The devil at the top

The loud pattering of the rain could not deter her from skipping across the wet and soggy streets of New York City as the butterflies not in her stomach this time,but flying round her head as her brain was still trying to process the rather strange request made by her to be boss; a disturbing one to her .

She walked slowly as a thousand and one thoughts ran through her mind;"Who the hell asks a would be secretary to live in a huge mansion for three weeks which means living with all those people she met today,apart from the general staff of about fifty employees,the Eddy family consisted of a stern looking mother and a poutful lady who Jenny could swear didn't like her,the title of the devil's child does fits him,she thought as she stepped into her street;

The guy must definitely be a psycho,she thought; a smirk appeared on her face as she recalled her expression when she met him for the first time face to face.

There were also two women in the house apart from his mother and the other lady,obviously his mistress, he concluded as she increased her pace.

"I blame Aunty Benita for not warning me about Eddy",she mouthed,recalling the cute golden eyeballs that she couldn't help but blush after staring at those adorable eyeballs .

"Look who's back",Fred called out as she staggered into the Kitchen frozen in rain,ignoring Fred she called out to aunty Benita,as expected,her sweet aunt already got a hot cup of tea ready as she rushed to cover her with a blanket;"you got me worried",she said.

"How was the interview"? Benita asked.

She watched her niece waltzed into the house drenched and beaten by the rain; even as she offered her the cup of steaming tea, she kept asking about her day at Arnold's mansion .

" It went well, Aunt Benita,"she snapped .

You didn't inform me Fred was going to be here tonight she remarked showing her full displeasure at his presence.

Oh!,"sorry I didn't inform you,Fred's celebrating his grandmother's second year death anniversary tonight and I thought a lovely dinner would be nice". Her aunt remarked with her sweet innocent voice as usual.

But he celebrated the same thing last month for christ sakes, Jenny cried out;

Nope ,that was my grandfather's safe return from the world war we celebrated , Fred answered from the bar,pouring himself a glass of champagne as Jenny stared at him angrily with a look of hate on her face.

"He comes up with the most unbelievable event when he's broke just to get a lovely dinner and night out,she thought,how stupid her aunt was".

" Don't talk about Fred in that manner",Aunty Benita replied as if she had read Jenny's mind.

Do you think he's lying?,she asked, the question was obviously directed towards her.

"Now apologize before I change my mind and also better start talking about how your job interview went",Aunty Benita remarked angrily.

I'm sorry ,Jenny muffled as she dropped her tea mug angrily and ran upstairs to her room.

"You don't have to be so hard on her ",Fred smiled sweetly, obviously proud of his fiancee.

********

It's been an hour since she left but those thoughts kept running through his head,those perfectly trimmed and manicured nails coupled with her fitted body ,her radiant smile was something he had not seen in a very long time.

The mute lady was obviously not his type, he thought as he unconsciously went into the kitchen where his mother was.

"What's wrong with you" ?..... Eddy jerked out of his reverie as his mother screamed out,Who's the slinky looking lady you brought into my house?,his mother asked.

Oh!, she's the only one who showed up for the post of secretary, he replied looking at his mother as she whirled off grumbling about him getting back to work rather than standing uselessly grinning like a ten year old boy.

"How about explaining the intricacies of the project ongoing at the company to Jessica",his mother retorted some minutes later,prompting him out of his fantasy time with the secretary lady.

Oh no mum!, Eddy shot back, "you know how hard it is explaining to Jessica and she's not even interested in tech stuffs anyways",

Eddy watched as Jessica slithered into the kitchen with those huge and open cleavages of hers

Jessica Ravens was the daughter of his mum's closest friend Toluene Ravens,who is currently on a honeymoon with her fourth husband and couldn't trust 23 year old Jessica alone in their 18 room mansion at Florida,and so asked if Jessica could spend the three months at his home.

Eddy realized at once that it must be another of his mother's plans to hook him up with a lady,he smiled as he remembered the first day she packed into Arnold's mansion,with an amused look on her face and her flirting and revealing dress his distaste for her grew instantly.

He had been forced by his mother to even introduce himself to the pompous lady as she struck him as a proud and lazy lady.

