Fiendish: A Twisted Fairytale (14 page)

“Now, we can get down to business.”

I picked up the pliers. My fingers were itching with anticipation. I clamped the pliers down on the first tooth. The pressure I put on it pushing back caused a horrific guttural sound to bubble up out of her. I kept pushing and pulling until the tooth cracked but didn’t come out. I readjusted the pliers above the crack and started working again. I felt it give. Finally, I had one out. She struggled, thrashing about as much as she could. Tears streamed down her face while bloody drool dribbled out of her mouth. She continued to make those terrible moaning sounds. I stretched my arms and flexed my fingers before moving on to the next tooth. In all, I removed six bottom teeth, incisor to incisor. 

“Luckily for you I have somewhere to be or you
’d lose the upper ones as well.”

***

Patrick hadn’t said much to me since I arrived at work. When I took him his morning coffee, he was on the phone having a heated discussion with someone. Instead of making me wait like normal so we could go over his schedule for the day, he quickly waved me out of the office. I welcomed the silent treatment over possibly hearing the words ‘you’re fired.’ Maybe last night didn’t go as badly as I’d thought it had. When I talked to Macy during my lunch break, she said I should sue his ass for sexual harassment if he did try to fire me. However, in true crazy Macy fashion, she quickly added that there might be some perks in sleeping with the boss. I knew she was just joking, but the idea still creeped me out. There were many, many days I wished I could be as carefree about sex as she was. Hell, I’d settle for even the idea of enjoying it because with Paul, my enjoyment was never his priority.

As I got up from my desk to refill my water bottle, Patrick stepped out of his office. He signaled for me to follow him into his office. My stomach filled with dread thinking this was the moment I
’d thought I’d avoided. I put down my bottle, picking up a note pad just in case, before heading into his office.

He sat behind his desk, staring at me. “Why are you working for me?”

I looked at him, momentarily confused by the question.

“Because my goal is to become an interior designer.”

“Yes, but what do you hope to gain from working for me?”

“Working for you will give me knowledge I can use later in my career.”

“I’ve been in the business a long time.” As he talked, he continued to stare at me, rarely making eye contact. I felt my skin crawling imagining what he could be thinking. “To get something, you must be willing to give something. You want to use me for knowledge, what do I get in return?”

I swallowed nervously before speaking. “You mean other than hard work?”

A smug smirk played on his lips. “Get the iPad. You will accompany me to the textile warehouse to take the notes for the orders concerning the Lewis job.”

“Yes sir.”

I turned to leave, and I could feel his eyes watching me as I left his office. Once I closed the door, I let out a shaky sigh. He had just hinted I would need to exchange sex for knowledge. Surely, Patrick Thorn could get women to sleep with him without making it part of their job requirements. I didn’t see him treating Kerrin this way unless their tryst was over. I shuddered and pushed that thought to the back of my mind. I would need to find a way to ask her. She was warming up to me more, so hopefully, she wouldn’t think I was crazy for asking. 

The trip to the warehouse was uncomfortable.
 I didn’t like being in such close quarters with Patrick since he chose to drive his small sports car instead of the company van. He did keep his hands to himself, but the lustful looks he gave me made me thankful for my outfit selection this morning. The loose fitting, cream colored slacks and black button down shirt was a simple and fully covering choice.

Once we were there, I was excited to see everything.
 Learning about the fabrics and patterns, it was the first time I had been involved in anything really related to that aspect of the job. I loved it, and Patrick could see that I loved it. I got the sinking feeling he was going to dangle it in front of me like a carrot.

When we got back to the office, Patrick just dropped me off, instructing me to upload the notes of his selections so he
’d be able to review them on Monday. Since he was going to be out of the office for the rest of the day, I thought this was as good a time as any to talk to Kerrin. She was upstairs in the store room trying to verify the order that came in for the Jones job was correct. She had already had to contact the warehouse three times because the fabric color for the throw pillows was wrong and the Oriental rug that was sent wasn’t the one the client had picked out. We were three weeks behind schedule due to constant setbacks, and the client was getting irate.

“Kerrin, can I talk to you for a sec?”

“I’m a little busy, is it important?”

“No.
 I guess it can wait until later. Do you need any help?”

She glanced up at me over the rim of her glasses first then actually made eye contact with me.

“Yes. Can you verify on the order what stain color is supposed to be on the highboy?”

For the next hour, we worked on getting everything straightened out; this was turning out to be a much better day than I
’d anticipated. First going with Patrick then actually assisting Kerrin in a way that didn’t have me running up and down the stairs twenty times made me feel like I was doing actual interior design.

“Thanks for your help,” Kerrin said after we
’d finished.

“No problem.
 I was happy to do something other than filing and emailing.”

I headed out of the room to go gather my stuff and head home when I heard Kerrin say behind me, “Don
’t sleep with him.” I turned and looked back. “Patrick’s a pig that likes to push people’s buttons, but a genius at what he does. If you sleep with him, he won’t think you’re serious, and he will fire you. Are you serious about having this as a career?”

“Yes.”

“Okay then.”

I left the room smiling.
 So I would just have to wait out his hazing period and then things would die down. I could do that. My day got even better when I saw Seth waiting on me as I exited the building.

“Need a ride?” he asked, opening the car door for me.

Chapter 13

“How was your day?” Calida asked as I pulled into traffic.

