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Chapter Two
The man in front of me had not always been reduced to such a deplorable state. I was trying not to let his current pitiful demeanor disturb the two images I had of him.
One was precious. This was the image I carefully preserved of our first meetings.
I was a new hire, an administrative assistant, embarrassingly enough. I worked directly for Rob Michaels though. Joseph's brother, though I wouldn't know it yet.
I quickly respected Rob and he quickly respected me, asking me to draft nearly all his correspondence, even routine emails. He loved my succinct but positive way of wording things, and the way I could look ahead to the future and predict the impact of my words.
When he invited me to a night at the opera as a special reward for the end of my first extremely successful quarter, I jumped at the chance. I hadn't been somewhere so elegant in quite a while, not since my brief and tumultuous modeling career in Eastern Europe.
If I'd known what would have happened after that night, I probably would've said no. Because that was the first night I met Joseph Michaels.
I wore a shimmering silver gown that ran over my pale skin like a waterfall. My heels were sky high, Loubitin, red bottoms. Bloody shoes.
They were my favorite pair and cost $10,000. I may have been only an uppity secretary to start, but I was paid well. Though it did take more saving and budgeting than I liked to be able to afford nice things like that.
I wore a simple silver chain with a teardrop sapphire on the end of it and silver earrings. It was perhaps a bit too color-coordinated, so I wore lipstick with a golden hue and popped my eyes with soft, warm browns and light gold dust at the inside of my eyes.
I was a model until my agent started suggesting unsavory contracts, and I was used to people staring at me. Rob nodded approvingly when I approached him, looking well-dressed himself in a suit that must've cost at least $5,000, it fit him so well.
That price tag was not including the rolex he wore on his wrist and the fine leather shoes he wore, though at work he always dressed like the standard Silicon Valley slob.
I was used to getting such approving looks, so I just nodded and asked, “Shall we head into the theater?”
“First, Anya, I'd like you to meet my brother, Joseph. Joey, this is Anya Talova, my incredible executive assistant.”
The man he gestured toward was shorter than himself by a few inches, but more tan, more blond, and clearly more muscular by a mile. He looked like a beach bum wrecking ball.
I could see his strong hands connecting with his sinewy forearms, and my body burned. He looked like his muscles had muscles. His arms and shoulders were straining against his suit, threatening to burst its seams.
The man looked at me. He looked me up and down, slowly, with a wide grin. Then he wolf whistled.
“Damn, you look like a sculpture,” he said approvingly, “What's it take to get that ice to melt?”
Rob flicked him on the ear. Rob hissed, “Be nice to my employees, Joey.”
Joey winced from the flick and glared daggers at his clearly older brother. Then Joey looked back at me and he was all joy, like he was looking at a snack.
He said, “I plan on being very, very nice to her, Robbie.”
He took a step toward me and I stepped backward, teetering on my red-bottoms, when I have been walking in heels since I was ten. Something about him threw me off balance from the start.
He loved that. That he almost knocked me over.
He whispered to me, trying to pretend like he didn't want Rob to hear, “How about you and I blow this joke of a show and go blow each other somewhere nice and private?”
Rob was going to interject but I wasn't about to allow this insect to be so presumptuous.
“You and me, somewhere private? Now that is the real joke,” I returned. I looked at Rob, holding my ground now like my usual self.
“Shall we? You don't have to sit next to the animal, Anya. I'm sorry, he promised to behave himself, and I was given three tickets by the theater,” he shrugged his excuses.
“What I said was I won't start shit,” Joey said with a grumble, “And clearly she's not going to let me start anything. Icy bitch.”
I ignored him, took Rob's offered arm, and we walked into the theater. Joey hung out in the lobby until past the first curtain opening, and I found myself looking around, wondering where he could be.
When he finally made his way in, he strutted like the show must be waiting just for him. I'd never seen a man walk like that. Filled with such utter confidence that he was the most interesting one in the room.
