Heller (8 page)

“Oh, it’s
nothing. Had a small argument with an exploding window,” I said,
brushing her query aside. “Dix, guess what? I’ve got the job! You
know, the interview I went for today? I got the job! And guess what
else? It comes with its own little flat. It’s adorable. And I get
free styling. I’m so excited!”

I jumped up
and down on the spot in a happy dance. The thing I love most about
Dixie, despite her many flaws, is that she is emotionally generous.
It doesn’t matter how terrible her life is or how awful her
circumstances, she is always genuinely pleased when her friends
catch a break.

“Awesome!” she
cried, leaping out of bed to join the happy dance with me. We clung
to each other and jumped up and down together for a moment laughing
before she properly registered what I had said. “What? You’re
moving out? No! You can’t leave me here alone with those two
losers.”

“I have to.
Heller said.”

“Who
said?”

“Heller.”

“Who the
fuck’s Heller?”

The door
opened forcefully and Heller stepped into the room. Dixie’s eyes
flew open and so did her mouth. Her nipples stood to attention.

“You’re taking
a long time,” he said impatiently.

“Heller,” I
said politely, “I’d like to introduce my best friend, Dixie. Dixie,
this is Heller, my new boss.”

Heller nodded
at Dixie and she simpered back at him. She has a thing for accents,
especially European accents. And she definitely has a thing for hot
men. Heller didn’t even have to try – she was hopelessly in lust
with him from the second he opened the door. I looked on in
exasperation.

“Dixie!” She
reluctantly tore her eyes away from Heller’s face. “Help me pack,
please?” I was hoping Heller would leave us, but he sat on the edge
of Dixie’s rumpled bed and watched while I pulled my tattered
backpack from the top of my wardrobe. Dixie helped me shove my
clothes into it.

“You should
fold your clothes before packing. That way they won’t become
wrinkled,” he criticised.

“Yes, I know
that, but I’m trying to hurry. As you requested,” I replied
crossly. It was disturbing to have him watching me as I pushed my
panties and bras into the backpack.

“Hey, that’s
my top,” Dixie said, attempting to snatch a red shirt from my
hands.

“No, it’s not.
I bought it in that sale last year. Remember?”

“Yeah, but I’m
the one who wears it all the time. It’s my favourite top,” Dixie
complained.

“Yes, but I
paid for it,” I replied hotly. “Therefore, it’s mine!”

“Leave the
shirt,” Heller ordered. Dixie smiled at him and plucked it from my
hands triumphantly.

“Thank you,
Heller,” she said sweetly. I glared at them both and stomped into
the bathroom to gather my toiletries and makeup. With those safely,
though not tidily, stowed in my old backpack and sweeping the few
books and CDs I owned in as well, my packing was complete.

“Is that all
your belongings?” Heller asked in surprise. “I thought you’d have a
few suitcases, not just one bag.”

“Yeah, well, I
like to live lightly,” I said loftily, tossing my hair over my
shoulders. “I want to be free, not encumbered by possessions.”

“She’s flat
broke,” Dixie confided to Heller, who raised an eyebrow in
amusement. “Last month she had to hock the camera her parents
bought her for her birthday to pay the rent. I don’t know what she
was going to do this month. She’s run out of things to sell. She
was probably going to have to screw the landlord.”

“
Dixie!
Will you shut up? You know I’d never do that!” I shrieked in
embarrassment. She shrugged as if it was no big deal to screw the
landlord, which only made me wonder if she had ever done so before.
Frankly, it wouldn’t have surprised me.

Heller’s eyes
rested on me in cool contemplation, but he refrained from
commenting. “Let’s go,” he said instead, standing up to tower over
both of us. He leant over to pick up my backpack and I caught Dixie
ogling his butt. I couldn’t blame her; it was well worth ogling. I
gave myself a mental slap.
Be professional! He’s your boss
now
.

Dixie and I
shared a quick hug and I promised to be in touch. I felt like a
louse leaving her in that dump while I waltzed off to start my
lovely new life. Heller promised to cover my share of the rent
until a new flatmate could be found. Knowing Dixie, she wouldn’t be
hurrying to replace me and Heller could come to regret that
generous offer. As I climbed into his Mercedes, I saw Dixie waving
sadly from the bedroom window. I bit down hard on my bottom lip to
stop the tears coming. Heller didn’t strike me as someone who would
be particularly empathetic in emotional times like this.

