Elara's POV
I hear the door to my bedroom open as I sit eating breakfast before my shift. The soft padding of feet alerting me that Elodie finally woke up.
"What the fuck are you doing up this early in the morning? Also why are your clothes all over the room?" The grumbled question elicits a smirk from my lips.
"Good morning, princess, how did you sleep?"
She flips me the bird. "I need coffee before I entertain you."
"Help yourself, you know where it is. When you're done with that, I have to tell you something." Her brow quirks as I pop a piece of my breakfast into my mouth. "It's in regards to your first question this morning."
"You're so weird in the morning." She turns towards the coffee grumbling under her breath. "Fucking riddler."
I chuckle softly, turning my attention back to my food so I don't fall back on time. I can't be late for my first day of work.
By the time I finish my meal and clean off my dishes, Elodie has finished her first cup of coffee for the morning, meaning she's awake enough to hold conversation. "Okay, spill. I've been in suspense all morning."
Turning to Elodie from the sink, I walk towards the island she's sitting at, bending at the waist so my arms are resting against the counter. "So, obviously I told you that I got the job at that company over the weekend."
"Yeah no shit, I was there, what's your point?"
"My point is, I decided this morning that you get the opportunity to dress me for my first day at work." Elodie got her first degree in art so that she could run her art museum, something that she is incredibly passionate about. However, her second degree is in fashion, another thing she's passionate about but never knew what to do with.
At my words, Elodie's eyes light up like fireworks. "You really mean it?!"
I nod my head. "I thought about it last night while you were sleeping."
"I haven't styled anyone in ages because I've been too busy with my museum, this is amazing!" Her squeal travels throughout the apartment, probably waking up my neighbors.
"You only have a few things to work with since I didn't have much time or money to do a shopping spree. Let's see what you can make work."
With that, Elodie jumps up from the island and bolts into my bedroom to see what she wants to do.
I walk into the bathroom to do some light makeup, softly curl my hair and brush my teeth. By the time I'm done I hear a, "It's beautiful," from Elodie in the bedroom. I laugh softly before making my way to her masterpiece.
When I enter the room, the perfect outfit is laid out on my bed. Black, straight legged, high waisted slacks are paired with a white button up blouse, the arms rolled up at the elbows. Paired with it is a black, elegant tube top that lies over the midsection to bodice of the blouse. At the feet are cute, black, chunky, open-toed heels. I'm suddenly grateful we got pedicures over the weekend to celebrate me getting the job.
"It's beautiful, Elodie."
She smirks at me. "Of course it is, I didn't get my second degree in fashion for nothing."
"Apologies, I should never question the master."
"Given you are a commoner, I accept your lack of knowledge regarding how high my powers can reach."
I laugh. With that, I throw the outfit on, running behind schedule since I have yet to make my lunch for work.
Elodie and I make quick work to put a lunch together so I can run out and get to work, her hands pushing me towards the door as if that will save me time.
"Don't be late and remember to carry a shiv with you. You won't become anyone's bitch if you are the baddest bitch."
A laugh slips past my mouth. "I'm not going to prison."
"Babe, the work force is a prison."
I nod my head realizing she's not entirely wrong.
"Go!" With that command I bound to my car (as fast as my heels allow), taking off to my job.
I end up saving about 5 minutes, putting me there 15 minutes early. I always try to make it to work early, especially on the first day, in case there is paperwork I have to sign to start working there, etc.
Walking up to the building, my eyes travel the expanse of the building. How many stories does this building have?
I avert my eyes quickly realizing I have ten minutes to get to the floor I'm on. Venturing up to the front desk, I put a kind smile on. "Hi, can you direct me to the elevators? I'm here for my first day as Mr. Castellan's assistant."
She looks up at me, a sneer pulling at her lips as she looks me up and down. "To your right, top floor." With the curt response, she turns back to her phone and ignores me.
What a ray of sunshine. Brushing it off, I walk to where she directed me, seeing the elevators after a few steps. I press the button and it immediately opens. I quirk my brow at how fast it was but don't question it. Stepping in, I turn to the buttons only to see there's just one that reads "C". C? As in, Castellan? Does this elevator... go just to his floor? Wow, that's boujee.
I shrug, pressing the button and letting it take me to where I'm meant to be. The electronic floor counter shows me how many floors I'm meeting, the number reaching higher and higher than I thought it would. At 90, the elevator finally stopped. At first glance, 90 floors was not at all what I thought this building even remotely contained. Hopefully looking down from the windows at this height won't give me a panic attack.
The doors open revealing a beautiful floor plan with floor to ceiling windows and grey scale interiors.
I take a step out only to immediately take a faltering step to my right as someone approaches me randomly from the left.
"Oh, I did not mean to startle you, Ms. Austen." A man, probably around my age of 23, with glasses looks at me in concern. His messy, dirty blonde hair and lean figure cause my eyes to move in appreciation. He clears his throat causing my cheeks to redden in embarrassment.
Standing up right I reach my hand out to him. "Sorry, I'm Elara Austen, I'm here for the assistant position with Mr. Castellan."
He laughs softly before accepting my hand, grasping it firmly yet gently. "I know. I'm James Conrad, the temp for the position you're coming in for. I will be taking you to Mr. Castellan now."
With that, we let go of each other's hands and I follow him to Mr. Castellan's office. Stopping in front of the big doors, James knocks three times before a gruff "come in" follows.
James pulls the door open, gesturing for me to enter first. As I step in, my eyes move quickly around the office to see the decor is the same as it is on the other side of the doors, only with a larger space.
The large chair in the middle of the desk turns towards us at the sound, knocking the wind out of me when I see who's in it. A beautiful man with olive skin faces me. The softness of his clean yet messy hair makes my fingers itch in the need to run my hands through it. His plump lips make my mind wonder how they would feel against my own. His strong build a clear indicator of his dedication to the gym outside business hours. The grey suit he has on hugging every taught muscle he worked for. My eyes run up his body, to his face and make contact with his own brown ones. A breath catches in my throat as we make eye contact. Every nerve in my body hums, the electricity causing the hair on my arms to stand at attention. I feel the foreign thrum of desire pulsate between my thighs as he looks at me darkly, something swirling in his eyes the longer he stares at me. Any sense of time I had before is lost to me now as I fall into the abyss his presence creates.
