Taming Mr. Black

Eighteen

Killian

"God, this whole wedding shit is more than exhausting. I'm the best man and yet I don't know what to do." I mutter, sighing as I loosen my tie, whilst leaning back on my chair.

Raymond smiles as he glances at the magazine I pushed towards him. The magazine is an idea of places for my brother's bachelor party three weeks from now.

Raymond flips through it and I reach for my intercom to buzz my assistant, only to realize I don't have an assistant and I fired the last one, Kirsten.

"Shit." I curse, as I withdraw my hand from the intercom.

Raymond looks up from the magazine and asks.

"Are you okay? Is something wrong?" He asks, clearly concerned.

I sigh, glancing around my floor and the workers through the one-way mirror of my office.

"Nothing." I wave it off.

"Are you sure?" Raymond asks.

He's a genuinely caring person. He cares too much and sometimes I don't like it. I don't think I even deserve Raymond's friendship. I treat him like shit sometimes despite the fact that he works for me and he's also my friend.

I nod. "Yeah." I point to the magazine. "So, what do you think? Should we do Las Vegas?"

"There are, like, tons of strip clubs in Vegas. Keith doesn't seem like a guy who would like strip clubs and casinos."

"Fuck." I rub my palm down my face. "Why the fuck did he let me be his best man?"

"Well, for one, you're his younger brother and obviously the closest male friend he has," Raymond says.

"I truly suck at this shit," I mutter. It's Thursday morning and I'm already stressed and exhausted, and I badly crave caffeine right now.

"What does your brother like?"

"Nothing," I reply with a deadpan look.

"I think he likes something. I mean if you're the one getting married, and maybe I turn out to be your best man, a strip club might be the first thing that comes into my mind."

I stare blankly at Raymond.

He shrugs. "Nevermind." He waves his hand and goes back to glancing at glamorous places around the world while I try not to dwell on the fact that I might get married someday.

Might.

"Keith likes to play long tennis." I voice out. Raymond looks up from the magazine and smiles.

"...when we were younger." I continue. So there's a possibility he wouldn't want to play long tennis on his bachelor's night."

Raymond laughs and shakes his head.

"How about camping? Is he an outdoor kind of guy? You know your brother more than anyone else."

God, I doubt that. I barely know my brother. We don't normally hang out since I went into business. Even when he usually stops by my office and house and calls me often about hanging out, I always come up with excuses.

I'm a shitty person. I know.

Raymond's idea about camping is brilliant and I like it. Keith loved the outdoors when we were younger, but I'm pretty sure he hasn't gone camping these last few years.

"The groomsmen, the groom, including the best man can just go camping. See the world and mother nature, and later wound back to a cabin stuck in the woods with this beautiful lake. You could swim, talk about life and love, it's a nice combo. And then drink beer and dance and listen to music." He says as he sags his shoulders.

I stay quiet, staring at Raymond. He sighs and nods his head, thinking I hate his idea when I loved it.

"I'm sorry, I…"

"How come it took the company five years of you working with us before you could get a promotion to being in charge of the marketing team?"

"Well, you denied me a promotion five times when I asked for it."

Well, shit. I guess I'm a shittier person than I give myself credit for.

"Thanks. It's a brilliant idea. I will think about it." I say, collecting the magazine from Raymond.

"Okay."

"Do you think I can get coffee?" I ask Raymond who's standing up from his chair opposite mine.

He looks at me, a disappointed gaze to be precise, as he shakes his head.

"I told you to tell HR to recruit a new assistant for me, I didn't get a word from you."

"There are no applicants even from the first floor to your floor. No one wants to work with you, Killian, and you're lucky…"

A knock on the door stops Raymond's speech. We both turn to look at the door and the person behind it.

"Come in," I call out to this person.

My office door opens and a guy walks in. He has short blonde hair, he's wearing tight black chinos pants, a white shirt, big glasses hanging on his nose, and he's carrying a laptop bag. I bring my gaze down to his features and he probably stands at 5 feet 5 inches. A little short too for a guy. And he's wearing Converse, and he's also gay. I can tell, thanks to Raymond and his boyfriend.

