Eternally Seduced(5)

Nearly tottering in my heels as I spun around, I ignored Constantijin  calling my name as I rushed out of the room, blinded by my tears.

I half-expected him to run after me, but he didn't. Well, that was  telling, right? The tears fell from my eyes more furiously at the  thought.

Alyx jumped to her feet when she saw me. "What the hell---are you all right? What happened?"

I almost gave my virginity to the Netherland's #1 Playboy, that's what. And now I was paying the price for it.

Nodding jerkily, I stammered, "Nothing."

But it was everything, and I woke up every morning, crying because I  dreamt of him, of it, and I hated myself for being such a slut.         

     



 

Then I received a call.

"Hello, Ms. Everleigh. This is Megan from Kastein, Inc. I am pleased to  let you know that you have been selected as part of the new marketing  department. If you are still interested in the job, we would love to  have you here tomorrow at nine in the morning. Your supervisor, Ms.  Charli, will be waiting to give you a quick orientation."





Lesson #2




Don't make excuses.

If you decide to work for any of the companies that your billionaire owns  –

You might as well say, "Seduce me, undress me, I'm yours."



Alyx and I went shopping for clothes for mourning  –  I mean, corporate  outfits. If my job interview was anything to go by, my rainbow  assortment of dresses and three-pieces would have no place in Kastein,  Inc.

"Are you sure the last skirt you bought won't violate your workplace's  dress code?" Alyx asked laughingly after over two hours of boutique  hopping.

I sniffed. "I already gave up my colorful outfits. They can't take away  my minis, too." Hampered by paper bags, I turned to my side, intending  to push the glass door of Luigi's open with my hips. Just as I swung my  hips in full force, someone from the other side opened the door at the  same time.

"Oh!" My heart jumped in fear as I felt myself crashing down, but a pair  of hands immediately held me by the waist. I glanced up, an embarrassed  smile on my lips.

My savior grinned down at me, his eyes twinkling as he carefully set me  back on my feet. "Anytime," he responded to my silent apology. He was  casually dressed in a shirt and jeans and looked extremely delicious. Or  at least that was what Daria would have said, since she liked the tall,  dark, and handsome type.

I blushed at the unconcealed admiration in his eyes, flattered and  uncomfortable at the same time. My parents sent me to an all-girls high  school and persuaded me to enroll in a ladies' college as well. It was  the same setup in our company, with me being surrounded by lady  pharmacists and researchers from R&D. So trust me when I say all I  knew of guys was what I got to watch from The Bachelor and The Vampire  Diaries, which  –  if you thought about it  –  didn't exactly make great  reference material. I could end up with a vampire willing to trade me in  for a million dollars if I wasn't careful.

"Thanks," I said with a little nod. I quickly sidestepped him, dragging a smirking Alyx behind me.

"He wanted to ask for your number, you know," Alyx said after giving our  orders to the waiter. She had ordered salad and coffee. I had asked for  the same  –  together with a small plate of fettuccine. Diet had never  been a valid word in my dictionary. As far as I was concerned, it was a  word made up by evil anti-pleasure monsters.

"Hmm." I made the noncommittal sound, busy snipping price tags so I  could have an easier time calculating my expenses later at home. Both my  grandfather and Alyx's were ex-military with Quaker backgrounds, and  they figured very strongly in our childhoods. Add those two elements  together and you got girls more comfortable shopping off the rack even  though our credit card limits could afford a lot more than that.

While waiting for the appetizers, I told Alyx about the two other job  offers I received from companies that were just as well-known as  Kastein, Inc. "One of them even offered me a thousand dollars on the  spot as a signing bonus."

Alyx choked. "And you didn't take it?"

I chewed on my lip. "I really want the job at Kastein. It's my dream job---"

She smirked. "Plus your dream boss, too, with his dream dick---"

I choked on my coffee. "That has nothing to do with it."

