50 Days of White Roses Part One
"I promise you, you'll be a great assistant,"
"I don't know,"
"I've worked there for five years now, you'll fit right in,"
"…..I suppose, thanks for the support,"
Belle hugged Babette and grabbed her black winter coat, car keys, and bag. Babette was sick so she kept herself parked on the brown couch in her pajamas and a bowl of soup Belle made. Belle kissed her on top of her head and Babette wished her luck before the door closed.
Into the city of Seattle, Belle surveyed the snowy scene outside while driving. The snow felt lightly and only put a sheet of snow on the ground which quickly washed away from the fumes of the gas from cars. The tall buildings lost themselves in the gray sky, but still lit up with green and red Christmas lights and decorations. The streets were aligned with rich cars up and down, making Belle feel like her simple cream 2012 Nissan Altima was the poorest amongst the brand new jaguars, Lincolns, Audis, and Cadillacs. Belle found a parking space right in front of the building she needed to go to. When she got out and looked up, not only did the steel and glass building catch her eye but the sophisticated figures walking in and out on the building did too.
They made her feel out of place with their snazzy black and grey suits, Rolex watches and diamond earrings and the proudly flaunted their hand crafted cases and brand new Iphones. She looked down at her all too cheap brown sweater dress, pantyhose and matching knee length black boots. She only wore the combination because Babette said the boss doesn't really care about absolute etiquette on the first day, and that he was expecting her anyway. She told her to block out the sophisticated beings that she'd see coming in and out of the building, they'd block her out too.
She took a deep breath and slowly made her way to the large glass revolving doors. Her breathing hitched and her steps felt heavier. The familiar sickening butterflies she got during important times came back to her. But she still sucked it up and pushed her way into the extravagant building.
Everything was a mixture of white, black, and grey. White walls with white marble floors and an elegant black and glass desk that stood in towards the end wall. Belle looked at the tall paintings that hung on the walls. Sumi-E artwork of fish and pandas and other animals all in black and white added to the negative space. Bamboo plants stood around different corners of the room. And the people all blended in with it.
The receptionist was too busy on the phone to pay Belle any mind. She just made her sign in and waved her to the elevator and told her to go up to the top floor. She went and pushed 50. And for that moment leading up to the floor, it felt like her body could collapse on her from the weakness she felt. She didn't know why she was so worried about a job. But judging by the spilling riches she was smacked in the face with upon arriving, she knew why. She scolded herself for feeling like she wouldn't fit in. Babette spent weeks reassuring her that she'd fit right in.
Up on the top floor the scenery was the same as the first floor. The black desk was the first thing she saw where a blonde petite woman sat and took phone calls. Further off to the front was a mini lounge with black leather couches and a glass coffee table and a bamboo centerpiece. Across the room where glass rooms where she saw people stationed at computers and desks filing papers or rushing around the room hands full.
The petite woman looked at Belle with kind eyes and with knowing, got up and introduced herself.
"Hello, I'm Karen. You must be the new assistant Babette was talking about," Karen shook Belle's hand and led her around the corner where more glass rooms were aligned around the room.
She took Belle into a vacant office sandwiched between two other rooms. Her office was similar to everyone else's. Gray glass desk with matching sleek chair, white marble floor and black rug, a long black leather couch on the right and a table text to it. The only type of privacy she noticed she would have is the solid black walls on both sides of the room. Karen wished her luck and told her to be to the boss' office in 30 minutes.
She took off her coat, sat down and turned her chair around to face the window. Belle took a deep breath, still nervous. She settled the butterflies in her stomach and stared out of the window. The snow died down, and all was left was the glow of the vibrant buildings and Christmas lights. The sky remained grey and even from the high level it still felt like the building disappeared into the clouds.
A startling ring from the telephone interrupted Belle's thoughts and she turned around and pressed the intercom button.
"Mr. White will be seeing you now," Karen's voice informed Belle.
She took a gulp of nothing, smoothed out her black skirt and took her leave to her boss' office.
The grey doors seemed so big to her. Behind those doors was the man that held her paycheck. A man that she only heard of through Babette.
"He's perfection," She said
"He's godly," She said
"I'd fuck him till summer," She said, until she remembered she had a boyfriend
"Too bad he doesn't seem interested in relationships," She said
Belle remembered asking her what does that possibly have to do with a job. She just looked at her and repeated that he's perfection and went on about herself. Babette was a handful if her boyfriend wasn't around.
