Russian Mafia Billionaire’s Secretary (2 page)

“Who could this be?” she said to herself as she tried to figure out who the number belonged to. Feeling groggy, she rubbed her eyes, yawned and exhaled loudly before hitting the ‘answer’ button on her phone.

“Hello?” she asked into her cell phone as she heard her upstairs neighbors clamoring above her head.

“Yes, may I speak with Alanna Vella, please?” a woman with a foreign accent asked politely.

“This is Alanna, how may I help you?” Alanna replied cordially.

“Ms. Vella, my name is Amelia. I am calling in response to your inquiry about the available position at Denisov International,” the woman said in a curt manner.

“Yes, I sent my resume yesterday, thank you for getting back to me so quickly,” Alanna’s energy level shot upward. She felt like there was already some light at the end of the long tunnel she’d traveled for months.

She scooted herself off the bed and paced the floor. She heard muffled sounds of Alyssa as she played with Roman in another room, but she locked her bedroom door so she wouldn’t be interrupted.

“We are very interested in your education and experience. So far, the candidate response has been less than ideal. As such, we would like to extend the opportunity to you, Ms. Vella,” she continued in her matter-of-fact tone.

“Sounds great,” Alanna declared as she nearly jumped up and down.

“It’s for a secretary position, as I’ve said. It pays fifty thousand dollars per year and offers many benefits. The hours are Monday through Friday, from eight until five in the evening,” she said quickly as Alanna made some mental notes.

“That sounds fantastic,” Alanna replied in an eager tone.

“We have a Friday interview slot available at nine o’clock in the morning. Would this be acceptable to you?” the woman asked in her thick accent.

“Yes, ma’am, I will be there at nine on Friday,” Alanna enthused.

“Great, please come to the reception desk inside the building and from there, you will receive instructions on where to go next,” Amelia instructed her.

“Of course,” Alanna said in agreement.

“We look forward to speaking with you, Ms. Vella,” Amelia concluded.

They disconnected the call and Alanna felt relieved. She let a deep breath escape her mouth and unlocked her bedroom door.

Outside of her room, she saw Roman as he sat and pouted. He pushed his bottom lip forward and looked up at his mother.

“Mommy’s got an interview on Friday,” she cooed to Roman with a giant smile pasted on her face. “Wait ‘til Aunt Alyssa hears about this!”

“Aunt Alyssa is mean,” he muttered as he continued to pout. He made a defiant noise and crossed his arms at his chest.

“Just because you didn’t get your way doesn’t mean that Aunt Alyssa is mean,” she objected.

“Alyssa,” Alanna called out into the apartment as she moved from room to room. When she located her sister, she beamed a giant smile in her direction.

“I got an interview on Friday!” Alanna exclaimed as she did a happy dance.

“Oh my God, where?” Alyssa asked her sister enthusiastically.

“It’s that secretary job at Denisov International. Can you believe they called me so quickly? I only sent my resume out yesterday.”

 “With the hottie CEO? This is such awesome news,” Alyssa squealed. “I know you’ll get it, they’d be stupid not to hire you.”

“Keep your fingers crossed,” Alanna told her sister as she held out hope for the first time in months. She returned to Roman in the living room and turned on cartoons for his amusement.

“What time is the interview?” Alyssa inquired as she joined them.

“Nine on Friday, can you keep an eye on Roman?”

“Yeah, it’s not a problem. I don’t have classes that day and I don’t have to be at work until the afternoon.” 

“Awesome, I just have to make sure I have something to wear!” Alanna exclaimed as she made her way to her bedroom closet. She pulled out her old trusted navy pantsuit and white blouse and held the items up against her thin frame in her full-length mirror.

“These will do,” she said to herself as she remembered wearing the clothes on her last interview.

Alyssa suddenly appeared behind her and smiled at her choice of outfit for the occasion.

“You’ve got this, so the clothes you wear won’t matter anyway,” she told her older sister.

“You’re always so supportive, I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Alanna told her sweetly as she turned to her sister. She placed the clothes back in her closet and hoped they exhibited her professional nature.