But Alyx just crowed, "So you do think his dick is a---"

"No, I do not." Alyx still didn't know what happened or almost happened  to us and how I totally had my walk of shame after my one-on-one with  the Netherland's #1 Playboy.

Last night, I stayed up late just so I could Google everything there was  to know about Constantijin. Wikipedia told me he was an Eton and  Cambridge graduate and an only child. His father had long retired, but  his mother was Chairman of the Board while he had taken on the mantle of  CEO a few years back, personally spearheading the company's entry into  the American market.

At thirty-two years old, what he had accomplished for Kastein, Inc. was  mind-boggling. But what really filled me with shock and not a little  self-disgust was how the names of his former lovers, hook-ups, and  floozies could easily fill up a phone directory.

"Just be warned, Yanna," Alyx murmured. "Office romances never end right."

I let out an unladylike snort at that, unable to help it. Romance was  definitely not something in Constantijin Kastein's vocabulary.  Mind-blowingly hot sex, yes, but a grand sweeping romance?

He might have given me my first (mini) orgasm, and he might keep me  awake with consecutive wet dreams, but he was not the Mr. Right I had  been waiting for.





Lesson #3




Focus on looking for Mr. Right  –

And not Mr. Fuck.

If your billionaire finds out, he won't let you go until he has you.



I am not going to look for Constantijin Kastein.

It was a mantra I repeated in my mind continuously when I made my way to  the 34/F reception area of the executive offices of Kastein, Inc. The  girl behind the front desk, Megan, smiled at me warmly. She looked young  and bubbly, but she, too, was dressed in black, and it was proof that I  had made the right decision to shop for an all-black corporate  wardrobe. In this office, any other color would probably get me tagged  as Al-Qaeda or something equally horrible and to be avoided at all  costs.

"Ms. Everleigh?"

"That's me. Is Ms. Charli in already?"

"Yes. She'll appreciate that you're early. Let me take you to her now."  Megan escorted me to the very same conference room that I had the  highest-lowest point of my life. I was already blushing the moment I  entered the room, the same sense of shame attacking me when I recalled  the older woman's look of shock upon seeing me in her boss's arms.

God. The memory made me feel like a slut.

Constantijin was nowhere in sight  –  not that I was looking or anything.  Only one woman was inside the room, and boy, did she look scary! She  made Vogue's Anna Wintour look positively warm.

She stood up the moment I entered, looking svelte in her black buttoned  up polo, which was worn over a black-and-white striped turtleneck and  paired with a leather-belted mini and black stockings.

The overall impact was phenomenal.

Wow was all I could think.

"Hello, Yanna. My name is Charli  –  without an E  –  and you will be  reporting to me." Her voice was very, very cultured, with the slightest  hint of a French accent.

She was terrifying. I was tempted to run away, and only the prospect of  keeping my dream job kept me in place. I shook her hand gingerly and  winced at the tiny tremble in my voice as I said, "Hello, Ms. Charli.  I'd just like you to know how excited I am to work for you and the  company."

"Just Charli, ma belle."

I nodded dumbly and gratefully took the seat she indicated with a wave of her well-manicured hand.

"Now, you know what Kastein Company is?"

"Yes." I recited what I learned from the Web, which was pretty much  everything since I had a photographic memory. "It's one of the fastest  growing companies in Europe and North America. It specializes in real  estate and entertainment. Mr. Erik Kastein concentrates on real estate  while his son Constantijin Kastein concentrates on turning books and  mangas into blockbuster movies and TV series." I didn't want to sound  like I was trying to impress her or anything, even though I really was. I  just wanted to make sure she knew I wasn't taking this interview  lightly.

"That's right. Magnifique," she murmured with a beautiful smile. "Now, we've hired you to be our marketing specialist."

I blinked. "I thought you were just looking for a researcher."

"True," Charli replied. "But your research will be both textual and  on-field. The thing is, we're not really interested in where you've  graduated, what your degree is, or even where you worked previously."

I straightened at her words, now even more confused.