8. Non-profitable Deal

“Please take a seat.” Lucien was observing her ever since she came through the door. He was checking her for any reactions. He wanted to see if she realized he was actually greeting her and not the other people surrounding them. His gaze was somehow intent, and he could feel it as he did it on purpose, but much to his dismay, this lady was indubitably resistant to his deliberate intimidations. How can that even be possible? Is she human? A lady? With her femme fatale, he doubts she is a lesbian in any way, and even if there were, he is convinced he won’t accept it! Funny! When did he even care? Indeed, there is always a first time for everything.

Brianna chose a sit one chair apart from the man she was still trying to save from herself. She was conscious of being close where she can grab him in a blink of an eye and regret her thoughtless actions. With her mind now clouded with different ways to torture him and let him suffer for what his grandfather did to her parents, she was genuinely in a great battle with her inner self. Still, she managed to reply formally to his offer of a seat.

“Thank you.” She did not even look at him more than a few seconds glance. Just for mere etiquette. He was the boss, after all. And she was an applicant. She cannot appear timid as it would be part of her everyday routine to face him once she gets chosen. She was like a robot in Lucien’s examining and measuring gaze. It was as if her moves were accurately calculated—no sense or signs of her being timorous. In fact, she was exceeding confidence in Lucien’s understanding upon reading her facial reactions and body movements. He cleared his throat. Softly dropping the clear file folder, he was holding when she came in. He was pretending to look at it while his eyes were in full attention to her every move.

“So, tell me, Miss Peters..” He looked her in the face, expecting she would look back at him directly into his eyes, and she did. So straight that he almost stuttered. “Hmmm, why would you like to apply for this position?” He concealed his reaction with a cold and frigid mien. Hoping she didn’t notice. So far, he was convinced she didn’t. Well, he was right to believe so because she was mentally preoccupied with her own crazy thoughts. But when she heard him asked, she gathered her will to answer pleasingly to his ears. She has to make him hire her. Compared to any tasks she had in her whole life altogether combined, this should be labeled as the easiest one. But with her suppressed raging emotions, this makes it the most difficult. More difficult than side-stepping on a yard with uncountable landmine on the enemies’ territory. More difficult than a mission impossible itself. Because all of those missions were done without her personal emotions attached. No personal vendetta. Unlike right now. She feels like someone is teasing her to hold her patience for a better and bigger gift later. Like a kid being asked to hold its patience not to eat a piece of chocolate, and when the adult comes back and sees that the child indeed kept its word, he or she will get another more chocolate. Patience will be paid well. In her case, as for now, if she keeps this man alive, she can get through the person she set her eyes originally on. And when it happens, she will be able to hit the bullseye of her target, not just the side of it. She bit her lips fiercely to hold back her unscrupulous thoughts. One wrong word, and she will end up killing this fine-looking man.

“I believe I am fit for the job, Sir.” She spoke so gently. She had to do so. Else her tough personality surfaced, she will be in big trouble.

“You actually fit for a lot of higher positions. Why would you settle for something less?” Lucien probed.

“I still believe I have so much to learn, I am also a realtor by heart, but as I have no one to learn from personally, I believe working for Mister Lucien Michaelson would educate me beyond any textbook could ever provide.” She was glad her voice did not fickle when she mentioned his full name. A name she hated for all her life. Everything that has anything to do with the Michaelson’s has always been like a bitter taste of bile to her. Even the mere sound of it is already like a disgusting noise to her ears. She inwardly took a deep breath. Although she thought it was discreet, the man keenly watching her still noticed it and smile. Thinking it was for a reason he was well aware of.

“Are you sure you can do the job, Miss Peters?” He sensed her nervousness, and it boosted his confidence. So, she is not an alien after all. He can affect her, too. He rejoiced deep within him. He was even able to give her a calculating look.

“I will do my best, Sir, if you would give me the chance to prove my worth.” She hates herself just at the very moment. She was like seeling herself to her enemy. Never had she ever had imagined any of this in all her entire life. Just how fate can cast a joke on her, right?

“Okay, then, how about we give you a day of trial? You can quit by the end of the day if you think this job isn’t for you. What do you say?” Lucien gave her a frown. Covering the honest reasons of why would he even give such a hilarious offer of a deal. He is absolutely sure, even his most trusted secretary, Vicky Reed, would be shocked to hear him make a non-profiting deal.

“Thank you, Sir.” Brianna smiled. A half-smile. She couldn’t smile fully as her heart was not really rejoicing in whole. Although she should be happy that her steps towards her life goals are going forward, the mere fact and thought that she needs to be nice and polite to someone she is supposed to be hating so much was torturing her internally. But then her smile was, of course, understood differently by Lucien, her boss for today. “Please tell me what to do?” She humbly offered.

“I will be out for a meeting in thirty minutes. As you can see, my secretary can no longer keep up with young people’s speed in outdoor engagements. She will give you the drill, and you will be with me to meet the clients. Can you handle the pressure?” He gave her a challenging look.

She smiled sweetly. It was actually a fake smile as she wanted to slap him in the face to make him realize what pressure she is enduring right now. But since she couldn’t do so, she had to pacify herself with an innocent, sweet smile. And it worked! Lucien Michaelson was dumbfounded to see such a lovely-looking face. He never expected her to react in such a way for his challenging trick.