"Who asked for pizza?" I ask out of the blue, and at the same time, the guy introduces himself.

"Hi. I'm Jamie." He frowns a little because I just referred to him as a pizza delivery guy.

"I can wait outside if you guys are busy," Jamie says, pushing his glasses back as he licks his dry lips.

He looks nervous, glancing between Raymond and me.

"What…" Raymond cuts me off by addressing Jamie.

"No, it's fine. You're…" Raymond trails off.

"Oh. I just got interviewed for the position of assistant to Mr. Black on Monday, which was three days ago. Well, I got called in today to start work."

What?

Okay, first, if he's my assistant, he's definitely given me a bad impression on his first day because he's late. An assistant should be at work before their boss. What assistant comes to work at 10 a.m.?

I turn to look at Raymond, and at the same time, his eyes meet mine.

"I didn't know." He defends himself.

"Am I fired already?" Jamie speaks from behind Raymond.

"Stop talking and shut your mouth." I snap.

"Right," Jamie mutters and looks anywhere else but me.

I bring my gaze back to Raymond. He smiles slyly at me.

"You were looking for an assistant."

"He can't."

"Why? I can interview him myself before letting him properly start." Raymond says.

We argue as if Jamie isn't in the room.

I sigh and rub my eyes. Naomi is supposed to be here already. I told her to drop in today and drop her resumé to my HR department and she's not here. Or maybe she's in the building and I'm not aware since the HR department is three floors beneath my floor.

"I gave Naomi a job as my assistant."

"What? Why would you do that?" Raymond questions. I glare at him.

"This is my company, Raymond, you won't tell me how to run it." I snap at my friend, hating myself for barking at him like that.

Sometimes, he always crosses his boundaries and it annoys me.

"Right. Then, I'm gonna walk Jamie out." Raymond says disappointedly.

God, he's making me look like a complete jerk.

"Jamie, go fetch me coffee, will you?" I request, staring at Raymond as I place my order.

"Um, sure? What's your preference?"

"Black, no sugar," I say, sparing a glance towards Jamie.

He nods, straightens his bag and he leaves my office. Raymond sighs and sits back down.

"I'm sorry I said that." Raymond apologizes. "I was just surprised you'd offer Naomi a job. How are you sure she's good?"

"I told her to drop her resumé today for HR to interview her. She needs a job."

"I thought she was working as a cocktail waitress in your club?"

"Well, I can't watch men try to flirt with her and even go as far as groping her." I grit my teeth as I say.

Raymond's quiet for a minute as he nods. "Right." He sighs. "You don't have to feel bad that I'm about to walk Jamie out of the building and tell him he didn't get the job."

"I don't feel bad," I say bluntly.

"Of course. Why the coffee?"

"I need one."

Raymond nods. He taps his fingers on the arms of the chair he's sitting on, and then he stands up.

"Is there a vacancy in marketing?" I ask at once. Raymond's surprised as he stares at me.

I roll my eyes.

"Uh… yeah. Saint Louis retired on Monday. He's gotten a little old."

"There are oldies in my company?"

"Cut me some slack, Killian. He's not that old. Louis is 50 years old."

"That's old."

"You wanted an old assistant." He points out. I don't say anything. "Also, Louis is literally good too. Old, young, doesn't matter as long as they get the job done, right?" He asks pointedly.

I don't give him an answer.

"Right. So you wanna put Naomi in marketing?"

"Yeah. And you're gonna go through Jamie's files and background check, including his former employer. If he's really good, then send him over."

"Sure. Should I also interview Naomi?"

"She's not here, is she?"

Raymond sighs and nods. I stare at the digital time on my desk and it's 12 minutes past 10:am. Why's she not here? Yesterday she didn't act happy when I offered her a job. She thought I was joking about giving her a job.

Why would I even joke about that?

Is that the reason she's not here yet? She's supposed to be here by 9:am and she's already one hour late. Also, I have a feeling she didn't like the idea of working for me. I guess a part of her thinks working close to me might make her finally realize she wants me as much as I want her.

