The Boss’s Unconventional Assistant

Lyner was waiting patiently outside the conference room as Croix gathered up his belongings when he phone buzzed, signalling her to a text message. Glancing at her phone, she realised that the message was from the security room once again. She was fairly certain she knew what it was about.

When Croix stepped out into the hallway, Lyner wasn’t able to ask him how he was doing or if everything went well. “A MFOS has been spotted heading this way,” she said instead. “No doubt she’s looking for you.”

“Shit,” he immediately cursed and looked around for an escape route. “I don’t need this…”

Lyner glanced around as well. She quickly realised that there was a supply closet just opposite the conference room…Um…

And Croix quickly realised what she was looking at. “I'm not hiding in the supply closet,” he stated, looking indignant.

Lyner shrugged apologetically. “It's either that or dealing with this MFOS.”

Croix took about two seconds to consider his options. “Shit. Fine,” he muttered as he walked over to the closet, opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door shut behind him.

Lyner did feel sorry for him. He was the CEO of his business. He owned this entire building. He was a billionaire for crying out loud. And yet, there he was, hiding in a supply closet to get away from those ruthless money hungry socialites.

It really was tragic.

About ten seconds later the elevator at the end of the corridor ‘dinged’ and the doors open. The sole woman inside waited for the doors until they were fully opened before she stepped out. She had blonde that reached to her shoulders that was pin straight and bangs to both sides of face that were slanted to align with her cheek bones. Her eyes were a dark shade of green with some amber specks in them. She wore a tight leather jacket with, what looked like nothing beneath it, with some even tighter jeans and thigh high boots.

Lyner immediately recognised the woman. Well, she was rather hard to miss. She’d recognised that self-important strut and narrowed eyes of scorn anywhere.

It was Zakuro "Zaku" Fuentes, a repeat offender. She believed that rich, successful billionaires like Croix were not allowed to be single. A successful man needed a woman at his side. A beautiful and talented woman who out-matched his wits and talents. An intelligent and spirited woman who would easily tame his arrogant nature. A feisty, but vulnerable woman who could mould him into a man that society would deem to be suitable.

It was no surprise that Lyner loathed her.

Subtly, Lyner stood in front of the closet door that Croix was hiding in as Zakuro stormed past, granting her a scathing expression. However, she came to a stop and glared at her some more. Obviously, she loathed speaking with her, but Lyner was the only person she could try to wrangle Croix's whereabouts from. She was his personal assistant, after all.

"Where's Croix?" Zakuro asked her briskly, making no attempt to hide her hatred for her.

And Lyner made no attempt to hide her own annoyance toward her. "He's not here," she said simply. "Besides, he has a busy schedule today. He has absolutely no time in dealing with your selfish little whims."

The glare that Zakuro gave her would have made a weaker individual cower in fear. But Lyner wasn't intimidated. "Your jealousy is annoying," Zakuro retorted.

"And your obsession is borderline illegal," Lyner replied sharply, rolling her eyes. “You do realise that this is a form of harassment? Which is illegal?”

“Harassment?” Zakuro repeated, sounding appalled by the notion. “I am not harassing him. Women don’t harass men; it’s the other way round.”

“Uh huh,” Lyner said as she rolled her eyes.

“Besides, I’m doing him a favour,” Zakuro went on to say as she brushed a strand of her luxurious hair over her shoulder. “If he makes me his wife, then I can keep all those money hungry and fame hunting bitches at bay.”

Lyner couldn’t help but laugh. Oh, the irony of her words.

“By taking his money and using his reputation to your advantage, right?” Lyner quipped as placed a hand on her hip.

Again, the glare that Zakuro gave her was chilling and vicious, and once more Lyner wasn’t even remotely intimidated. Glancing over Zakuro’s shoulder as she began to prattle some threatening nonsense at her, Lyner was relieved to see a pair of burly security guards step from the lift.

“Speaking of illegal activities,” Lyner commented as she motioned for the security guards to approach and glanced back at Zakuro. “You’re trespassing on private property. I suggest you leave without making a fuss.”

A look of pure defiance appeared on Zakuro’s face and she appeared ready to bite out some witty and scathing retort, but she looked surprised when the two security guards appeared on either side of her, preventing her from escaping. Zakuro immediately shrilled something about being sexually assaulted as the two guards, one of which was actually a woman called Mute, who despite her masculine appearance was quite feminine and girly.

Lyner shook her head as Zakuro made a spectacle of herself (as she usually did) and sighed with relief when she was shoved into the lift and the doors closed.

Ok, she was the second MFOS to appear that day. They still had the afternoon to go! Still, today would be nothing compared to when they had to hold interviews for the data entry position that was hiring.

