Colten Lewis looked at his watch. He hated tardiness. He looked up at the tatty apartment building and imagined what it would look like when his builders had finished with it. The rental income from the luxury apartments would be much higher than it was now. How could a real estate owner let a building in such a prime location get so dilapidated, he wondered? All the tenants would have to leave. There would be protests no doubt. The usual ban the bomb, support mass immigration assholes would turn up. Then there would be the press reporting what
a bad
man he was for putting old ladies and families with
handicapped
kids on the streets. They always took that line, the
press
. But not one of the journalists had ever bothered to scratch the surface and see what Colten
really
did with tenants he wanted to move. Most of them got more cash than they could earn in a lifetime, and if they went without making a fuss, he always rehoused them in much better accommodation. The problem
was
if you had to move three hundred tenants there were always a couple that chained themselves to the front door in protest. Most of those that
protested had
never done a days work in their lives. Colten called them freeloaders. People who lived on welfare and feigned illness so they would never have to work.

''You're late,'' Colten said as he got out of his chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce. ''The price has just gone down a hundred grand.''

''Sorry Colten. Bloody traffic,'' Jim Nail said. Jim was old
now,
and he could no longer run a credible business. It had all become too fast for him. The deals were more complicated than in years
gone
by. In those days, you shook a man's
hand,
and the deal
was done
, no clowning around with lots of lawyers. At seventy-six, he'd decided to sell his portfolio, and he intended to sell most of it to Colten. He knew Colten would drive a hard bargain, but Colten was trustworthy and did what he said he would do.

''You're not walking too well Jim,'' Colten observed.

''Gout,'' Jim replied.

''Not surprised all the alcohol you pour down your neck.''

Colten was one hard son-of-a-bitch, but he was straight and fair. Jim laughed to himself when he remembered what his wife always said when she talked about Colten. Great mind, great body, great catch.

''Where's that lovely PA you used to have? Every time I call your office I get some guy on the phone,'' Jim asked.

''Fired her,'' Colten said coolly.

''Why. She was hot and efficient. Why would you
fire
such a good advert for your company?''

''Because she didn't do what she
was told
,'' Colten replied.

''You mean she wouldn't let you screw her.''

''That would be very wrong of me as a boss,'' Colten said.

''But true, nonetheless,'' Jim added. Colten smiled.

''Anyhow I've got a new PA starting Monday. If you thought the last one was
nice
, you've gotta see this one.''

*****

''Are you nervous
Avaline
?'' Penny asked.

''No, why should I be?'' Avaline Francis replied as she put the finishing touches
to
her nails.

''Maybe you've forgotten, but you start your first job tomorrow. You know, at CL Real Estate?''

''How could I forget,'' Avaline replied.

Avaline and Penny shared a student apartment in a seedy area of Los Angeles. Not that either of them was still a student. They had both recently finished secretarial college and found jobs. Penny had passed a casting shoot and was soon to star in a porn movie with one of America's hottest adult actors.
Avaline
had also given the idea of porn some
thought
but decided it was degrading. When she'd gone to pick Penny up from the studio, the director had begged Avaline to take her clothes off, but she'd refused.

''It's such a pity. You're
really hot
, look at your sexy legs and those boobs,'' he'd said.

Avaline wondered how a gay man
could possibly
judge her, but apparently he was one of the world's best adult movie makers, so he must know a thing or two.

''You'll have to sit in an office and take orders while I travel the world to exotic locations.''

''Crap. The furthest you'll get is Brighton Beach where a well hung Russian will shag your brains out and come all over your belly,''
Avaline
said. ''And besides no man tells me what to do. Remember John and what happened to him?''

How could I forget Penny thought? Poor John. He'd been
Avaline's
boyfriend for
years,
and although she'd cheated on him numerous times, he'd never found out. When he'd told
her,
he didn't like her new hairstyle she'd gone crazy. First, she'd taken a picture of his manhood while he was asleep and posted it on Facebook under the heading, ''Small Cock for Sale.'' Then she'd taken all his clothes and stuffed them down a drain outside the apartment.

Penny looked at
Avaline
. She was a
very beautiful
woman. Her long legs seemed to go on
forever,
and they were as shapely as any woman's. She had long, natural, blonde hair and a smile that no man seemed able to resist.

''Out in the real world, I think you'll find it's different, especially in the business
world
.'' Penny took the pot of nail varnish
Avaline
had handed her and began to paint her
own
nails. '' There are a lot of very hard men around. You won't be able to click your fingers and have them fall to their knees like you did with all the others you've had.''

''I've never met a man strong enough to resist me yet. I can twist them all around my little finger. All I have to do is show
a bit of
leg and flutter my eyes and the poor creatures buckle.''

''You're so wrong; you'll find out sometime.''

*****

Avaline
looked at her
watch; she
was five minutes late. CL Real Estate
was located
in a huge glass fronted building in downtown LA. Colten's company occupied the top three
floors,
and
the rest of the building was occupied by various companies from banks
to shipping companies. By the time she got to the top
floor
she was ten minutes late.

