Sidney wasn't really sure how her father had been able to get her a job at Surge System Enterprises, but she wasn't going to complain. Her parents always said that she needed to be more independent and she didn't like her old job, anyway. This one paid much better, although her new boss was a bit more...
strange than her old one. There was just something about him that Sidney couldn't place her finger on. He was dark and brooding and to be quite honest, he scared Sidney a little. She hadn't seen him yet, which only added to his mystery.
Sidney hurried into her office, just barely making it in on time. The number one she'd been given was to never, ever, be late and sometimes she found herself cutting it quite close. She plopped down into her seat, popping the top from her iced latte as she logged into her computer. Her job was essentially that of a secretary, keeping records and making sure that everything ran smoothly for the mysterious Mr. Baker. She knew his schedule like the back of her hand most days, made every appointment and spoke to every person who came through the door to see him. She found it strange that they all looked absolutely terrified, but tried to think nothing of it. Her father had told her not to pry and although she tended to be a nosy girl, in this situation she sensed that keeping her nose out of things was the best plan of action.
"Holy shit," Sidney cursed softly under her breath when she heard someone saying her name. They must've been very quiet, because she hadn't even heard the door to her office open. She spun around in her chair, her stomach doing a somersault when she saw the man standing in her doorway. She'd never seen him before, but it was obvious by the way he was dressed and the way he carried himself that he was important, one of the higher-ups. "Um, can I help you?" Sidney finally managed to spit out. "Sir?" she added quickly.
Matt always arrived to work a little earlier than he probably needed to. But it was like his father always said: if you were on time, you were late. The only people who were ever at the office before him were the janitorial staff and the secretaries who sat at the main desk in the lobby. He sat down at his desk, taking a sip of his coffee. Slowly, his personal employees started to filter in and much like he always did, Matt watched them. He knew almost everything there was to know about each of them while they knew almost nothing about him, which was the way he preferred it. The less they knew about him and the facade that was Surge System Enterprises, the better. There was one employee that he liked to watch more than the others, if only because she peaked his curiosity. Annalise had a background that was similar to quite a few of the employees here: her father owed a debt to Matt and couldn't repay it and had offered up his child's labor as a replacement. It surprised him how many men were willing to do that, just sign over their child's life to a man from the mob. But Matt supposed that if the alternative was watching that child die, they might feel as though they had no other choice. Of course, they could have just paid back the money they owed.
After a few minutes, it became apparent to Matt that Annalise was doing a little more than the work she was supposed to be doing. He knew that whatever work they did wasn't as interesting as whatever she was doing on that computer seemed to be. Rising from his seat, Matt finished off his coffee before he left his office. No one said a word to him, most didn't even look at him, and so he was able to sneak up behind Annalise without her hearing or turning around. He immediately noticed that she was reading an article that was written about him, although she quickly opened a file she was meant to be working on. The corner of Matt's mouth lifted in a slight smirk when Annalise mistakenly called him by Valary's name. "I'm not Valary," he said, deciding to let her know she'd been caught.
Slowly, Annalise turned around in her chair. "Why don't you join me in my office, miss Reinhardt?" Matt suggested, although he made sure his tone of voice made it apparent that she had no option. He turned around and walked back to his office, knowing that Annalise would follow him. "Shut the door," he ordered her, sitting down at his desk. He gestured to the chair in front of his desk, wordlessly telling her to have a seat. "I hope you realize the gravity of the mistake you just made," Matt began. "I'm sure your father told you not to snoop and what did you do? You put your nose where it didn't fucking belong. So from now on, you're going to be working directly for me, as my secretary. That way I can keep an eye on you, since apparently I can't trust you."
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