BILLIONAIRE SCIENTIST & HIS NEW SECRETARY

CHAPTER 1 PART 1

A big thank you to all the reviewers! Without them, I wouldn't be able to guage the viaibility of continuing the fic.

By the way, assume that all characters are single/unmarried, unless I specify... Yes... there might be a bit of Jonathan-Alanna-George triangle thing...

I find it wierd to call each bit I upload as chapters, so I would revert to Chp1:1. Which means chapter 1, part 1. Thus, Chp 3:5, is chapter 3 part 5. Yes, I think the fic will run on quite a bit. If I have the will to finish the fic!

Happy reading!

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HIGH SOCIETY: GOSSIP COLUMN

Dear Readers,

For your overwhelming enthusiastic response to our first on-line poll on what qualities Numair's new secretary should possess, I thank you readers! I was astounded that more than 384,000 people took part! It seems that great minds think alike and the results of the top 5 qualities have been quite clear cut... But then again, fools barely differ...

Top 5 Qualities Numair's new Secretary should possess...

1. Voluptous figure

2. Blonde hair

3. Well-groomed

4. Well-versed with men

5. single (unmarried)

Look out for more juicy social information when the next issue of High Society goes on sale.

XX Lady Dove

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Tortall Inc. Buildings, HR Executive Office...

A red head snorted and tossed High Society magazine onto the papers that Onua was reading on her desk.

Onua looked up, raised an eyebrow and said, "Some people do have to work here in order to keep their jobs you know..." She picked up the magazine and swatted at the red-head who was sitting on the edge of her desk. "Not like some people who has nothing to do all day but to go sniffing at other people's offices..."

The short red-head raised her hands up and protested, "Hey hey! I am the Head of Internal Security you know! Without me, our company wouldn't be anything if all the secrets were leaked out to our competitors! I do more than just sniff at other people's office! I do background checks, put my ear to the ground to see if anything crops up..."

"Alright Alanna, you made your point," Onua interupted, before the red head could become more worked up.

"It's not that I like this sort of sit-in-the-office kind of work! If it was me, I would be out doing Raoul's work, bashing up troublemakers! That Jonathan! Why did he have to appoint me "internal" security and Raoul as "external" security?" Alanna exclaimed.

"Maybe it could be that your hot temper might run you into bashing more heads than necessary?" Onua suggested warily. "Or maybe he was trying to protect you..."

Alanna glared her famous purple eyes at Onua. "Protect me? Oh please, next you are going to suggest that he's interested in me or something!"

Onua raised an eyebrow, but knew when to back off. She had eyes and knew that the blue eyed CEO took more than a professional interest in Alanna. Onua cleared her throat and glanced at the magazine that Alanna was reading. "The High Society magazine, I never figured that you were one to read gossip..."

"Blah!" Alanna retorted, "If it wasn't for my job, I wouldn't be looking at this sort of trash. But as you know, where there's smoke, there's normally fire. Lady Dove is amazingly accurate with her gossip. Last time, thanks to her tidbits, I got wind that one of our dear managers was squirreling money away for his lovebird at the Bahamas. But!" Alanna tilted her head. "It seems that she, as well as the rest of the world, is wrong on this point."

"What point?" Onua asked.

"Numair's secretary!" Alanna exclaimed, jabbing the article with her finger. "I mean, the new girl you hired! She seems to be everything except what most people would expect from Numair's secretary!"

"Oh give the girl a chance," Onua said patiently. "I on the other hand, think she has all the right qualities that Numair's secretaries need."

Curiousity blazed in Alanna, who immelediately asked, "And what exactly are those qualities?... Why did you decide to hire Miss Sarrasri although she does not seem have a lot of experience in secretarial work?"

"Onua," a male voice interupted from the loudspeaker on Onua's telephone. "Miss Veralidaine Sarrasri is here to speak to you."

Onua leaned over and pressed the loudspeaker button, "Thank you Evin, please show her in and bring us some refreshments." She let go of the button and looked at Alanna, "And you, please show some decorum and go sit in a chair. Just because you are the head of internal security and have to be there to assess all new employees doesn't mean that you can be rude. Now shoo!"

Alanna snorted, but obediently sat in one of the plush chairs in front of Onua's desk. She positioned herself such that she could see the door quite clearly, such that she had time to look over the new girl before she had a chance to see Alanna. Of course, her back was naturally to the wall. A habit that carried on after her exclusive training at the top security schools.

A young woman opened the door. Her wavy brown hair was pinned severely back, and her eyes were hidden behind black framed plastic spectacles. Her lips were soft, but her stubborn chin showed determination. She was dressed in a simple blouse, skirt and pumps that looked well-worn.

Onua welcomed the newcomer and introduced Daine to Alanna. Startled blue-grey eyes met purple eyes. 'Ahh...' Alanna thought. 'So her eyes are blue-grey. If she ditched those glasses, she would probably look better. In fact, she seems to be dressed to hide or downplay whatever beauty she might possibly possess. Such senisible, but ugly clothes... Perhaps she could not afford better...'