*********

As she laid on her bed that night, she realized she couldn't help but think of the events that unfolded during the day even as it dawned on her that she starts her training the next day In the mansion of the devil himself; she chuckled as she tried to juxtapose the cool demeanor side she saw and spoke with today to the cruel,ugly and evil thoughts that had been put in her head from Public opinion.

Those were the thoughts in her head as she drifted slowly leaving everyone including her aunt and her fiance dining.

The old mahogany wooden floors of the corridor creaked as she awoke to the sound of moving steps outside her room, she almost jumped out of her skin as she realized what was coming; tears flowed endlessly down her already reddened face as the steps got closer; she watched fearfully as the doorknob turned and the door gave way to the silhouette of a masculine figure which she quickly identified as Fred's, she opened her mouth but her tongues was stuck to the upper part of her mouth as words refused to come out because she knew what was coming.

She watched In dismay and contempt as he took off his pants to reveal the long pink dangling object between his legs;as it continued to get erect she knew it was going to be a long night for her as he grabbed her and shoved a muffler between her mouth even as her screams went unnoticed and her frail strength unable to match his muscular gait,she gasped for breath as she felt his manhood in her mouth.

That was her punishment for the rubbish talk she made earlier when he was in the kitchen;she continued her muffled cries as she watched him;the wicked and satisfying smile he had on his face made it even worse for Jenny. Fred was taking advantage of her and she knew it, but she just didn't know what to do.

Aunty Benita would never believe her and Fred would surely deny the whole incident.

Everything went and passed like a dream to her. In the whole world,only two things mattered to her,her parents and her love for the disabled and disadvantaged like herself.

And she had just lost half of her world,her parents were easy going people who distanced themselves from Any form of violence and "evil doings" as her mom often called it.

She felt so secure being around her parents that she became attached to them as she was always with either his mother or father,that she would sometimes skip school to help her father prepare for conferences and functions.

Her father worked as a charity manager with one of the smaller tech companies of New York city,her father's duty was to organize monthly charity programs to the underdeveloped part of the city with the little tech products they had remaining. Every month,her father made sure that some form of charity outreach was organized by his company which brought them some fame and patronage.

From attending those outreaches and meeting with a lot of other people,she decided that her life would be about sacrificing for others,just like her parents. Her parents once drove about a thousand miles away from the city to help a little boy with down's syndrome get to the hospital in the city.

Her father had collected his parents phone number earlier ;

"Just in case",her father had told his parents earlier. And now the little boy was really in need of help.

"What an angel my father was", Jenny thought to herself as memories of other good stuff and sacrifices she made personally came flooding to her memory.

The morning sun of early June lit every corner of the street ,turning it into a vast mixture of lush green plants with brightly coloured roofs reflecting the sun,and as Jenny stepped out of the house she drew a great breath of spring air,smelling a faint aroma of pastry that rose from the building opposite her house.

Along the length of the walkway she could see groups of women and children rushing to catch the bus forming a kind of platoon, dressed in a fitting and ordinary gown,with the silver shoes her mom gave her a year ago before her parents died,she looked around, seeing that no one walking along her way was smiling either,she tried to remind herself to put what's past behind her.

She moved through the crowds,fully aware of the whispers and smalltalk that often arises as she rarely passes by and when she does,she often witnesses others who have never seen her on the street make inquiries about her and once heard someone refer to her as "a witch who killed her parents". She cries anytime she remembers this but" not today Jenny".she said to herself as she walked briskly,allowing herself to enjoy the morning air.

Her heartbeat increased ten-fold as she neared the Arnold's mansion;her stomach churned as she approached the gold plated gate,with a lion's portrait inscribed in it,she paused briefly as she tried to get calm. She pushed the ring button.

Nothing;she tried again,still no reply from the other end,she waited,knowing that someone was probably at the other end watching,she was filled with outrage but kept her cool, I'm used to keeping she thought as she tried to hold the tears about to gush out as last night's scenario with Fred flooded her .

She was about to head home when she heard the voice or better put his voice,her sober state vanished as she heard the gobsmacked as she could not comp,she shivered as she watched the gates give way for her entrance.