“I came to the realization I may have to put my Pet down.”

“Oh no. Is she ill?” she asked with genuine concern.

“She
’s just more feral than I first thought.”

“Feral? Was she a stray?”

“Yes, you could say that. She just followed me home one night. But it’s not important. How was your day?” 

Calida turned towards me, giving me one of those smiles I was starting to enjoy. “Pretty good considering I thought I was going to be fired. Kerrin seems to be warming up to me, and I actually got to do a little something other than just secretarial work today.”

“What did you do that could have gotten you fired?”

Calida
’s smile stiffened a bit as she started toying with the zipper on her bag. “Nothing, really. It…it was more about what I didn’t do, but it all worked out. For the most part.”

That last part confirmed my suspicions that the boss did expect sex from her last night. She turned him down, even with the possible threat of losing her job. Most women, especially those that wanted to advance their career or social standings, would have happily jumped in bed, but she didn
’t.

“I
’m glad you had a good day and that you weren’t fired.”

I would have to figure out what to do about Patrick Thorn. I could see on her face she was worried, and if pressed I wasn
’t confident she’d keep saying no.

“Oh,” Calida blurted out. “Remember that painting from last night?”

“The one you were admiring?”

“Yeah, well, um I guess you left before the auction
‘cus I didn’t see you.” She glanced at me quickly, embarrassed she admitted she’d looked for me. “Patrick tried to win it, but someone made this crazy high bid of ten thousand dollars for it and won it. I know it’s bad of me, but I was happy Patrick didn’t get it. Still, can you believe someone would pay that much? For a painting.”

“I guess someone liked it as much as you did.”

“Guess so,” she replied, shrugging her shoulders.

When we arrived at her house, I was relieved to see the roommate wasn
’t home. My time with Calida was limited enough without having to share it with the friend. Calida sat waiting patiently for me to open her door.

“Thank you for the ride.”

“My pleasure,” I replied, walking towards the trunk to retrieve my bags.

Calida
’s brows furrowed in confusion. “What’s that?”

“Groceries.”

“You brought me groceries?”

“Well, they
’re needed for dinner.”

“So…you brought groceries so I could cook for you?”

“Not exactly, I brought them so I could cook for you.”

I watched a wide smile spread across her face. “Oh, okay,” she replied, turning to walk towards her door, and holding the gate open for me.

***

“I never officially asked if you were single or not,” Seth said while I attempted to open the door. “I
’ve been assuming you are with my unannounced visits, but it would be nice to find out for sure.”

I flipped on the light switch as I entered. The house still smelled of roses since some sat around the living space. I thought about his question and saw it as the perfect opening to ask him like Macy suggested.
Just don’t chicken out.

“No, I
’m not dating anyone currently,” I answered, dropping my purse and keys on the small table by the door before hanging up my coat.

“Good,” Seth replied smiling. “That means you
’re free tomorrow?” he asked, walking towards the kitchen.

“Yes, unless Macy has plans she hasn
’t told me about. Why?”

Seth began unpacking the bags, laying out all the ingredients he
’d brought with him and looking very at home in my kitchen in the process. Instead of asking me what he was looking for, he proceeded to open the drawers until he found what he was searching for, the corkscrew.

“Because I
’m taking you on a date tomorrow,” he finally answered, handing me a glass of wine.

Just like the night he asked for my number, I had to stop myself from jumping up and down like a giddy school girl upon hearing that statement.

“So…dinner and a movie?” I asked, taking a sip of my wine, trying to play it cool.

“Something like that,” he replied, turning back to continue searching my kitchen for what he needed.

“Um, if you tell me what you need, I can get it for you.”

“Go get comfortable. I can manage.”

My brows scrunched together as I took another drink of the wine. He was kicking me out of my own kitchen. Seth turned to look at me expectantly, waiting on me to leave the small space. I walked out of my kitchen and sat my glass of wine down on the coffee table. Kicking off my shoes, I gathered up the loose items sitting on the couch and carried them to my room. If he was going to keep just showing up, I would have to start cleaning better. The house wasn’t a disaster, but it wasn’t always showroom ready either.

When I got to my room, I let out a happy, muffled squeal over being asked out finally. We
’d been doing this weird thing, making me uncertain of where things were leading, but he’d asked me out. Officially. Stripping out of my work clothes, I started to put on my go-to yoga pants and a sweatshirt, but Macy popped into my head. I laughed a little, thinking about how pissed she’d be if I did that with him here, so instead I put on a pair of jeans with a simple black long sleeved tee. Pulling my hair from its ponytail, I gave it a quick finger comb before going back to join Seth.

Delicious smells hit me the moment I opened the door. The cooking Macy or I did never
made the house smell like that. As I made my way into the kitchen, I stood watching Seth working diligently to prepare dinner. There was something extremely sexy about seeing a man, this man, standing in my kitchen cooking me dinner.

“Whatever you
’re cooking smells great.”

Seth cast a quick look in my direction. “Steak, pan seared asparagus, and oven roasted baby potatoes,” he answered, picking up the bottle of wine. “Need a refill?” he asked, pouring more into my glass before waiting on an answer. He reached out and picked up a lock of my hair, twirling it around his fingers. “You let your hair down again.”

He stood closer than necessary, continuing to play with my hair while staring at me with those intense eyes. It reminded me of the day we first met, and I found myself suddenly nervous.