Irrevocably HIS

Chapter Two

Knowing that Tatum is my boss had me up all night. I had this mental image that one day I would see him again and he wouldn't harbor any resentment towards me. He would stand there and welcome me with open arms and we would talk about our lives with one another over a breakfast lunch or even dinner. Never in my wildest dreams did I think he would turn into this iceberg of a man. What happened to make him so cold? I know this can't be all my fault. I was a damn child. He has no right holding any sort of grudge against me.

I rise and trudge out of bed feeling completely drained but knowing I have a job that I can actually be paid to do and spend some money is fueling me right now. I head towards the bathroom, take the fastest shower known to mankind, get dressed in appropriate office attire, and head out to walk to my new job instead of running today. God forbid I run in these heels. My luck I will wind up face planting on the sidewalk and there will go my only source of money.

The mornings are quiet and serene around where I live and it makes me feel peaceful. I was so used to the hustle and bustle around my college campus and then when finding my forever apartment only to have it gone in a flash. I was ready for the long haul with he who shall not be named. What a fool I was. In these moments, I tend to think about the what ifs of my life. What if I hadn't been adopted? What if I hadn't majored in business? What if my ex never broke my heart? What if I allowed my parents to fix the mess I was in? All the what ifs plague me. If I could answer them confidently, I would, but without those moments to dampen my life, would I have ever come to see this job ad and met Tatum again?

Life's a fickle bitch.

By the time I enter the building, it is a quarter to 9. I celebrate inwardly for making it on time. I smile at the receptionist who still looks at me like I am nothing but trash and make my way towards the elevator. The doors open and swallow me once inside and nerves begin to invade my body. I take a breath as I press the top floor button and make my way up to deal with what fate has in store for me. The doors open and I walk on only to hear yelling.

"Shut up and listen to me you insolent excuse of a human being. I want the merger happening today and if not, you can find someone else to shell out a half million dollars to fund your rinky dink company. Take the deal Elijah." Tatum barks into the phone before slamming it back down on the receiver before his eyes find me standing there with may be my jaw on the floor.

"If you weren't late, I wouldn't have had to answer the phone and spoke to that pathetic excuse of existence. Get your act together Ms. Erickson. When I say be here at nine, I mean be here at 8:30." He grits out and I need to pull myself out of the trance I am in. I should learn to bite my lip and not stoop to his level of assholeness, but when it comes to this arrogant man before me, I don't think I can.

"Then you should have been more straight forward sir. You said to be here at nine o clock sharp. It is nine o clock right now Tatum. I am not late. Like I said, you should have told me to be here by eight thirty. How am I to know to read in between the lines with you? Do not blame me for your mistake." I spit right back at him which makes his eyebrows rise almost to his hairline. He proceeds to walk towards me with a look that would make others cower but I remain unwavering. He is now directly in front of me and you could almost see the steam coming out of his ears. He is taller than me and wider than me, albeit being solid muscle underneath and I feel like he can swallow me whole.

"Number one. Never call me Tatum. That name is reserved to friends, and only friends. Number two. Never discredit my orders. To be early is to be on time. I thought you had some common sense in that head of yours. Number three. Go to your desk and sit there and wait till IT comes up to give you a general idea of what working for me entails." He says eyeing me with utter contempt. I swallow the need to back talk him and make my way to my desk allowing him this win.

"Once all is done, come find me in the meeting room downstairs by eleven o clock. Best to learn to never keep me waiting Ms. Erickson." He says before storming away to god knows where. "Best to learn to never keep me waiting Ms. Erickson." I say copying his demeanor. Why is it that he aggravated me so much? I should take this opportunity to vow to myself to never reciprocate his arrogance with my need to talk back to him. He wants tog eat a ride out of me and I should see to it that he never will.

I settle at my desk and place the picture I have of me and my parents next to my computer screen. I remain sitting not knowing what to do when the elevator opens and in walks a man carrying a box.

"Ms. Erickson?" He says with uncertainty and I nod and smile. He smiles back, his shoulders becoming relaxed, and I feel a little more at ease. Least someone is kind around here.

"I am Kaden from IT. Mr. Kennedy asked for someone in the IT department to show you what is required of this position and to also update all equipment. I was also told to hand you some items that you will be required to use. Here is your company phone. I plugged in all important numbers for you, and Mr. Kennedy as priority. Also, this is your company laptop that you will use when you work from home or on weekends. Mr. Kennedy is a workaholic and thrives at being a monumental basket case but you didn't hear that from me." He says with a wink and I can't help but giggle. He takes it upon himself to update my computer at my desk and makes sure the landline works properly so nothing pisses off the king of the building. I look at the time on my company cellphone and notice it is nearly eleven o clock.

"Shit. I need to go. Thank you for everything Kaden!" I say as I rush to the elevator. I hop in once the doors open and manage to get downstairs in record time only to have Tatum eyeing me with annoyance. What the hell did I do this time?

"Did I or did I not tell you to have a pen and pad for my meetings?" He says and I internally cringe. He did tell me that but with everything going on, I forgot. Sue me. Rather than have him berate me for the fifth time, I decide to be my natural sassy self, swearing to myself that this is the last time.

"Do you realize that cell phones have a way to record our voices? They also are capable of taking videos and even writing down notes. How clever of those tech wizards to create such a neat way of doing things without the need for pen and paper. It's honestly quite shocking." I say as I enter the meeting before him and make my way to the back and find a seat in the corner as he takes his seat at the head of the table. I sit and record the entire meeting while also typing out notes on my phone, fingers flying across the keyboard at a phenomenal pace and I am absolutely exhausted by the time the meeting ends.

Oscar the Grouch, remembering my childhood nickname for him, rises from his throne and throws a look at me that should make me bend to his will but instead pisses me off once again. I grit my teeth and make my way to him.