No sooner had
we driven off, then my phone beeped. I took it from my handbag and
saw a text message from Dixie.

It read:
that man is sizzling HOT HOT HOT!!!!

truth!
I texted back.

omg! his
accent! his body! im in lurv

i noticed!

hes a bilf

wtf???

boss id
like 2 fuk!
I snorted out loud with laughter. Heller flicked
his cold eyes to me.

I wrote:
norty girl!

ooh! does
he like norty asian girls?
Another involuntary snort from
me.

“Ms Chalmers,”
he warned.

gotta go.
my new daddys strict
, I texted.

spankz for u
2nite!

lolz! only if
im lucky! c u soon xx

I put my phone
away and stared out of the window the rest of the way back to the
Warehouse.

When we
returned, we went upstairs back to the office and I was surprised
to see the cleaning team and glazier that Daniel had organised
already busy at work repairing the damage in Heller’s office. My
new boss handed me over to Daniel and left for parts unknown.

“So, what do
you think of Heller?” Daniel asked as we started our tour, his
intelligent eyes betraying more than just a casual interest in the
response.

“He’s a very
interesting man. Quite demanding and more than a little
terrifying,” I answered honestly, deciding not to say any more.
After all, I had no idea about office loyalties yet.

Daniel
laughed. “Oh, you’ve got that right, Tilly. He’s not the easiest
person to get along with. And he can be very intimidating.”

“How long have
you known him?” I asked curiously.

“About ten
years,” he replied.

I thought for
a moment. “I’m sure Heller told me during the interview that he’d
been in his own business for only five years. You worked for him
before now?” I sensed Daniel stiffen beside me, but his response
was mild enough.

“Something
like that,” he said simply. “Let’s start the tour here in the
middle of the building. This is the main office area and Heller’s
office is over there in the corner, as you’ve seen. This is my
desk, and Niq’s is that one near the kitchen, across from mine.
Your space will be that desk in the corner there.”

It was the
desk directly facing Heller’s office.
Oh great!
I’d get to
look at him all day. I wasn’t sure if that would be a good thing or
not.

Daniel
continued. “The rest of the office staff are situated off-base for
logistical reasons. That includes our legal, IT and HR sections.
It’s my job to supervise their activities, take care of the
accounts and try to keep the place running as smoothly as
possible.”

“Wow! That’s a
lot of responsibility for someone so young,” I admired. “You must
be super-efficient.”

He
unsuccessfully tried to suppress the modest smile that forced
itself across his face at my praise, which I thought was sweet.

“And what
about Niq?” I enquired.

“Niq’s still
at school, but he’ll eventually work here too when he’s
finished.”

So Niq IS a
boy!
I thought, glad to have that finally clarified.

“Is he a
relative of Heller’s?” I asked innocently, curious again.

“Not really,”
Daniel said vaguely and it seemed as if that that line of
questioning would lead to a dead-end. I scrabbled about for
acceptable conversation topics.

“Who else
lives in the building?”

“Sid and Clive
share a flat on the third floor. You share the fourth floor with
me, and Heller, Niq and Victor live on the fifth floor. It’s quite
preferable in some ways, because Heller really does expect you to
be on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. That’s one
of the reasons why looks after us all so well.”

“I was hoping
that he was joking about the being on call bit,” I said. Daniel
shook his head with a smile.

“Heller’s not
one for jokes, I’m afraid. Anyway, back to the tour. The building
has two basement floors. I won’t take you down there. The lowest is
the carpark for the business vehicle fleet and the other holds the
armoury and equipment store, and Heller’s own vehicles, which Sid,
Clive and I all drive as well.”

My eyebrows
lifted when he mentioned an armoury. I had a sudden mental image of
me bursting into a room full of baddies, a gigantic gun in my
hands, a smart-arse comment on my lips, Charlie’s fourth angel. I
secretly smiled to myself in delight – I’d always wanted to be a
tough chick.

