An Inconvenient Attachment

Chapter One

"Ms. Blythe, please come into my office for a moment," said Mr. Angeline over the speaker phone, catching Beth's attention.

She clicked and held down the button, lowering her head to the phone so he could hear her clearly. "Yes, sir," she said.

She gathered her folder, her folder she carried wherever she went with Mr. Angeline because he always sprung upon important notes she had to remember. She moved a few feet to the two big oak doors and slowly pushed one open, entering quietly and standing before his desk.

"You wished to see me, sir?" she asked, tugging down the end of her pencil skirt, finding that it had rid up a few inches when she walked.

Mr. Angeline glanced up at her from atop his glasses. He sat his papers down, removed his glasses and slowly leaned back in his chair, looking at her clearly.

"My son, Abilon Angeline, will be taking over my position as CEO of his company," he informed her.

"Does that mean...?" she began, a bit afraid to ask. "I am fired?"

"Oh, no. Please," he said, leaning forward. "You're the best damn secretary this place has ever had. When my son takes my place, you will be his secretary."

"My apologies, sir," she said. "I didn't mean to jump to conclusions."

"It's quite all right," he said. "It was a simple question, you had a right to ask." She nodded. "My son will stop by tomorrow morning to sign some paperwork. By the end of the week, you'll have a new boss, Ms. Blythe."

. . .

"What? That old man is finally retiring?" said Erica, Beth's one and only friend in this entire building and, frankly, the entire world. "Who's replacing him?"

"Abilon Angeline," Beth said, poking around at her salad, the plain green leaves looking extremely unappealing. "His son."

"Shut up, you're kidding right?" she asked and Beth shook her head, closing the lid to her salad and pushing it aside. "He's been on the cover of Forbes for months now, they're calling him the youngest billionaire. He's extremely attractive."

Beth hummed, not really caring too much. She had given up on ever finding anyone a long time ago. To her, he was just another boss she had to follow orders from.

"You should be excited, anyone would kill for your position, you'll be spending the most time with him, after all," she said, cracking open a Diet Coke and sliding it over to Beth. "I know you hate that diet, why do you even try?"

Beth sighed heavily, taking a gulp of the caffeinated drink. "I should've learned my lesson the other million diets I've tried. I might as well just embrace the fact that I'll never be a size two or a twig-bitch like the receptionists in this building."

"That's my girl," Erica said. "Shit, break's over. You better hurry back. I heard Abilon popped in to visit his dad."

Beth ignored her friends' comment and headed back to her office which was merely a desk with a few filling cabinets that stood outside the door of Mr. Angeline's office. She walked around her desk, bumping her hips on the side, cursing audibly at the pain.

A blessing and a curse.

The door to the big office opened and the sound of Mr. Angeline's laugh and another was heard. Out exited Beth's boss and her soon-to-be boss.

Erica was right. Abilon was very handsome. Black hair, lightly-tanned skin, muscles that bulged through his suit, he was tall, and his eyes a breathtaking light-green color. He looked to be straight out of a magazine.

"I know you're eager to become CEO, my son, but you don't have to kick me out of my seat," his father laughed, slapping his son, who was all-too-tall for him, on the back. They both laughed. "Ah, while you're here," he began, turning to me. "Meet your secretariat, Ms. Blythe."

The very attractive man turned his gaze towards Beth and she gulped quietly, a bit awestruck. He stepped forward, smiling softly, holding his hand out to shake. "Abilon Angeline," he said.

She grasped his hand and gave it a firm shake, not forgetting her title. "Elizabeth Blythe," she introduced, their hands parting. "Pleasure to meet you, sir."

"Abilon is fine," he said, turning back to his father. "I'll be back tomorrow, papa."

"Of course you will, you want this company just as much as I want grand-kids," he said. "Go on, we won't discuss this over dinner, you hear? Your mother doesn't like work talk at the table."

He chuckled. "Right," he said, waving to his father and leaving just as quickly as he came.

Beth found herself in a bit of a pickle. Working with Mr. Angeline was one thing but now she was going to have to work for Abilon who was extremely good-looking, her age, and a billionaire. It all seemed too good to be true but she just had to remind herself that she was a secretary and nothing more and nothing less. Besides, it's not like she was his type. She was too thick, he most likely liked women who looked more like models.

She sat down at her desk, rubbing her ankles that ached from the short heels she had to wear. She hated heels but they were in the dress code and the skinny receptionists always giggled when they saw her struggle to walk in such a short heel.

Just survive she reminded herself. She was probably more healthy than any women who worked here. It probably wasn't true but it made her feel better about herself.