When Friday morning rolled around, Alanna felt like the whole week blew by in a blur. She kissed Roman on his forehead and told Alyssa that she’d be back soon.

Exiting the subway, she walked the remaining three blocks to the downtown skyscraper with “Denisov International” out front in white block letters. She exhaled a deep breath and walked through the glass doors. Inside, business people moved in and out of the place many with their heads down looking at their phones or chatting on headsets.

At the reception desk, she told the woman, “I’m here for a nine o’clock interview. I spoke with a woman named Amelia on Monday.”

“Your name, please?” the woman asked.

“Alanna Vella.” 

“Take this and attach it to your jacket. Walk down the hallway to the elevator and take it to the sixtieth floor,” the woman said as she issued Alanna a badge that read “visitor.”

She rode the elevator up, but noticed that the building only had sixty floors. Human Resources couldn’t be on the top floor, could it? No, the top floor was where the executive offices were, she reminded herself. Who exactly was her interview with?

When the elevator dinged, she stepped out of it and through a set of tall, glass doors. Inside, she saw an elegantly decorated space with crystal chandeliers and clear, crystal vases with white lilies in them.

The only desk in the large reception area was currently vacant leaving Alanna uncertain who she was supposed to meet.

“How may I help you?” a tall woman with short black hair asked in a quiet voice, as she exited from one of the offices carrying several files.

“I’m here for an interview for a secretary’s job,” Alanna informed her, but her voice sounded unsure. She worried that she wasn’t in the right place. She hadn’t expected to be interviewed by someone so high up.

“Yes, I spoke with you on Monday,” the woman replied, smiling. “I’m Amelia.”

Alanna’s face brightened when she realized she was in the right place after all. Amelia’s face appeared pale with the exception of her red lips and striking blue eyes.

“May I offer you something to drink?” she asked, as she set the files she was carrying down. Alanna shook her head and the woman stepped away from her desk.

“Alright, I will let Alexander know you’re here,” she assured Alanna with a smile as she returned to the office she had just vacated.

“Alexander? As in the CEO?” Alanna worried to herself. “Why would the CEO want to interview me? Surely, he has more important things to do.” She looked distractedly around the room and noticed the name plate on the desk.

“A. Denisov. She must be his wife.” Alanna wasn’t sure if she should feel relieved or disappointed that he was married. Feeling a bit of both, she walked over to the large window and looked out over the skyline. The view was incredible. “Life on the sixtieth floor definitely had its benefits,” she mused to herself.

“He’ll see you now,” Amelia called out, as she waved Alanna inside.

“Thank you,” Alanna nodded and pulled the giant, double doors closed behind her. Alanna looked around at the austere white room with its imposing black desk in the center. In front of the desk sat two leather club chairs and a table to the side. A black leather couch was to her left and to her right, a bar with crystal decanters filled with gold-colored liquid.

The sound of a throat clearing caught Alanna’s attention as she realized that an attractive man was patiently waiting for her to make eye contact. Dressed in a dark grey business suit and black tie, he stood up and walked over to her with his right hand extended.

Chapter Three

“Alexander Denisov,” he introduced himself confidently. His demeanor was professional, assertive and downright sexy. Alanna’s eyes swept up and down, as she took him in. At five foot nine inches, she considered herself tall. With her heels, it brought her up to six feet and this man dwarfed her as he smiled down at her. The cut of his suit fit him to perfection leaving her to wonder if he had it made or simply altered.

He had an easy smile that made his eyes crinkle, as he blinked deep blue eyes at her. As he reached to shake her hand, she took in his dark, wavy brownish-black hair and she found herself wondering if it was as thick and soft as it looked..

“You know, they say that a person’s eyes are the windows to their souls,” he commented smoothly, as he held her hand. Her cheeks reddened when she caught his smile, which seemed to indicate that he noticed her staring. She felt nervous, as if he could read her thoughts and given the thoughts she was currently having, she worried at how much she was giving away.

