee to her lips to take a sip. Liam stole a glance at her then, loving how her lips lingered on the cup for a while. He quickly lowered his eyes when she looked up at him.

"Not really. Just a meeting with the board of directors and an appointment with Mr. Cullen." He told her and she nodded.

"Alright." She sighed, taking another sip from her cup before asking, "Where is the document I asked you to work on yesterday?"

"Oh, it is right here." Liam smiled as he offered the document to her and she took it.

While she glanced through it, Liam's eyes remained on her. He knew she would be impressed, judging from the look on her face.

Not that he was the best, but Mr. Blaise hardly complained about any document and paperwork submitted to him. In fact, Mr. Blaise had always commended him.

Liam smiled when she nodded and quickly lowered his eyes so she would not catch him staring.

However, what he didn't expect was the document to be thrown at his face violently. His eyes widened and he looked up immediately to see papers flying in the air. He turned to his boss and gasped when he saw the pure fury in her eyes. She stood to her feet quickly.

"What is this bullshit?" She inquired and he was taken aback.

"What?"

"Do it again! This is filled with numerous mistakes, it hurts my eyes to look at it." She yelled and Liam stood dumbfounded. Though he had only proofread once, he was sure there was no way the document would be filled with errors.

"Are you deaf? Take this and get out of my office!" She shouted and Liam's brows furrowed in anger. He stooped to pick the papers that were now on the floor, his jaw clenching as he did.

"Get done with it quickly and leave!"

"Fine!" Liam yelled as he turned to go and her jaw dropped. She jumped from her seat.

"I said you should never yell at me!" She shouted but he kept walking, making sure to slam the door shut on his way out.

Anastacia gasped at that. "Another rule. Never slam my door!" She screamed and Liam scoffed as he walked to his desk with the document in his hands. He was going to find out for himself what exactly she had seen to make her react the way she did. Halfway through the document, he huffed.

All he could see were one or two typos that should be overlooked by anyone. He was not a computer or robot so few mistakes were expected. He couldn't believe she had thrown such a fit for something as little as this. It was now clear to Liam that she was just a sadist and he would make sure to maintain as much distance as he could from her.

Thinking about how he had yelled at her made his lips stretch in a smug smile. Before he could control himself, he had yelled and now that he was a lot calmer, he didn't regret doing so. In fact, he felt satisfaction course through him. The look on her face when he had snapped at her had been priceless and he would definitely want to see her look at him that way again.

He sighed heavily after staring at the document in his hand for a while and soon began working on it. A few minutes after he was done, he walked into his boss' office to inform her it was time for the conference.

She stood quietly and walked out with him tagging behind and Liam felt it was quite strange for her to do so. He shrugged it off nevertheless, concentrating on his job of taking in minutes and keeping his distance as much as he could.

He retired back to his seat after the meeting, leaving Anastacia with Mr. Cullen, the man whom she had an appointment with. It was almost lunch hour and he could barely wait. The day had been quite long and he couldn't wait for it to be over.

Lindsey and Ryan were already at their favorite table in the office cafeteria with two other co-workers Liam knew quite well and Liam wasted no time in joining them. He exchanged pleasantries with all of them before ordering his food.

"The witch's boy," Ryan smirked at him and he frowned.

"Is this what you intend to call me now?" He raised a brow and Ryan nodded.

"Why not?"

"Wait till she hears you." He replied and Ryan chuckled.

"I'm sure she knows everyone calls her a witch. She ought to know."

"Definitely." A man, whom Liam knew to be working at the accounting firm, supported and Liam shrugged. If he was being quite honest, the name really suited her personality.

"Besides, how is it like to be her secretary?" Lindsey, who had been quiet ever since he joined the table, asked. She looked quite serious and Liam wondered why.

"Well," he began, wondering if he should really confess how he feels working under Anastacia. Now that he was being asked, he decided to really think about it. "Well," he repeated. "She is the devil himself." He snapped and everyone burst into laughter. He joined in, setting his fork down and folding his arms.

"How is that?" Lindsey asked, her eyes already lit up and Liam smiled.

"She sees fault in everything I do." He explained. "Do you know how she greeted me yesterday? With some fucking rules! All ridiculous and senseless rules. She fucking told me not to smile until she asked me to." Liam was now laughing heartily at that. He had always known her rules were stupid but saying them out loud made him see how truly stupid they were. His friends were now laughing loudly; loud enough to bring attention to the table. People were already looking at them as they laughed and Liam had to hit the table slightly to call them to order.

"I didn't know it would be that bad," Ryan said after a while, wiping his eyes and Liam shrugged.

"I'm not ready to give up though. She will be the one to give up."

"You're the man!"

"That's the spirit!" Both Ryan and the last guy on the table commended and Liam smiled.

They moved to some other topic and Liam truly felt relieved as he talked and laughed with his friends. He had always enjoyed their company because talking to them helped relieve stress and now that he was working with stress herself, he needed them more.

He retired back to his desk — though he liked to call it his office even when it wasn't really an office. It was just a slight extension close to his boss's office along the passageway. Since the boss' office was situated at the top of the building, he had no partner to talk to. It was for this reason he went all the way to the public relations block to talk with friends when he was free.

A big smile was on his face as he made his way to Anastacia's office room. He was still thinking of the joke Ryan had made and he chuckled slightly as he knocked and walked into the office with his head slightly bowed. Though he had worked there for six months, he still couldn't stop himself from marveling at the exquisiteness of the Blaise's office.

The interior design was a huge beauty and it was quite spacious. The office chair and desk, which had always been at the rear end of the room, had now been moved to the side of the wall, and Liam was not surprised. It was only expected for her to do so now that she was in charge.

Anastacia, who was sitting on the sofa opposite the young man Liam had seen with Mr. Blaise the previous day, looked up immediately the door opened. They both had a glass of wine in their hands.

"Miss Blaise. Here are the documents. I've worked on them." Liam informed, handing over the documents he had in his hand to his boss and frowning when she refused to accept it. She only stared at his outstretched hands for a while before taking a sip from her wine and staring at the glass instead.

"Where have you been?" She asked and Liam was taken aback. The young man, whose name Liam was yet to know, smiled that moment and Liam wondered what was so funny. He watched as the man shook his head before taking a sip from his glass; his eyes staring him down as always.

"It was lunch hour so I went to have my lunch." He pulled his hand back.

"And who did you tell?" She asked him calmly, taking tiny sips from her glass.

"Was I supposed to tell you that I was gonna have my lunch when it was clearly lunch hour?" Liam was genuinely confused and Anastacia's head snapped up.

"Mind your tone, boy!" The man spoke and Liam turned to face him; surprise on his face as he stared at the man. First of all, did he have any right to talk to him, and also, who was he calling a boy? Yeah, he was quite older than him but still, he had no right whatsoever to call him a boy in the most debasing way ever. Here he was, asking him to mind his tone when his tone was harsh and commanding.