Fuck. Last night when I got home, with Naomi in my head, I thought about what her lips would taste like and how I almost stole a kiss from her. I went straight to my bar at the corner of my living room, grabbed a bottle of bourbon as I sat on my couch, and relieved my sex from its throbbing. Naomi's lips and whatever dirty thing I planned on doing to her was the only thing on my mind as I got off.

It was wrong, filthy, but I didn't care.

Maybe letting her work in marketing will make me figure out what the hell I am doing.

God, I want her so desperately.

Leaning back against my chair, I stare at Raymond from underneath my lashes as I refuse to answer his question.

"I'm gonna go find Jamie."

I nod.

There is a soft knock and I already know it's Jamie. Raymond opens the door for him and Jamie enters, trying to balance his laptop bag and a paper coffee cup.

"Here's your coffee, sir."

"Did you go outside the building to get it?" I ask him.

Raymond shakes his head and takes the coffee from him.

"I'm sorry… wasn't I…"

"I'm gonna show him the ropes, don't worry about it, boss." Raymond gives me a small smile and frowns at the paper cup in his hand.

"I'll tell Ruby to bring you a new coffee." He says.

Knowing I won't reply to his words, he escorts Jamie out of my office.

Goddamnit.

I watch Raymond walk side by side with Jamie as Jamie says something to him, obviously trying to right his wrong about getting me coffee from outside my building. Raymond doesn't look like he's in the mood to answer Jamie. He hands Ruby, a short, petite woman the paper coffee cup and tells her something.

I roll my eyes and look away as I rub my eyes. Thursdays are never my day. I have loads of paperwork on my desk I'm supposed to go through since I don't have an assistant and I'm already exhausted. I want to go home and rest but I have to go through this countless paperwork.

I grab the desk phone and dial HR's department. Two rings and a woman picks up.

"Human resources." The woman says on the line. Her voice sounds like she's bored out of her mind.

"It's Mr. Black."

"Good morning, sir. How may I help you today?" Her voice is a different tone, all of a sudden.

"Did you interview Ms. Alderson today?"

"Um… I'm not In charge of today's interview. Let me put you through to Matilda. One second, sir." She says.

"I'm waiting."

After two beeps, a new voice comes through.

"This is Matilda. Good morning, Mr. Black."

"Did you interview Ms. Alderson today? Brunette, dark brown eyes, olive-skinned..." I go straight to the point.

"Uh…" I hear the flipping of pages in her background.

"Yes. She said she was referred to us by you. She didn't have any recommendations from any past employer."

"Did you interview her?"

"Um, yeah. But I told her we'd get in touch."

"What the fuck!" I scream at her.

"I-I I'm sorry, sir. I…" Matilda stammers.

"Why the fuck would you do that? She told you I referred her, you had no right to ask her to go home."

"I'm really sorry, sir. I…"

"Just thank your stars I'm in a good mood, you should be fired already."

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't…"

"I need her address sent to my email right now."

"Okay, sir. Thank you, sir. I'll do that right away, sir."

I slam the phone down in anger. Giving her a job was an end to her waiting tables and serving drinks in my club to these horny patrons. It took a lot of convincing to make her decide to drop by today. She even thought it was a joke. Now, what is she going to think when she gets interviewed and told to go home because Matilda thought she wasn't good enough?

That little... Fuck, I don't even know who the hell is Matilda and how long she's been working for me. I don't even give a shit. Her sending Naomi back home is my problem right now.

There's a new email at the bottom of my computer and I click it. It's Naomi's address. I stand to my feet at once as I grab my suit jacket. Shoving my arms through the sleeves, I grab my phone as I hurry out of my office.

There's only one agenda on my mind right now and that's making sure Naomi doesn't go back to waiting tables in my club. She barely even likes me, and she's slowly warming up to me and being comfortable and I'm happy. I've spent these last weeks chasing her more than I've chased any other girls, and I am not planning on stopping until she's mine.

I shoot a quick text to Raymond that I'll be back soon as I slip into the back of my car.