“On the ground
floor is the security section. They have their own kitchen, eating
area and gym down there because Heller insists that they be in top
shape. In fact, he insists that we all be very fit. You’ll find out
all about that soon enough,” he said dryly, then continued. “The
first floor is for the surveillance guys. Top secret stuff going on
there. I don’t have a clue what they’re doing and even I have to
get permission to go in there. It’s strictly off-limits.” I nodded
to show that I understood, burning with instant curiosity. “The
second floor is the office here and some storage space. The third
floor houses Sid and Clive’s flat and the gym for the those of us
who live here to use. Let’s go look.”

We climbed to
the next floor and Daniel showed me a compact but well-equipped gym
with a large plasma screen hanging on one wall. It smelt like sweat
and agony. To me all gym equipment looked like medieval torture
devices.

“If you’re
like the rest of us, you’re going to experience some pain here,”
Daniel said, smiling wryly.

“Oh, I can
guarantee it.” I pulled a face. “According to Heller, I need a lot
of toning.”

“Ouch! That’s
cruel. Guess you’re in for a world of pain then,” Daniel
sympathised.

“Always good
to know what’s ahead,” I replied bravely. Apparently, lots of
suffering for me.

We climbed up
to the fourth floor. There were only two doors in the hallway.

“This is my
place,” said Daniel, opening the door on the right. I could see a
very neat and modern flat from the brief glimpse I was allowed.
“And you already know that yours is on the left.” I had a warm
feeling all over when I glanced at
my
door.

We kept
climbing up to the fifth floor. “Heller and Niq live there,” Daniel
pointed to a door, “and his valet, Victor, lives in those rooms.
The rest is more storage. A word of advice, Tilly. Don’t come up to
this floor unless you’re invited. Heller takes his privacy very
seriously.” I made a mental note not to ever do that and we climbed
up to the sixth floor.

“Here’s the
store.” Daniel opened a door and again I was completely gobsmacked.
Inside was a large pantry, its shelves and fridges stocked with a
colourful riot of different foods – fresh, canned, frozen. I turned
and looked at Daniel, my eyes wide open. He smiled at my
astonishment. “It’s true. We get to choose all our food from here.
Whatever you want, whenever you want it. Heller keeps it
well-stocked. And it’s all free.”

I walked
around the small room, marvelling at the variety of food available.
It all looked very healthy. “You mean that I just come up here to
do my grocery shopping from now on?” I said in amazement.

“Yep!” said
Daniel smiling. “Isn’t it wonderful? Heller is a health-nut though,
so it’s all salmon, tofu and alfalfa sprouts.” I crinkled my nose.
“Mind you, he does keep a decent cellar that is through there,”
pointing to a door at the far end of the panty, locked with a
swipe-card mechanism. “Your staff card will open the cellar as well
as your flat. We only keep the wine cellar locked because Niq has
access to this store too. But I have to warn you, Tilly, that
Heller is very strict about us not drinking when we are on duty.
Which is all the time, basically.” Daniel shrugged apologetically.
“Heller doesn’t drink himself and doesn’t like it when other people
drink. I think he’d prefer us all to be teetotallers, but the twins
and I like a tipple now and then and he reluctantly lets us.”

An unpleasant
thought started to wind its delicate way through my mind. “Daniel,
am I going to be the only woman living here?”

He nodded.
“Not just the only woman living here, but the only female, the
first female, employee ever! You’re a pioneer of sorts.”

I was
incredulous. “Heller’s never employed a woman before? Not
ever?”

“Nope, never.
He says that women are too much of a distraction in the workplace,
especially with all the security men we employ. So he’s certainly
taking a chance with you.”

I tried to
process this information, but wasn’t sure how I felt about it. The
feminist in me wanted to rail against such Victorian-era nonsense,
but a shameful part of me felt a bit pleased. What woman wouldn’t
like the opportunity to work in a male-only environment for a
while? I only hoped it would work out and Heller wouldn’t come to
regret his decision. And neither would I.

We left the
pantry and entered the other room on the sixth floor. “This is the
library,” Daniel said ushering me in. It was a surprisingly bright
and airy space, even though every square centimetre of its walls
was shelving, filled with DVDs and books. My eyes widened
again.