Chapter 4
So ya got the job after all?" Ronald asked as he dunked a biscuit into his coffee while she came to the realization that she had been so caught up in her performance and that cold hard gaze of William's that she had quite forgotten her mission.
"It's more like a trial period, but he'll soon see he can't live, I mean work without me." She sipped her tea while Alan snoozed on the table beside her. She poked him till he woke up.
"You guys are crazy," he mumbled, "How do you plan on working tonight?"
"Well you didn't have to come you know," she said in mock offense. "And where's that handsome hunk of a boyfriend of yours anyway? I swear he follows you around like a lost puppy."
"He's on his way. Why are you quitting Grell? I thought you enjoyed it. Everyone likes you and you make more than any of us. You've become sort of an idol to us."
'That merely proves how good an actress I am', she thought to herself.
"Rumor has it there's this guy he's trying to impress," chimed in Ronald.
"You should know better than to trust rumors, mustard seed. I told you why I was quitting yesterday morning."
"Yeah, but ya have a way of coloring the truth to suit your needs." He dodged a sugar packet that she threw at him. "It was Eric who told me there was guy who was sweet on ya and now ya making life changing decisions."
"It's my life. If I want to change it, I will. There doesn't have to be a man involved."
The bells over the door to the shop chimed and Ronald looked over Grell's shoulder. "Eric's here, and it looks like he's brought company."
Grell turned to look, her eyes widening when she saw who it was. "I, uh, I have to use the ladies room." She grabbed her purse and made a run for the bathroom.
William and Eric placed their orders and soon joined Ronald and Alan. Eric greeted Alan with a kiss, draping an arm around his shoulders as he gave Ronald a fist bump. "Guys, this is my former classmate, William. William, this is Ronald and Alan, my coworkers." William recognized the two from the club, greeting them politely in turn. "Where is Grell anyway?" Eric asked. "Wasn't this party his idea?"
"Bathroom," Alan answered, slumping against Eric's shoulder. William's grip on his beverage container tightened. He hadn't been aware that Grell would be attending when he had accepted Eric's invitation for lunch.
None of them noticed the bathroom door creep open or Grell slip out. Keeping low and out of sight, she hid behind the partition near the table where her friends and William sat. It was rude to eavesdrop, but they were likely to talk about her and she wanted to know what they were saying. Besides, she didn't think she could make it to the door without being seen. Still being in her disguise, if William saw her, the 'jig would be up' as they say.
"Speaking of Red," Eric said. "How did your date go?"
"It wasn't a date," answered William.
"You went out with Grell?" Ronald asked at the same time.
"Oh that's right," Eric smirked. "You just wanted to 'meet with him'."
"I did. And we met. I said what I wanted to say. It is done with. End of story."
"But what'd ya want to talk to him about that was so important?"
"That is none of your affair, Slingby. I would appreciate it if you kept your nose out of it."
"Alright, alright," Eric conceded. "No need to get all huffy about it. I was just curious after all the risk I took so you could not ask him out cause you were too chicken to do so."
The chair William was seated in scraped the floor as he stood up. "I am the son of a family of well-repute and the supervisor of a very distinguished company, Slingby. That man is a whore and a stripper. What makes you think I want any association with the likes of him?"
"Hey!" Ronald stood up. "Grell is my friend. I'll not have ya saying that kind of shit about him. Ya don't even know him!"
Grell's breath caught in her throat, and for a brief moment tears came to her eyes. She had put up such an impenetrable shield, but this odd man had managed to pique her interest regardless. She had been a fool to trust him! He had turned out to be like all of the others.
She thought about leaping from her hiding spot and confronting him right then and there, but her life had taught her the importance of waiting for the right moment. At the very worst, William might have been embarrassed or uncomfortable, but he would forget about being confronted by a 'whore' or, even worse, turn it into some sort of joke later. No, she had to wait for the right moment to get her revenge.