*******

He watched the young frail lady at the gate,dressed in a green flay gown with her little bag around her neck,he checked his wristwatch,the time read 7:01 am, smiling at himself he spoke into the speaker,"You're one minute late". The girl said nothing, surprised he repeated himself ,still nothing. Obviously frustrated,he ordered the security attached to him furiously" Open the goddamn gates",he fumed.

He waited in the living room,listening to the creeks of her shoes as she stepped on the porch,she drew closer and he could feel it as his heartbeat increased, "come off it",he said to himself .

"Good morning sir". Jeny politely greeted

" Morning ",he grunted.

Deciding to let the lateness matter rest,he continued,"I'm leaving for the office now and I'll be back in 7 hours time, you're allowed to stay in my office and do all necessary things as a secretary,he paused; obviously to think of what to say next.

Jenny walked alongside him as he continued with the list of activities before he gets back from work,and let me warn you ahead,"don't stress yourself before I get back because I work till daybreak and I expect my secretary to be by my side throughout the night",he said bluntly smiling wickedly afterwards; as they were about to get to his car,made an abrupt turn and faced her, just a quick advice,he winked playfully;'stay out of their way',he said as the Porsche drove off leaving Jenny grounded there puzzled.

As she walked into the mansion,knowing he was referring to his mother and the other lady that lived in the mansion,whose name she could not remember presently,she paused momentarily as she got to the entrance to the lavishly furnished mansion,she saw some of the workers eyebrows arch up or rather imagined them doing so,saying some words of prayers she went in .

He chuckled to himself in the car as he tried to imagine what could cause a row between Jenny and his impatient mother and irrational Jessica, remembering the lady that showed up for secretary trial didn't last up to the next day. A smile appeared round his curved lips as the memories of the last secretary trial came flashing back.

The lady's name was Elizabeth,her first day was a complete mess,her confidence was over the moon,as she walked past Jessica without greeting her which sparked up the rife between both of them; she had confronted her and Elizabeth replied her point blank that she was not neither an Arnold nor her boss and so would not.

Jessica was too shocked to give Elizabeth a reply as she watched Elizabeth walk away;after getting her composure,she stormed right into Eddy's room sobbing,with the report that Elli had manhandled her and requested for her sack immediately. Eddy had admired her sharpness and her way of expressing herself,"that's the kind of secretary I want and not some mute,cold lady",he said out loud that his chauffeur could not help but glance back to check on him.

The first time Jenny met Mrs Arnold was at a function she was forced to attend by her aunt.She stood at a distance watching her aunt mix and roll perfectly with the rest of the crowd with an amused look on her face ; she had always felt odd right from her high school days due to the treatment she received from some of her classmates especially Henry Dwag,she winced as she remembered the name of her high school tormentor, Henry still loved in New York and as a matter of fact also has a tech company rivaling the Arnold's;she remembered her aunt telling her that the reason she wants to join Eddy's tech company is to get back at Henry which she rebuffed instantly citing her wish to help physically challenged people as her major reason for wishing to help it deep inside she knew that a more successful Arnold tech company would give her immense joy.

The whole table was a mess as almost everything was scattered all over,a plate of decaying pizza with glasses of wine on the floor,the supposedly secretary's table resembled a disorganized bar table rather than one meant for serious business,she set out cleaning and brushing,humming a poem her counselor had taught her to help her overcome her mid life Challenges, her counselor,Mrs Wheelbear told taught her to sing the song whenever she was depressed or angered,and heaven knows she is right now,she turned as she heard the sounds of rapid moving feets.

She froze in apprehension as the sound got closer and closer, she knew from the sounds of her stillouete shoes she was not going to take a liking to the woman.

As soon as she heard the door click open, she knew she was in for a fresh experience which means having a lot of people around trying hard to make her talk.

"You must be the new secretary Edward spoke about",she chirped brightly as a satisfying smile curled around her lips. Keeping mute she continued to stare at the flashy and exposing dress Jessica wore with perfectly trimmed nails and makeup.

Jessica kept smiling proudly,Edward made a better choice this time she said with a demeaning look. "This mute and dumb lady poses no threat to my Eddy",she thought as she left for her daily routine.