And since Lyner was such an expert on MFOSs, she was tasked with helping interview some of the clients. Still, because of her skills, she was able to tell a MFOS from a real, genuine applicant at first sight, so she won’t be doing ALL the interviews.

She’d go mad if she did.

“Croix?” Lyner said as she turned her attention to the closet door. “She’s gone.”

The door opened, but instead of coming out Croix snared Lyner by her wrist and pulled her in. Lyner fell against Croix’s chest with a ‘oof’ as the door fell shut behind her. Before she could gather her senses, Croix kissed her passionately on the lips, preventing any coherent thoughts from forming.

Wrapped up tightly in Croix’s arms, Lyner made absolutely no attempt to struggle or resist, even though they were both still at work. Croix always sought her out after a close encounter with a MFOS. It was reassurance, he once told her. Reassurance that he had a real person, a real woman already in his life. Lyner wasn’t some mannequin, she wasn’t some two dimensional character that was ‘perfect’ for him, a being that was made for him.

These heated kisses were reassuring for Lyner as well. Despite her flaws and quirks, she was loved for who she was.

And, really, that was all anyone could possibly ask for.

-------------------------------------------------

It was finally time for lunch when Lyner escorted Croix back to his office. Thankfully they didn’t need to go into the meal room to pick up their lunch. Croix, as cunning as he was, had a small bar fridge in his office. Not to store any alcoholic beverages (hey, who could blame him if he did?), but to store his food and drinks just in case he needed to be holed up in his office for a while.

Croix sat down in his office chair as Lyner set about getting their lunch. It was a pre-made lunch, something simple like chicken salad. It was a light meal, but gave them enough energy to make it through the rest of the day. And it was large enough for the two of them to share.

“I got an interesting email from Avaya,” Croix commented as he pulled Lyner over to him.

Sitting sideways on Croix’s lap, Lyner removed the lid of their packed lunch and picked up a fork. “Avaya, huh?” she murmured as she gathered some of the salad onto the fork.

Avaya “Ava” Renault was yet another repeat offender. She saw herself as Croix’s greatest business rival (which Lyner found odd because she wasn’t a CEO and her business had nothing to do with mining) and did everything she could to prove that she was so much more intelligent, competent and successful than Croix was.

Lyner wasn’t entirely sure what her motive was. Maybe she simply hated Croix? Maybe she was hoping that her obvious dislike of him would make him want to conquer the only woman who paid him no interest? Maybe she was hoping that he would try to buy out her business and keep her on as a very close and personal employee of which he would try to relentless seduce?

Or maybe she was just an idiot?

“What did she have to say this time?” Lyner asked as she lifted the fork of food for Croix to eat.

“An offer I can’t refuse apparently,” Croix stated before obediently take a bite of the salad Lyner was feeding him.

Lyner found herself frowning as she gathered some salad for herself and took a bite. “Whenever someone states that they have an offer you can’t refuse, it’s never a good thing,” she murmured around the fork in her mouth.

Croix chuckled. “Well, apparently she’s in a bit of financial trouble and her reputation is at stake, which totally isn’t her fault by the way. And, apparently, I am the only person - no the only MAN with the power to fix all her woes, much to her chagrin.”

"Wait, doesn’t she consider you her most vilest of enemies?" Lyner asked with a slight furrow of her brow as she stabbed her fork into the salad again.

Croix gave her a tight smile. "As she constantly tells me and everyone who will listen."

Lyner lifted the filled fork to Croix’s lips again, which he promptly took into his mouth. "So why does she believe you're going to help her?"

Croix swallowed his food before snorting. "Because I want revenge against her and the best way to do that is to seduce her, bed her and then discard her," he replied with pure sarcasm.

Lyner started at him for a moment, unsure whether or not he was being serious. Croix motioned to the email on his computer with the upturn of his chin. Placing the fork into the salad bowl, Lyner glanced at the computer screen and found herself blinking. You know…there really were times where one needed to be a bit more subtle.

"So…she's offering her ‘innocence’ and will become your mistress if you move her into your home, give her money, dote on her and fix all her problems?"

Croix chuckled dryly. "How did you guess?"

She didn’t exactly guess. It was written in the email. It pretty much stated as much.

Lyner didn’t know what was worse; Avaya stating that she was willing to give her body over to Croix and become his mistress or the fact that she actually believed that Croix would jump at the chance to have her in his bed.

"I...don't know what to say to that," Lyner murmured with a look of pure bewilderment on her face as she stabbed her fork harshly into the chicken salad once again.

Avaya really was a complete idiot.