Slinking out of the coffee shop took some finesse, but she had learned to be slinky during her time as a dancer. She quickly sent a text to Ronald to make up some sort of excuse with full confidence in both his imagination and ability to think up a story on the fly, but a plan was already forming in her mind. She had been determined to play down her beauty to hide from William in plain sight, but maybe that wasn't the best option. She could be subtle, but she still knew how to hook a man. Instead of trying to simply impress William with her secretarial skills, which she would still learn, she would make the man fall in love with her. Before long, she would occupy every portion of his mind until he wouldn't be able to stop thinking of her.
Once she owned his heart fully, she would break it the way that her own had been broken so many times.
(x)
By the end of the week, William could most definitely say he was impressed. Ms. Sutcliff had defied his expectations and as such, felt obligated to give her the position despite whom she looked like or was related to. There were some things, however, he could control. The perfume she wore was the same as her brothers and he issued an order to not wear said perfume on the grounds that it was overbearing and she complied, by switching to another that he found equally alluring, but at least he it did not make him think of that red room. Alas there was nothing he could do about her face. There were moments when he thought perhaps she might be attempting to flirt with him. He ignored these moments and kept them in check at all times…At least until she wasn't looking.
Ms. Sutcliff, on the other hand was getting frustrated. What sort of man was he that she could have no affect on him? Granted she hadn't been at it very long, but surely she should have had evoked some reaction even if it was not the sort she was looking for. Perhaps she needed to be more aggressive. That red skirt had worked before. Therefore, she would rid herself of her demure apparel and wear something more attention grabbing. And if that failed to produce any results, she would get physical, just an "innocent" touch here and there.
She sat now in his office writing as he dictated a letter. Now officially hired, she had switched to a more permanent dye for her hair. She crossed her legs, allowing the red skirt to inch higher to expose more skin, just in case William should turn around. William had no plans on turning around anytime soon for he had noticed just which she had chosen to wear earlier that day. As he dictated, he debated whether or not it would be prudent to enforce a dress code, if nothing else it would prevent Ms. Sutcliff from wearing attire that was not…distracting.
"…Sincerely, William T. Spears."
"Will there be anything else, Mr. Spears?"
"That will be all for today. Type up that letter and leave it on my desk for me to sign, then you may go home."
"Yes, sir," she answered with a small pout. He hadn't turned around once! She'd just have to try again next time.
As she crossed the office to go out to her desk, her pen slipped out of her grasp. Thinking he had given her sufficient time to leave, William turned to see her bending over to retrieve the dropped object. The way the fabric of the skirt hugged the subtle curves of her rear end…and if it climbed any higher up her thighs, there wouldn't be much left to imagine. The room was suddenly quite warm.
"Ms. Sutcliff." His voice squeaked slightly, which he poorly tried to cover with a cough. Did handsome hind ends run in the family?
She smiled inwardly. She had him. Now to reel him. Straightening, she turned to look at him, a small sweet smile on her face. "Yes, Will?" she asked, the light dusting of red on his cheeks did not escape her notice.
"Do I need to enforce a dress code?" He asked with no emotion in his voice.
Her smile slipped a little. She was losing him. "Why ever for?"
"That skirt is most inappropriate for the workplace. This is not a nightclub."
"Are you saying it's immodest?" She feigned innocence.
"Very," he answered with a frown. "That skirt is-"
"Distracting? Alluring? Make you want to find out what secret things are hiding underneath?" As she spoke, she made her way back over to him, invading his personal space and running a finger along the edge of his collar. His breath caught in his throat at the unexpected intrusion as she fiddled with his tie before leaning in closer. She opened her mouth to say more but could not as he began kissing her, his tongue ravaging the inside of her mouth. Her surprise only lasted the briefest of moments before she returned the heated kisses.
His fingers tangled in her hair, tilting her head back as his other hand slid down her back to cup her bottom. She melted into his arms. She could feel his arousal pressing against her. Her own ached and strained under its confinement. He pressed her up against the desk then picked her up and set her upon it, making short work of the red and white striped ribbon she had tied around her neck on which he afterwards assaulted with ravenous kisses.