Alanna wanted to melt when he offered his pearly white smile. She wondered if his plump lips felt as soft as they looked. She fought the urge to close her eyes when she smelled his woodsy, tantalizing cologne.

She stood there frozen. She hadn’t meant for the interview to start around an awkward silence, but for whatever reason, she found herself completely tongue-tied. Well, one very specific reason. The very sexy Mr. Alexander Denisov.

“Please sit, Ms. Vella,” he said in his foreign accent as he tugged lightly at her hand and drew her over to the chairs in front of his desk. Sitting down, she dropped her briefcase on the floor and winced when it made a loud thump.

“He must think I’m a mute or worse,” she worried, as she scolded herself silently, ordering her brain to get it together.

“Please, call me, Alanna,” she urged him suddenly finding her tongue. He shuffled some papers on his desk and studied one on the top.

“I have your resume right here…Alanna.” Her name seemed to roll off his tongue as he cocked his head downward, but turned his gaze back to her.

She felt his stare on her and instantly blushed. Her thoughts ran rampant from running her hands up and down his body to how wild sex with him might be.

“By now, you’ve probably figured out that I’m the owner of the company. The position is for an executive secretary and you would be answering to me,” he informed her confidently.

She smiled in response and he continued his seemingly well-rehearsed speech.

“In 2006, I started this company from nothing with two employees and now, it has grown to be one of the top grossing companies in this industry,” he said proudly. “If you come to work for me, you will soon see that it is as though everyone here is family and I like to keep it that way. I see you’ve done work like this before,” he continued, as he moved through points of interest on her resume.

“And you are definitely more than qualified for this position.” Alanna found that she was unable to look at him without fantasizing so she kept her head down until she felt the intensity of his stare. Looking up, she felt her cheeks heat up as she fumbled with her pen sending it to the floor in front of her.

She wondered once again if he could see the mental images she concocted of the two of them going at it. She wanted him and his sexy business suit and sensual cologne only added to how she felt.

“You don’t have to be nervous,” he started. “I assure you, I don’t bite. Much.”

He grinned and watched as Alanna retrieved her pen from the floor. She slid it into her briefcase and looked at him, as he rose and began to pace. His voice remained calm and assured as he talked about the company and its mission statement. 

“It’s a tough position, Alanna, I won’t lie to you. The job requires many hours and hard work. Still, it pays very well for the right person.”

He offered her a smile and she smiled back in return.

“I served as an administrative assistant to a vice president of a company in a previous position. In those duties, I scheduled meetings, took care of flights and hotels and all transportation,” she started. He raised his hand as if to signal that he wanted her to stop talking.

“You made note of that on your resume. Please, tell me what you can do for me,” he instructed her.

As Alanna described what she anticipated her role would look like, she caught his smile of encouragement and nod of his head. Bolstered, she continued, pleased that all her research into successful interviewing techniques was paying off. 

“This is what interests me, not what you’ve accomplished in previous jobs,” he told her approvingly. As he moved across the room, he talked about the perfect person for the position.

“I will warn you, I am a demanding person. I expect nothing but the best from my staff at all times and I reward those who go above and beyond expectations.”

 Alanna found her mind drifting as she began fantasizing about her potential new employer. Nothing about him seemed contrived, as he paced his office describing himself and his expectations. She knew she needed to concentrate on what he was saying, but she couldn’t take her eyes off his movements and the way he filled out his suit. Alyssa was going to have a field day with the teasing when she found out that her self-assured big sister was having such decadent thoughts.

Clearly, it had been too long since she had sex with someone, as she completely tuned out everything he was saying in favor of her own fantasy. When he turned to look at her, the smile on his face would have melted even the most frozen hearts. She watched his lips move and his face became serious, as he was now looking at her with concern.

“Shit, he’s talking to me; snap out of it, Alanna!” she scolded herself.

Taking a deep breath, Alanna began to cough and he quickly handed her a box of tissues. Grabbing several, she held it to her mouth and lightly pressed her fingers to her cheeks, willing her deep blush to go away. Gasping for air, she tried to give him an apologetic look, as her embarrassment got the best of her and she began to cough again to hide it.