"Phew",she sighed knowing how troublesome Jessica could be according to how her Aunt described her,after spending over two hours cleaning her messed up office,fixing the half broken portrait on the wall and literally mopping the whole place,she was extremely tired and exhausted as she continued to glance at the arranged portraits of past presidents of Lumina corporation, obviously Eddy's parents,grandparents and great grandparents,she chuckled as she realized she was unconsciously looking for resemblances in each portrait she viewed;she continued down the walkway as she realized that this might soon be her makeshift office for the week;stumbling as her feet hit a wooden protrusion out of the wall;she paused,studying the object causing the deformity of the wall as she knelt down to study.

Jekky!,Jekky!,she jumped up as she heard someone scream from a distance,walking towards the door to her office, she waited with anxiety as the door creaked open slowly and watched the old Mrs Arnold walk in in an uncharacteristic manner inspecting the office and ignoring Jenny as she bypassed her ignoring her presence and greetings. After moving round the office obviously trying to suppress her joy that the office was clean for the first time in years.

"Good day ma",she repeated as Mrs Arnold turned back to face her.

"Didn't you hear me call out your name"?,she screamed at Jenny,

Jenny nodded slowly trying to compose herself as she was obviously gobsmacked by the demeanour of Eddy's mother.

"Is that all you're going to say ?", The irritated woman spat out, expecting Jenny to at least say something or get annoyed but all she could mutter was a silenced "Sorry madam" ;Leaving angrily after her continual muteness,she turned just as she was about to get to the door leading to the walkway, "

Don't worry,you'll soon be on your way out just like the others",she hissed before opening the door and heading out.

Jenny sat on her table trying hard to hold hot tears From rolling down.

Five hours later,she was still sitting there,waiting till her boss would come home,no one showed her where she would stay as Eddy already sent words to her aunt not to let her come with anything."the instruction was clear" her aunt had told her,"you are not to come with anything at all". She then gave up trying to convince her aunt.

She decided to take a look around the house, "exploring the house isn't such a bad idea, I guess",she said to herself as she considered how Mrs Arnold would react if she saw her walking aimlessly around the house, shrugging those feelings off she rose to start her grand tour as this was the closest she has ever gotten to the rich and mighty.

starting off from her office,she walked down the stairs gently afraid to use the elevator incase Mrs Arnold wouldn't approve of it,stepping outside she felt a rush of cool air around her for the first time in about 7 hours;the times she had spent tending to her mother's garden flooded back to memory as she perceived the smell of chrysanthemum fuelled by the romantic scents of daffodils,moving closer to what she assumed to be a garden,she stopped in shock as she witnessed what was obviously the biggest supergarden she'd ever seen in her entire life,skating through the garden with her arms in the air, excitement ran through her veins as she recalled running to her mother every evening in their makeshift garden when she was six,she noticed that majority of the workers were staring at her with a bemused look on their faces, ignoring them she continued in her system of happiness and camaraderie,then the unthinkable happened.

Mrs Arnold's had never liked the girl since the first time she met her at a function with her crazy aunty,the story of the girl was all over town as the lady that had her parents killed,even though she didn't believe in witchery and voodoo stuff,she had written a letter of consolation to the poor girl who had just lost her parents offering her a sum of a thousand dollars,the lady wrote back expressing her eagerness and appreciation if the donation was made to her;still out of generosity to the orphan ,she sent an additional five hundred dollars expecting and that was the last time she heard from the lady;no appreciation or acknowledgement from the lady or her aunt neither did she thank her when they met just few days later at a community function.

Mrs Arnold had taken it as an insult to her personality, keeping the incident to herself though,not even her son had known of her gallant donation of nearly two thousand dollars to Jenny and her family. Now here she comes gliding through her garden as if she was a rabbit,Mrs Arnold smiled at her own joke before moving to intercept the annoying lady.

"Stop right there",she shouted,what do you think you're doing? ,she asked and also answered the question, running aimlessly around my specially treated botanical garden,she said laying emphasis on "specially treated",she continued "Would you get back to your quarters right now and don't let me ever see you around here again".