Belle grabbed the cold door handle and opened it enough to allow her sleek frame to pass through. She was marveled by the image before her. Very large ceiling to floor length window that stretched from one end to another on the far end of the room. Two different black lounges on either side of the room with an embedded aquarium on the right. More black and white animal paintings occupied the black walls. Belle looked back to the front and the silhouette of a man towered over his work behind a black desk greeted her.
For a minute Belle was actually afraid to step forward until he raised a hand for her to come forward, eyes still trained on his work.
The silhouette of the man became clearer to Belle. Long Autumn blonde hair created a curtain around his face and black suit that looked to be tailored to perfection, and if he would sit up and look at her Belle would maybe be able to confirm the suspicion that he had a muscular build.
He finally looked up, and a godly face greeted her. A strong jaw and cheekbones, roman nose, light five o clock shadow the same color of his hair but a little bit darker, and piercing blue eyes that said he could read into my very being. For some reason, I felt like I could fall at his feet. His powerful look alone made me weak in the knees, and I felt the weight of the work that would be to come.
His eyes seem to go wide for a split second and he gets up from his chair to smooth his suit out. Belle's suspicions were correct when she assumed he had a very fit build. Better yet, he was taller than her so he had to look down to look her in the eyes.
He didn't crack a smile or showed any expression whatsoever. Instead he just held his hand out to her for her to shake. When she took it, it felt warm. His hand completely enveloped her petite one, and they shook slowly before he withdrew from her.
He took his place behind his desk and laid his elbows on the desk and his chin on his entwined hands, studying her. Belle shifted uncomfortably where she was standing and had to restrain herself from biting her lip and tugging at the hem of her dress. He gestured for her to sit in one of the sleek chairs and she did, watching her steps as not to suddenly trip like a dumbass. She tried her best to avoid further contact by focusing on the sleek desk separating her from her superior. The desk was completely barren save for a glass plaque that read "Adam White, White Enterprises and Co."
After a moment of silence, he finally spoke up to her.
"Firstly, welcome to White enterprises," He paused and spoke up again. "You came just in time. I was in need of a new personal assistant. If you don't already know, your only job is to carry out any work I provide to you and make sure everything is done on schedule and properly," He explained.
Belle's heartbeat started to come back to normal pace, she resisted looking him straight in the eye for fear she'd cower under his power. She still managed to at least try to look at him. Or past him that is.
He quickly ran his hand through his hair, causing a few strands to come loose of their bounds and pulled a drawer open and take out a think grey Mac book air. He handed it to Belle and she observed it in wonder. She could never afford a Mac book let alone a laptop. When she was still in school she relied on Babette's PC or the library to get her by.
She finally managed to make eye contact, her eyes saying what she felt she couldn't say. All he did was nod and pull out his phone to make a call. Meanwhile, Belle ran her hands over the smooth surface of the laptop and silently promised herself she'd do more than great at her job.
"Yes…..Yes….that's correct. No, stop that transaction. Send the funds over to Grey House. Understood," Mr. White finished his call and turned his attention back to Belle, studying her before answering.
"First thing you should do, go down to the trades wing on the fifteenth floor and collect my statements. Valeria should be able to point you to the whereabouts. While you're at it, go to the floor above and tell Mr. Kingston that he needs to bring those settlements in, he'll know what that means," He waved her off to work and returned to reading papers.
In the elevator, Belle felt an overwhelming excitement mixed with her nervousness. She was all too ready to work yet she feared she'd mess up. After all, she knew none of the names he mentioned, and she was too shy to ask anyone.
The floor was bustling and the only sounds where phones ringing, drawers opening and slamming shut, hushed tones conversating about god knows what and shoes clit clacking on the hard polished floors. Everything was the same as the previous floor she was assigned to, save for the expresso bar.
She checked for any rooms that labeled where she could possibly find the statements. She sighed when nothing was labeled and all there were was rooms of computers and file cabinets occupied by highly sophisticated people minding their own business.
Belle sighed, exasperated and gave up. She plopped herself down in a chair by the expresso machine, defeated and disappointed with herself for already failing at her job.
"You know, trying to do things solely on your own will only get you halfway there," A soft voice brought Belle out of her daze.
She looked up at the woman. White-Blonde hair, strong facial structure with pink rogue and grey eyes, a steam pressed black suit and shiny heels, and an upper class expression to top it off. To Belle, she looked like a snob if she got to know her.
"I know, I look like a snob to you right?" she snorted and turned her attention to the expresso machine, bringing her black and grey steel travel mug to the machine.
