As soon as they entered the sanctuary that was Amanda's office, the two of them were immediately enveloped by a welcoming sense of peace. Zach looked around the room, observing the plain décor and finding it rather odd. There didn't seem to be anything interesting or unusual about it. It wasn't exactly how he had imagined it to look but he supposed there was nothing inherently wrong with it either.It was just a simple room with a single desk and chair for working purposes along with a few cabinets here and there for storage. There seemed to be very little in terms of decorations apart from a large picture window in the wall directly behind where her desk sat.The only thing out of place in this otherwise unassuming environment was the mountain of papers that seemed to take up a majority of the desk space. He wondered what had been on these documents as she quickly began shuffling through some stacks before placing them inside of a folder with a nervous expression on her face."Ah...
Zach's body was slick with sweat, but he still shivered. The frigid water had not been his idea. He didn't like being naked in front of anyone except his girlfriend, and even that was a rare occasion these days. His friend Joe had invited him to go swimming at his house after work. It sounded great, Joe always had the best buddies around when they got together for beers on friday nights and Zach really needed some time away from all this paperwork stuff he'd been doing since starting out at an advertising agency just six months earlier. He had entered into the world of business casual as part of the new job, which meant jeans every day until 5 p.m, then a polo shirt paired with slacks or khakis. A jacket only came along if it looked too chilly outside, usually right before the sun set over the horizon each night. A look that complimented his lover far more than it did himself. Zach had always been more accustomed to T-shirts and bargain barrel jeans. Anything that he could afford wit
Zach had been walking for hours now. He hadn't eaten since last night's betrayal, nor had he stopped for sleep. Now, his legs ached in pain, numb from exhaustion after having walked nonstop for so long. His face hung down low with hunger, his stomach aching with emptiness. But he hardly had the chance to consider food as he evaded the watchful gaze of the city's police. Without any clothes to cover his naked body, he would surely be taken in for questioning if he was caught. Luckily, he had managed to avoid detection thus far by hiding himself behind buildings and alleys whenever possible. He stumbled upon an old cardboard box just off the side of the street where he sat down wearily and let out a deep sigh of defeat. Using the scraps of whatever was left behind by the box's previous owner to cover his body, he rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes for a moment. Sleep would come soon enough when he couldn't fight it anymore and his eyelids seemed heavy as they began to
The room was quiet for several moments after Zach had announced his engagement with Amanda, a woman that he had only just met minutes prior. Amanda didn't seem to take the news well, but the thin man looked even worse. He knew well, that Zach had no relation to the young entrepreneur whatsoever. "You... Engaged to her?" He asked through gritted teeth while holding back the urge to strangle Zach. "I don't see why I should tell you anything, more. It's none of your business what we do with our lives." Zach answered without fear. At least that's how it appeared on the outside. He had been screaming internally since waking up in this situation. He wanted out of it as quickly as possible and this seemed to be the best way. He just needed Amanda to play along. He gave her a glance to alert her to his plan and with a few moments of deliberation, she began to nod slowly as if she understood his intention. "It's just as he said. This man here is my... Loving... Fiance. How could a scandal
Amanda led Zach out of the hotel lobby and onto a crowded street full of stores selling different types of luxury goods ranging from fashion to jewelry to high tech gadgets. Though some of these storefronts were more familiar than others, most were not. He had hardly ever been to such a luxurious location before. Zach followed close behind as they made their way through the crowds of people who walked in front and around them until they arrived at a parking lot containing high end luxury vehicles. There was even a limousine parked there that could easily hold over 15 people comfortably along with a personal driver. Walking through the lot, Amanda made her stop at what looked to be an old model sedan that was very distinctively designed with a long body along with angular headlights and grill. Zach couldn't help but feel curious about why she picked this particular car given its age. It was like staring at a relic from the past. Something that you could find in a museum. Yet despite
Amanda pulled into the property of a luxury mansion that looked to be built within the last decade or so. The building itself was massive, looking almost like two buildings fused together due to its size which spanned an area roughly a quarter mile wide. It was painted in an elegant shade of blue with white trims along each side, though there were also black accents in some places. By all accounts, it was a beautiful house. It was a shame that this beauty was not shared in the yard that surrounded the property. Dead leaves and dirt were all over the ground outside making it seem as if the owners did nothing but neglect their lawn and gardens on purpose. Even worse than the lackluster look of the garden was how poorly kept the landscaping around the grounds seemed to have been left as well. Amanda could tell what Zach was thinking as she watched his eyes scan through the poorly maintained garden. She was well aware of the state of the home's exterior. Many of the home's employees had