On a normal day,an outburst from another person to her would have made her cry,but she decided to act cool and keep mute because of the large presence of male and female workers around,she turned and started to walk gently into the mansion, passing through gym center and was walking towards the swimming pool when she heard Jessica's voice,she was screaming at a worker for not sanitizing the pool properly.

"Are you out of your mind?"she screamed at the somber worker.

Not wanting to interfere in her business she sneaked gently behind her and moved towards the entrance to her office,hopefully to sit and wait the arrival of her boss;suddenly she got angry,fuming,she said to herself,"who do they think I am,because I wish to work as a secretary in your company does not give them the authority to kidnap me in their mansion",she said aloud to no one as she walked out of the door moving towards the grand gate of the house.

She walked so defiantly that not even the security detail at the gate could stop her,she continued still knowing that everyone was watching her movements including Mrs Arnold as she made her way out of the house detesting everyone and promising herself never to set foot in the Arnold's mansion again.

Excitement welled up in his stomach as he made his way to this car, signaling to his chauffeur to drive home,he smiled to himself not knowing why he wanted to be at home, normally he would've met up with his best friend Dave after which they would drive out to a club or play snookers at his house but he had called it off stating vague reasons for the reject.

"I'm not even attracted to the lady,"he thought,"he's not had feelings with any other woman since the night of his best orgy at a North Carolina club,it had been Dave's idea to get drunk and high after a huge success at the firm." Let's get so high that we'll find ourselves talking with the most high",he said and Eddy had agreed blindly partly because defeating Henry Dwag in a tech contest was like flying to the moon,so he agreed and that was the best night if his life,he got drunk and was matchmaked with a strange lady he had never met,both of them lavishing in their youthful bodies overnight drunk,to his knowledge he had not charmed the lady enough as she didn't fall under his youthful charms,no one had ever stayed so strong under him before he thought.

His promise to himself still stands,"I'll find that lady no matter what",he reiterated.

He and Dave had gone back days later to search for the lady but no one could recognize the lady as none was paying attention the night before,he even went ahead to offer a cash prize of five grand to anyone with useful Intel but no one came up with one, he jerked out of his reverie as he spotted a familiar figure walking angrily along the road.

Stop!!, he ordered his driver.

She knew she was going back to the mansion the instant she spotted Eddy's Chevrolet along the way.

Pretending not seeing the car,she continued to move faster even the moment she noticed the car stopped,she was not going to go back there without Eddy apologizing or atoning for the sins of his mother and girlfriend or whatever she is to him.

Jenny!Jenny!,he called out.

Still pretending not to hear,she increased her pace but could not measure up to Eddy's and soon caught up to her.

Where were you heading to?

Switching to gesture mode, she pointed her hand straight ahead to signify home.

Oh!,he said awkwardly

she nodded her head in reply,obviously weird now,she thought.

"I thought I explained this to you earlier;you're staying for three weeks so we can get to know and work better with each other properly". He said

She turned to look at him after he made the sentence,she put her

Stunned by her sharp reply,he regained his composure quickly as he thought of what to do.

I'll have to apologize, he thought l,"apologize to her or get ready to get a new secretary",the voice in his head told him.

Jenny glanced at him,she caught his golden eye staring ahead and from her past experience,when a man stares into space,he's trying to make a hard decision... She waited,and after a minute of silence and frustration, she decided to interrupt his thoughts as it was getting really awkward standing outside in the night . As she opened her mouth to talk, he held his hand up and spoke.

I'm... sorry for the behaviour of my mother and Jessica,she noticed the hesitation before he mentioned her name,maybe he didn't really like her she thought.

Before she could speak again he added,Shall we? Pointing towards the car.

She was moved by his politeness and gentlemanly behaviour as she realized she had no choice but to oblige to his request,she nodded as he walked her to the car.

Her entrance back to the Arnold's mansion was really grand,she watched as Eddy Jessica ran up to meet with Eddy as he stepped out of his car,she was shocked when Eddy turned to her instead helping her out of the car while Jessica watched helplessly right at the presence of the workers;she'd never felt honoured her entire life,she tried to avoid meeting Jessica's eyes but it was impossible and when she did,she could see the fire of hatred welling up in those eyes,out of rear she withdrew her hand from Eddy's and kept some distance from him as Eddy walked in beside her.