"H-How-"
"that's the common first impression people get of me. I don't take offence, that just lets me know I'm doing everything right," She turns off the machine and back to Belle, giving a swift smile, her white teeth nearly blending in with her milky skin.
She pipes up a bit, like she forgot something. "Oh where are my manners?" She holds out her hand, "Valeria Dolcee, manager of the finance and resource HQ," Belle shook her hand and stood up.
"Oh yeah," Belle piped up and asked, "I was looking for the statements for Mr. White? I don't know where." Belle blushed with embarrassment when Valeria laughed and asked her to follow.
She led Belle down the hall and along the way Belle felt like caving in. She saw the way these people looked at her, the men especially.
A few men stopped Valeria and chatted quietly while a couple others would walk past Belle, wink and give her a mischievous smirk. She had to admit, they weren't terrible looking. They were very handsome. Not one was below her height, all ranging around six feet, nicely built with laid back hair and oozed expensive cologne. She would be lying if she said she didn't blush at the ones that boldly showed their interest to her, even though she wasn't so used to male contact.
Valeria stopped at a room with just file cabinets in it and rummaged through a few before handing Belle a thick folder and told her don't let her curiosity get the best of her, she surely wouldn't understand what's in the folder.
Belle nodded and said goodbye to Valeria and made her way around to do the other tasks her boss assigned. After she was finally done she made her way back up to the top floor and into his office.
He was still behind his desk, but he was talking to a tall slender man and hadn't even paid Belle any mind when she walked in the office. She said everything that she picked up on his desk neatly and patiently waited for him to give her further direction. Adam took a glance at her and waved her away, telling her she could go home. She hadn't even noticed how much time had passed.
"Three cheers for Belle Marie Dupont on her first day on the job!" Babette cheered with a scratchy voice and tried to take a sip of her wine but Belle took it out of her hands immediately and set it on the kitchen island.
"You're sick Babette, no drinking,"
Babette pouted and took her bowl of soup from the coffee table.
"So," Babette sipped, "What did you think?"
Belle turned from hanging up her coat. "Well, the job wasn't hard-,"
"No, what did you think of him?" Babette asked
"Oh," Belle shrugged, "He's pretty cute-"
"Utterly gorgeous."
"My boss,"
"So?"
"That's wrong,"
"You're wrong,"
"Everything's wrong,"
"Exactly."
Belle laughed at the joke they played. They always did stuff like this, with Babette saying 'Exactly' at the end.
"So what? His company, his rules, he does as he pleases." Babette edged on like it was no big deal, Belle on the other hand, thought the opposite.
She went into the kitchen to start on some lunch, she found it quite refreshing to be let off around one o' clock.
"That's still wrong Babette. Besides, he most likely isn't attracted to me." Belle whispered, "Who would be,"
Babette got up from the couch, her eyes wide and puffy.
"What now? Belle you seriously underestimate yourself."
"Oh please," Belle waved her off, "Why would someone like him even be attracted to a nobody like me?"
"People like him date too-tall Norwegian supermodels that egos are too big for their boobs."
Babette laughed, meanwhile Belle looked hurt at her own statement.
"I came to terms I will never be good enough for anyone a long time ago Babette. I'd rather just stay alone." Belle went on with a distant look in her eye.
Babette turned serious and she put her hand on Belle's shoulder.
"Belle….we talked about this….,"
"I'm sorry.."
"Don't be, I told you before. You may not realize this but, there's someone out there waiting for a girl like you to rescue them."
Belle turned to Babette, tears in her eyes. But she wouldn't grant them permission to fall.
"From what?"
"From themselves. A man is out there, hurting from the inside out. And he's waiting for a girl like you to heal him."
Belle shook her head and wiped her tears. "I hate it when you go Lumier on me." She smiled.
Babette laughed. "That man says words of poetry. But it's true. You remember how my Lumier was before I came along."
"A drunken playboy."
"And now look at him."
"CEO of Blache enterprises and co."
"Exactly."
Belle shook her head again and turned back to making her lunch. She loved Babette to death, but she hated that she always would push Belle to find herself a man. What did it matter to her? There was no one waiting for her to swoop in and wisk them away. Wait, shouldn't that be the other way around?
Pushing the depressing thoughts aside, Belle finished making her food. Her phone rang, she scowled at the name that popped up, tucked her phone back into her bra, and sipped the wine that she left on the kitchen island.
"Your still up?"
"Yes…"
"Why?"
She waved the portfolio at her.