Zach mindlessly worked away at cleaning while Amanda took a seat on the couch. She was engrossed in something flashing on her laptop screen. Every now and then she would mutter to herself with a constrained expression as if she was deep in thought. She didn't notice when Zach stopped what he was doing and walked closer toward her. Taking a peak at the laptop revealed what she was so intently reading. News of their entanglement had already made its way to the internet. Zach watched silently as she flipped through various news sites, each one carrying the same story followed by the blurred photos taken by Sanntach. "They spread that photo around a lot faster than I thought they would," Zach observed. "We must have really ticked him off." "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing," Amanda replied nervously. "Either way, I guess I have to give a statement now..." "What are you going to say?" Zach asked. "I don't know exactly. I mean, we were never together and I don't even
"Okay then... I think we're ready to get started!" Amanda announced as she collected an assortment of ingredients and tools needed for her cooking endeavor. Looking amongst the counter top filled with various types of food supplies Zach couldn't imagine what she could be making. She claimed to be making something sweet, but whatever was on the counter looked to prove otherwise. But Amanda looked confident enough that he figured that there must have been some sort of logic behind everything she was doing, even though he didn't understand why any of it made sense. Maybe it wasn't important that he understood. Just so long as she got the job done? He took a seat beside the counter watching quietly while she busied herself by opening up a package of assorted spices and herbs and adding them into a mixer along with a scoop of sugar and butter before turning it on low. She poured in two eggs and beat them into the mixture before continuing to add in vanilla extract followed by a dash of s
As soon as they entered the sanctuary that was Amanda's office, the two of them were immediately enveloped by a welcoming sense of peace. Zach looked around the room, observing the plain décor and finding it rather odd. There didn't seem to be anything interesting or unusual about it. It wasn't exactly how he had imagined it to look but he supposed there was nothing inherently wrong with it either.It was just a simple room with a single desk and chair for working purposes along with a few cabinets here and there for storage. There seemed to be very little in terms of decorations apart from a large picture window in the wall directly behind where her desk sat.The only thing out of place in this otherwise unassuming environment was the mountain of papers that seemed to take up a majority of the desk space. He wondered what had been on these documents as she quickly began shuffling through some stacks before placing them inside of a folder with a nervous expression on her face."Ah...
Amanda felt her arm jerk as Zach freed himself from her grip, his eyes full of fury directed toward a group of women that stood near one another chattering away behind her back. She didn't understand what it was that had so suddenly set him off but before she could ask, Zach was already upon the small crowd who froze when they saw him bearing down on them."I won't stand for this!" he shouted at them furiously before pushing through the crowd and coming face to face with the supposed ringleader herself. "What the hell is wrong with you all?" He demanded as he faced the woman glaring daggers at him through angry blue eyes."Ah... you must be the girl's little plaything. You know, I've read quite a few stories about you. How is it that you managed to get your hands on this little girl? Don't tell me that the Carter's are even willing to sell themselves to make up for their poor management skills." She said with a sinister smile as she glanced at Amanda. Her voice sounded like an old wit
Zach followed closely behind as Amanda led him into the elevator and pressed the button leading to floor five. As they rose, Zach noticed that Amanda had been oddly silent, only fidgeting a bit with her fingers while checking the watch that hung off her right wrist. Feeling a bit uncomfortable in the silence, Zach spoke up. "I know that you've only recently become the president of this company, but how have things been so far? Has the leadership role been difficult for you?" he inquired cautiously not wanting to tread onto any dangerous territory. After all, he wanted nothing more than for them to form a successful working relationship and work well together. It wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that. Though, it didn't mean he wasn't curious.Amanda seemed surprised by the sudden inquiry before letting out a half hearted sigh. "I guess I should be honest right? Truthfully, It’s been a pretty rough ride. The company was already going under even before It found its way under my control