"William T. Spears!" A female voice gasped in astonishment. William withdrew from his secretary, standing up straight; his face flushed a bright red. "Your father makes you the supervisor of the company and here you are debauching some woman in your office." For it was his mother. "What will he say when he hears about this? What about the people we do business with? The headlines! I can just see the headlines now." She began to get hysterical.
Grell slid off the desk and clung to William's arm. "I do apologize, madam, but it really was quite harmless. You see, my dearest William just proposed to me. I couldn't help but say 'yes'. I do suppose we may have gotten a bit carried away in expressing our joy." William's eyes widened and looked down at her as she gazed up at him in adoration.
"William, is this true?" His mother asked. "I was not aware that you were dating anyone."
"He was afraid you would not approve." Grell dropped her gaze and looked humbled. "After all, I am not from a distinguished family like your son."
"And just who is your family, miss…?"
"Sutcliff, ma-am, Jacqueline Sutcliff."
The woman looked at her thoughtfully, as if she recognized the name before dismissing it and looking at William. "William, I am surprised by you. You should have at least given us a chance to meet the young lady and let us decide for ourselves. She seems like such a sweet girl. Of course we had hoped you would marry someone of at least equal social standing to yourself." She sighed. "Your father is not going to be pleased, but if you two are happy…I stopped by to remind you of the engagement we have arranged for next Thursday. You may bring your fiancée. I must be off." With a wave of her hand, she left.
"Ms. Sutcliff!" William began, finally finding his voice, though torn between upbraiding her for her impudence and complimenting her acting skills.
"Oh don't look at me that way, Will-darling. I was only trying to save your reputation. You don't have to go through with any of it. Just tell your mother we had a row or something and called the whole thing off. But if you want to continue our private soiree, I won't say no, however, I would much rather we go to dinner first. Tomorrow night, perhaps, when we are more refreshed."
"You mean like a date?"
"I mean whatever you want it to mean. Though I would prefer it to go further than one night. From what I've seen of you, Mr. Spears, you are precisely the sort of man I am interested in. Strong, handsome, and you have a good head on your shoulders. You seem like a very cold hearted man, but you can be really sweet when you want to be." She giggled and pecked his cheek. "Shall we say 5:30? I'll meet you here and then we can go to whichever restaurant you choose. What do you say?"
"I-" Perhaps he should take some time and get to know her better. To prevent another incident like the one that nearly happened, all because she reminded him of her brother. He knew so little about wither of them and what he did know made them so similar that he could almost believe they were the same person. Perhaps if he got to know her better, he might have an easier time separating the two in his mind. "Just dinner."
"As you wish. I'll see you then." She started off.
"Ms. Sutcliff."
"I'll get that letter typed up first thing Monday morning. I'll come in extra early, so don't fret." She grabbed her coat and her purse and she was gone.
She laughed and skipped all the way home. Now that the first step had been taken, it wouldn't be long now until his heart was in her clutches and then she would crush it.
Her steps faltered and slowed, the laughter dieing on her lips. Outside the house was parked a black limousine. She knew this was bound to happen. She hadn't made a payment since she stopped working at the club, but why did it have to be now? She had a date tomorrow. As she neared the vehicle, a white haired youth emerged from the driver's seat and opened the rear passenger door, out of which stepped a tall man with hair as back as a raven. He grabbed Grell's arm and shoved her into the car. An adolescent sitting inside smirked at her. "Is that supposed to be some sort of disguise so we wouldn't recognize you?"
"It has nothing to do with you, Phantomhive," she growled. "And you can forget about your money. I'm sick and tired of paying you.
The boy laughed hysterically. "You still think this is about the money? Do you no longer care what we may do to your brother?"
"No," she answered curtly.
"It appears the lesson has not been learned about knowing one's place. However, I have long since grown tired of this game. Sebastian, teach this freak a final lesson, as a parting gift. Then we shall be done with it. That's an order…And make sure you do it outside the car. I'd hate for its blood to get everywhere."
"Yes, my Lord," the dark haired butler answered, placing a hand over his heart.