"Belle…."
"I'm sorry,"
"I thought we talked about this,"
"I know but….what if you know?"
"I know…..Just, give it time."
Belle nodded. "You're right."
She put the portfolio back in its satchel and put it back by the couch. She promised Babette she wouldn't touch it. She promised she'd wait.
"Pick up my coffee, none of that Starbucks shit,"
He hung up on her after his instant request. Belle sighed at the dominant profanity her boss said to her.
She tucked her phone away and made sure to walk past any Starbucks until she came upon a small coffee shop wedged in between a Barnes and Noble and Bebe.
The shop was classic and hushed. Brown wood tables with miss matched chairs had tea kettles and tiny cups in the middle. On the right toward the back a long brown counter took up most of the space with a bakery portion that had many delicious dishes. Art work hung on the walls in which some of the customers gathered around to view and discuss them while others.
Belle went to the counter and waited until a short robust woman emerged with serving tray of tea.
"I'll be right with you, dearie," She told Belle and hurried over to a nearby table to serve the tea. Belle waited and when she finally was able to take Belle's order she made sure to order the finest coffee the store could offer.
He never touched the coffee much to Belle's annoyance. Instead he left in on the far end of his desk while he typed away and she stood by him waiting for instruction. He hadn't said anything to her for nearly an hour and she was growing tired in her shoes.
"Either sit down or go into the employee lounge until I call for you," He finally says.
Belle piped up and went to sit in the chair in front of his desk patiently while he finished his work.
She stared at the cup of coffee, he still hadn't touched it.
"I hate that type of coffee…" He startled Belle by speaking up suddenly.
"I-I didn't"
"Of course you didn't. I take the blame for not telling you how and where I like my coffee…." Mr. White said, his eyes were still trained on his work.
Belle thought for a minute before saying, "Is it my job to fetch your coffee?" Belle said quietly but Adam still caught on for he had stopped working and looked at her with intense eyes.
"Excuse me?"
Belle shook her head and regretted saying it out loud.
"I just…..I don't see my purpose here. I guess."
He leaned back in his chair, finger tips pressed together, and looked at her.
"Do you understand what it means to be my assistant? You aren't an apprentice; you aren't one of my lower workers. You're someone who I trust with my very company when needed. Meaning when I need documents delivered, you do so without a problem. When I need a very important even scheduled, you do everything in your power to see that its done perfectly. If I need a meeting with a very important figure, you see to it that it happens. So yeah, you have a very high purpose next to me. Try not to fuck it up,"
Belle winced at his very comfortable cursing in front of her but remained stoic in front of her boss. She never been an assistance before to anyone that wasn't a manager at a library or medical staff. It was no way she would understand it was so much to this job. But she only took it because Babette said it would take her mind off of "The bad things in life,".
"Who knows, he might actually take a liking to you," She would keep saying when she would bring the job up to Babette.
"But shouldn't he have found an assistant on his own?"
"He trusts my opinion over anyone else's,"
"Oh,"
Belle pushed the little conversation into one of the crevices in her mind, smoothed out her clothes, and left for work.
She silently cursed Babette for landing her with a demanding boss. All she told her was that she found her a job where she worked and it would be easy. So far, Belle felt she was walking on shells.
For the past few days it something different. Event after event had to be planned and Belle found herself growing foreign to a couch until she would get home late in the afternoon.
"You'll get used to it," Babette said one day at lunch.
Belle just smiled at Babette's attempt to assure her.
...
She scribbled notes in her small book while he was talking. Completely unaware that he was losing focus watching her curl her lip in concentration.
"I expect you to be at the function," Adam finished.
Belle shot up and stared at him speechless. She hadn't expected to be invited.
As if reading her thoughts, Adam straightened up from leaning on the front of his desk and explained.
"Assistants always accompany their boss' at planned functions,"
"Be sure not to look out of place," Belle winced at his cold turn of voice.
She just nodded, mentally reminding herself to raid Babette's closet later.
After Adam had finished instructing her, there was a moment of silence. It felt like eternity to Belle as she twiddled her pen with her fingers. She could feel Adam stare at her.
He cocked his head to the side at the oblivious beauty. His infatuation with her shined through while she had her head down, too occupied with her own thoughts to worry about him staring. She left him wanting to know more about her other than a resume and Babette's recommendation. With every look she managed to give him, he saw a beautiful mind locked up by a hard lock.
He cursed under his breath when his intercom buzzed and she got up to leave.
He promised himself he'd talk to her tomorrow.