"Hello!" Alanna smiled, and shook Daine's hand, thinking, 'Hmm... soft hands, but calloused, probably did hard labour previously. She seems to be trembling... is she scared of me? or is she scared of my post or its implications? Hmm...'

"Welcome to Tortall Inc, Miss Sarrasri" Onua smiled, after they had settled down. "I shall spare you the boring history lesson of our company, details of which can be found in your orientation booklet. You can also find the structure of our organisation, contact details, emergency plans, etc in your booklet. You will receive your pay every last week of the month."

Onua nodded to Alanna who handed Daine a package. Alanna said, "In here, is your security card. Being Numair's secretary, you are given special access to the building. To put it simply, you can go where he goes. I am against this, as it allows you too much freedom around the building, but," Alanna nodded to Onua, "as I understand, much of your job entails you chasing him around and browbeating him to attend the necessary functions. And if he hides in somewhere you can't access, you can't do your job properly."

Alanna leaned in and said, "I will be monitoring your movements, make no doubts about it. Use the card wisely, and don't abuse it."

Daine nodded her head vigorously and cleared her throat, "Um, Miss Cham..."

"Onua," Onua interupted, "You can call me Onua."

"Well, Mis-I mean, Onua, what duties do I have to do as Mr Salmalin's secretary?" Daine asked nervously, clutching her bag.

"I expect that you will probably learn more on the job. There are no exact fixed duties, except do what Numair asks you to do, within reason of course," Onua said. "Numair is passionate about his work, often, when he is caught up in a new discovery, he can go for days without proper meals, just holed up in his lab, neglecting the world. He tends to miss numerous appointments, meetings, even press conferences when he is onto something new. Thus, the one and most important duty that you have as his secretary is to take care of him. Manage his calender and make sure he attends his appointments. Ensure that he doesn't starve himself..."

"In other words, be Numair's babysitter," Alanna retorted.

Onua shot Alanna killer glare and continued, "Help him with whatever paperwork he asks you to do. Like working together with our in-house counsel to deal with paperwork regarding patents, copyrights, etc."

Daine felt overwhelmed by this, and she thought, 'But I thought the last secretary was fired because she interrupted him in one of his experiments!' However, she nodded with a weak smile.

As soon as Diane left the office, Alanna turned to Onua and said, "Come on, spill it! I can't spot the right quality she has that would make her a good secretary to Numair! I mean, she's not particularly crafty or able to trick Numair into doing things, nor does she seem the type who will whine or cajole him into submission. Sheesh! She's defintely not Numair's type, so I can't imagine her using her charms to make him do what she wants!"

Onua raised her eyebrows. "Really Alanna, sometimes the solution is not the most obvious one."

Alanna impatiently threw a cushion at Onua who neatly caught it. "Alright already," Alanna protested. "Take pity on me and tell me!" She grumbled to herself, "I already lost $10 to Raoul that you didn't hire that blonde who used to be a playboy playmate."

Onua grinned and replied, "When you look at Daine, what is the first impression you have?"

Alanna rolled her eyes, "She looks, young, sweet, innocent. Perhaps even naive... Very country girl comes to city, I can imagine all the wolves in the city licking their chops, ready to fleece or cheat her. But, she looks like she's been through hard times, probably needs this job."

"Exactly," Onua said and leaned forward in her chair. "Numair was the first person who befriended me when I didn't know anyone. I have known him for quite some time and I can tell you this. He is a nice guy and will never, ever be outright mean or cruel."

"Yada yada yada, so nominate him for a nobel peace price already," Alanna interrupted. "Get to the point."

"That is my point. Numair had perfectly no qualms not listening to the previous secretaries because they were mature women, able to whine, cajole, charm their way around. He's too experienced to fall for their tactics. They can take care of themselves and he had perfectly no qualms in firing them because they will very easily fall back on their feet. But for Daine, her innocence and vulnerability are probably the best qualities to control him."

"What!" Alanna erupted. "Like a babe toying with a wolf?"

"More of, a lion who picks up a starving puppy in the jungle. He knows if he doesn't keep the puppy with him, the puppy will just get eaten up by the next animal that comes along,"Onua rested her chin on her hand and continued, "Numair won't have the heart to fire her. She looks like she needs the job and her qualifications are not good enough to get her another such cushiony job. Most importantly, he wouldn't want to be the reason for her being fired. So he'll play along a bit so that we won't fire her ourselves."

"Hmm..." Alannna pondered. "Well, to a certain extent, it does make sense... But I'm really not too sure it'll work. You should know he's like a different person when he's engrossed in his work."

"Humph," Onua snorted. "Trust me, whatever it is. He's innately a good person. He won't make life too difficult for her." 'I hope!' she thought and crossed her fingers.

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