Zach had awoken from the pleasant dreams induced by his time with Amanda the night prior. the scent of freshly brewed coffee lingered in the air signaling the start of yet another busy day for both of them. It was already 8 am by the time Zach had managed to force himself out of the comfortable linen sheets of his bed and into his bathroom to wash up.Amanda had left him a set of clothes to wear for his first day as her assistant. A pair of dark gray dress slacks, along with a crisp white shirt and a black vest adorned with a silver clip pin shaped like a teardrop which marked it as belonging to her company. Surprisingly, the clothes fit his body perfectly despite him not going with her to have them tailored to his specifications."She must have a really good eye to be able to get everything right without measuring me or anything," Zach noted aloud while inspecting the outfit in front of the mirror before deciding how he would style his hair today. His short brown hair looked just as
Zach turned around to bring Amanda out to see his work when he found his face only inches from her own. She had managed to sneak up on him while he was distracted by his creation and was already peering over his shoulder with a hungered gaze."O-oh, I was just about to go find you!" Zach stuttered as he stumbled backward in a panic.Amanda didn't seem phased in the slightest as she moved closer, taking another sniff of the food while staring at him in admiration. The woman's eyes lingered over the beautifully cooked halibut. It was all so delicious that it made her stomach rumble in hunger."Did you really make this all yourself? You are such an amazing chef." Amanda exclaimed in surprise before quickly covering her mouth with both hands in shock when she realized that she might have been too loud.Zach smiled widely, his cheeks blushing slightly under Amanda's scrutiny before looking away shyly. "Well, why don't you give it a taste? I bet you’re dying to eat something nutritious afte
"Ugh. Why is this so hard?! It’s like trying to pull a massive fish out of a rushing stream!" Zach grumbled under his breath as he fell backward onto the dirt ground, exhausted after failing to pull a weed from its roots for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.The sun beat down heavily from above as his forehead pooled with sweat. "Man, why can't this just be easy." Zach wiped his brow dry with his arm as he stood up to overlook the progress he had made. The yard was far from finished and he had only been able to free less than a third of the space from weeds and dead grass.It was a slow process but the payout would be worth it. Seeing Amanda's smile after he revived the yard would be more than enough for him to continue on."Well, time to get back to it then." He mumbled softly before reaching bending down to wrap his glove covered fingers around another long stalk. "One. two... three!" He tugged at it sharply which caused the plant to begin to rise off the soil that surro
"Good morning Mr. Parker. Are you feeling better? You fell asleep so suddenly yesterday." Amanda's face peered over the edge of the large bed that Zach was laying on. "Ugh... Where am I? Why does my head feel like it's full of cotton?" He rubbed the side of his skull where the most pain seemed to be originating from and then looked up into the beautiful angelic smile upon Amanda's face. Her hair was all done up with curls falling into her eyes and she wore a tightly fitted business suit with a pair of round glasses sitting neatly above her perfectly straight nose bridge. Seeing her dressed so properly in comparison to her normal casual attire almost made his heart skip a beat. He glanced around the room to find that she must have taken him into one of the spare bedrooms. The room was decorated in dark brown wallpaper that reminded him of an old library, while the floors were carpeted in an off white color that went well with the furniture pieces scattered across them. The bed itsel
"Okay then... I think we're ready to get started!" Amanda announced as she collected an assortment of ingredients and tools needed for her cooking endeavor. Looking amongst the counter top filled with various types of food supplies Zach couldn't imagine what she could be making. She claimed to be making something sweet, but whatever was on the counter looked to prove otherwise. But Amanda looked confident enough that he figured that there must have been some sort of logic behind everything she was doing, even though he didn't understand why any of it made sense. Maybe it wasn't important that he understood. Just so long as she got the job done? He took a seat beside the counter watching quietly while she busied herself by opening up a package of assorted spices and herbs and adding them into a mixer along with a scoop of sugar and butter before turning it on low. She poured in two eggs and beat them into the mixture before continuing to add in vanilla extract followed by a dash of s
Zach mindlessly worked away at cleaning while Amanda took a seat on the couch. She was engrossed in something flashing on her laptop screen. Every now and then she would mutter to herself with a constrained expression as if she was deep in thought. She didn't notice when Zach stopped what he was doing and walked closer toward her. Taking a peak at the laptop revealed what she was so intently reading. News of their entanglement had already made its way to the internet. Zach watched silently as she flipped through various news sites, each one carrying the same story followed by the blurred photos taken by Sanntach. "They spread that photo around a lot faster than I thought they would," Zach observed. "We must have really ticked him off." "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing," Amanda replied nervously. "Either way, I guess I have to give a statement now..." "What are you going to say?" Zach asked. "I don't know exactly. I mean, we were never together and I don't even