''Hi I'm Avaline Francis, I'm starting work as Mr. Lewis' PA today,'' she said to the woman behind the magnificent reception desk.

''He's expecting you. Through that door there.''

Avaline
looked behind her and saw a double glass door. It led to a smaller office with a desk, which she assumed was hers. Another door led from that
office
to Colten's. She knocked and entered.

''You're late. Your
first
day,
and
you
're late. I would have thought you would have been twenty minutes early. That's what I expect.''

He was tall and
dark,
and she noticed his nose had
been broken
at some time. It wasn't crooked but flatter than most men's. She hadn't met him at the
interview; he
'd asked his personnel department to chose a few suitable candidate. He'd taken two things into consideration when hiring her.
First,
what
the personnel department
had to say and second the way she looked
on
the photo they gave him of her.

''Sorry,'' she said.

''That's your desk out in the small office. You don't come in here unless I call you. Is that
clear
?''

''Yes.''

''And you're working hours are
24/7.''

''Sorry?''

''You are to be available
any time
, day or night when I need you. I operate an international business.'' He sat on the edge of his desk and looked at her tanned legs. ''Calls come in at all times of the day and night. It will happen that I call you in the middle of the
night
and ask you to come in. The world never sleeps and neither will you when I need you. Clear?''

''Yes, it's clear.'' Be professional and do as she requests. After a few weeks you'll have more control over him, she thought.

''Good. Today you're going to spend the rest of the day with Jean from personnel. She's going to show you how we do things around here. I like things done my way. I expect a lot from my
employees; that
's why they are well paid. They also respect me.'' He turned and looked out of the window. ''This is a very
special
view. You can see the ocean and a lot of LA. I earned this view with my
own
sweat. Nobody will ever take it away from me. If you work hard for me, you will get a lot of rewards as well.''

Avaline remembered what Penny had said about there being some hard people in the big wide world. If she was right, he was surely one of them. ''I'll do my very best to do a good job,'' she said.

''You can start with your time keeping then, can't you?'' he said harshly. ''Tell Jean to bring you back up to my office at five pm. You'll find her one floor below, room 365.''

Avaline felt like
she'd just been grilled by an army officer
.
Nobody had ever set out so many rules for her.

At five pm she stood in Colten's office and waited until he'd finished his telephone call.

''That's all I can pay Jim. I think it's a fair price. Look at the
place; it
's almost derelict,'' he put the phone down and clapped his hands together. ''Another great deal
done
. Making money is all about purchasing at the lowest price possible.''
Avaline
nodded. ''One compliment I do have for you is how
nice
you look,'' he said. She was wearing a short black skirt, black pantyhose, and a blue blouse. ''You look very business like and your hair and makeup are perfect.''

She hated
being judged
by a man in such a way. He'd appraised her like a farmer would appraise a prize bull. But she was going to be professional. ''Thank you,'' she said.

''Party time. The day's for working and the evenings are for enjoyment. Come with
me; I
'm going to introduce you to the gang.''

*****

When they arrived at the Hopeless Sinner, a bar, restaurant and health club,
Avaline
could hear the beat of loud music from outside. Colten got out of the Rolls and opened her door. When she got
out,
he was careful to note how shapely her legs were as they slid from the leather seat.

''This is our playground. The Hopeless Sinner. I own it, and a guy called Tony Jameson runs it for me.''

They had stopped close to the waterfront. It was a curious building which
Avaline
would never have thought he would own. Built of wood it looked like an Austrian log cabin. There was a veranda at the front and a large neon sign on the roof advertising the best fish in town.

''Tony, this is Avaline my new PA. Whenever she wants to come here with her friends you look after her and put whatever they have on my tab. Okay?''

Tony was a young man of around twenty-five, tall and thin and very Hispanic looking. ''Sure boss. Do you want the usual this evening?'' Colten nodded.

''Remember that
Avaline
. Bring your friends here whenever you want. Now let me show you around.''

They were standing in the bar area. In front of the bar which extended down the side of the interior, there were wooden tables and chairs. She followed him through a
door into
the restaurant area.

''Wow, this is pretty
special
,'' she said.

''Yes. All the furniture was imported from Indonesia especially. The palm trees are from Egypt. We tried to get a real nice Colonial look.''

''Well you succeeded. It's
really
atmospheric.'' Avaline imagined herself transported back to the days of the British in India.

'Wait till you see this,'' he said.

They went through another door and down some steps. After they had walked down a corridor, Colten pushed a door
open,
and they were in paradise. Avaline was sure they were now underground. What she saw was a vast cavern with a domed roof and a serpent shaped swimming pool, she gasped. At
the side
of the pool were two Jacuzzi and more palm trees, only this time they were bigger than those in the restaurant. . When she looked more
closely,
she could see they were artificial. She assumed because there was no
real daylight
ones wouldn't survive there.

BOOK: Romance: Young Adult Romance: The Perfect Game (A Highschool Football Romance) (Bad Boy Nerd New Adult Romance)

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