Page 11 of Bully's Second Chance
He nodded. “So if someone calls and wants a meeting at a specific time, you don’t have to bother me to get it scheduled. You’ll also have full permission and power to adjust my schedule as necessary to fit in things like emergency meetings, VIP conference calls, and things of that nature.”
I clapped my hands together. “Great. There anything else?”
He walked around and pulled out my pencil drawer. “There’s a headset in here for the phone. Set it so it doesn’t ring out loud. I need quiet up here to get done what I have to get done throughout the day.”
I nodded. “I can do that.”
Then, he started walking toward his office door. “Give me an hour, I have to take a call with a client, and then I’ll get the massive stack of paperwork you’ll have to fill out so I can onboard you and get you on the payroll.”
I sat in my buttery-soft leather office chair. “I’ll be right out here if you need anything.”
He stared at me for a while as if to imprint the memory in his brain. Then, he tapped his knuckles against my desk.
“Have a good morning, Lily. And don’t hesitate to come to get me if you need absolutely anything.”
I smiled softly. “I appreciate that, and I will if I need you.”
“Good.”
“Great.”
“Wonderful.”
I giggled. “Fantastic.”
He winked at me. “Until next time.”
The second he closed the door behind him as he made his way into his office, I leaned heavily back in my chair. I raked my hands over my face, thanking my stars that I had decided against makeup that morning. I closed my eyes and gave myself a moment to breathe, a moment to process everything that had happened in the past few days.
And as I sat there, images of my childhood flashed behind my eyes.
“Nah-nah-nah-nah-booooooo booooooo!”
“Ew, look! It’s Lily DeMoodswings!”
“Yeah, Lily DeMoodswings. Whatcha pissed at today?”
“Gonna try to take another swing?”
“Gonna get me back for doing this?”
Memories of Jax pulling my ponytails as he tossed me to the ground, mocking me as I got on and off the bus filled the caverns of my mind. Hearing him throw rocks at my window so hard that he cracked some of them filled me with dread as my father’s voice bellowed in the canals of my ear.
“Goddammit, Lily. What did I tell you about that boy?”
“I’m sorry, Daddy. I didn’t do anything. He just won’t go away.”
“I’ll teach you a lesson about lying to me. Every boy goes away if he’s told. It’s what they do.”
“Daddy, no!”
I ripped my eyes open just as the sound of the first crack of that belt echoed off the corners of my mind. My back started itching, so I slid it side to side along the cushion of my new office chair. I wrapped my arms over my chest and forced myself to take in a few deep breaths. My knees felt weak, and my hands were trembling, and I needed to calm myself down.
“Holy shit, I took the job,” I said breathlessly.
For some reason, throughout my entire childhood, my father thought Jax and I were sleeping together. And every time that stupid boy popped up on the porch, or mocked me while getting off the bus, or threw rocks at my window so hard they’d shatter, my father beat me with his belt while he called me everything from “whore” to “slut” to “you’re just like your mother.”
But, as I sat there, staring at my work laptop screen, I steeled my gut against the memories. I hadn’t spoken to my family since I had left for college, and I never intended on looking back. They had dug their holes, and they had to live in them, but I didn’t have to live there with them. So, with my head held high and my heart re-surging with a new sense of purpose, I picked up the headset and placed it on top of my head before the phone started ringing. Then I picked up my first-ever phone call as Jax Levy’s new secretary.