"I gather you did the job I hired you to do?" He says and I just roll my eyes.

"You'll have a copy sent to your email within the hour." I say as I make my way out of the room and towards the elevator. We walk in once the doors open and ride it up together in complete silence. I can feel his aggravation and it should be unnerving but glimpses of the past come to the forefront of my mind and I remember he had a chip on his shoulder back then too. He would sometimes be this calm version of himself, then within a second he would become this alter ego. I really couldn't keep up with the different versions of Tatum at play so I would just keep doing what I was doing. I would play with my dolls or play cards and each and every time, he would be there. I even vaguely remember the night there was a lot of yelling and screaming coming from outside and Tatum barged through my door and sat at the end of my bed with a baseball bat firmly in his hands. I never questioned him about it but it felt like he was in protective mode.

"Cassandra will be here shortly so you can send her into my office." He says and all I can do is nod l, his voice pulling me out of my memory. I head to my seat and begin typing out the minutes to his meeting when heels click clack against the floor. I look to see the beautiful brunette from yesterday heading towards me but instead of having to deal with her, fake greetings to be tossed between us, I just point to his office.

"Thanks darling." She says before she enters with a sway of her hips. I can see through his office and watch as he smiles at her. He must suspect that I am watching and immediately blackens out the glass so he can have privacy but not without sending me a scathing look before doing so. I cringe but proceed to continue typing when the elevator opens and I notice it is Kaden the IT guy from before.

"Hi Kaden. Need to do some more work?" I ask nicely.

"Actually, I am wondering if you would like to maybe join me for some lunch? You don't have to if you don't want to but I thought since you being new and all.." he yammers on and I just rise out of my chair and make my way towards him, really not needing to be here while those two do what they do.

"I would love to have lunch with you. You can tell me everything there is to know about this hellhole I found myself in." I say to which he laughs an endearing laugh.

"I knew you were different." He says while we walk to the elevator. I should leave Tatum a note but since he's rather occupied at the moment, I'll take my chances.

"What makes you think I am different?" I ask as we enter the elevator. He chuckles lightly.

"The moment you called this place a hellhole is when I knew for certain. Only vapid women work here. All concerned about their looks and need to impress the boss. They won't even issue a mere thank you to anyone they deem beneath them, except for you. You are the first one to actually thank me." He says and I nod in understanding yet highly outraged and the kind of company Tatum runs.

"I was raised to be a kind courteous person. Nobody should be treated unfairly or made to feel like they are nothing but dirt beneath our shoes." I say to which he nods.

"Allow me to show you the cafeteria." Kaden says and I follow him and pray that the food isn't ridiculously priced. We enter the cafeteria and the mere smell of anything besides ramen noodles invades my senses. My stomach rumbles and I become embarrassed, my cheeks probably ruby red.

"Wow. I got you at the right time. Let's get you fed." He says as he leads me to all the options that make my mouth salivate. I take what I want and am mentally doing the math to whether or not I can actually afford it when he pulls out his card and hits the reader.

"You didn't have to pay for me Kaden." I say sheepishly to only get a roll of his eyes aimed at my silliness.

"I'm more than happy to pay for your meal but haven't you received the company card? Since you are Mr. Kennedy's personal secretary, the receptionist should have given you a card and a name card. Have you got none of that?" He says and my eyes widen.

"Like I said. Vapid employees. They probably are jealous of your status. I'll get your cards for you once we are done here." He says and I thank him. Lunch is far more entertaining than I would have thought, learning all the company gossip. I am laughing so much that tears threaten to fall from my eyes until I watch Kadens eyes nearly bug out of his skull looking at what, or who, must be behind me. I slowly turn around to see Tatum looking like he is about to massacre everyone, or just the one person making me laugh uncontrollably. I will not allow Kaden to suffer Tatum's wrath.

"Did I say you were allowed to go on lunch?" He seethes and I just swallow loudly. He looks to me with a look that yells don't you dare defy me and then looks to my new friend.

"Kaden is it? See to it that you remain in your department and not up in my office any more. My secretary has her own time schedule and I don't need you mucking it up. I say when she can eat lunch. Not you." Tatum spits and I grit my teeth wanting to argue, to defend Kaden, but angry eyes land on me and I think better of it, for now.

"Let's go Ms. Erickson." He says and I look to Kaden with sympathetic eyes. He shakes his head not wanting me to feel sorry. I give him a small smile before I follow Tatum back to the elevator.

"Think before you act Ms. Erickson. Next time, I will fire you." He states with a wry tone and I am fuming. He would fire me over taking lunch? Or is it because I was with Kaden? Who is he to tell me who I can or cannot have lunch with?

"Was I suppose to run into your office and take notes while you were entertaining Cassandra? I mean I could if you like, maybe give you some pointers for next time, but I didn't need the image burned into my brain for all time. You were busy getting busy and I was offered lunch by the only person in this place that semblances an actual human being with a heart." I say with a hint of humor in my eyes. His reflection in the elevator door seems to get angrier by the second. Before I know what is happening, he punches the stop button in the elevator and it jolts making me yelp. He turns towards me and I take a step back only to find myself now caged in between his arms, his body nearly against mine.

"Know your place Ms. Erickson." He states making me look up at him. I give him a smirk because if he is looking to get a rise out of me then he is sorely mistaken.

"Very well Oscar." I say with a wink and a flash of recognition shines through his eyes at the name.

"What did you just say?" He says and I smile gleefully.

"Whatever you say Oscar the Grouch." I say perfectly clearly. I watch as his jaw clenches. His eyes close and he steps away from me hitting the red button to start the elevator up again.

"Twerp." He says just above a whisper and I smile knowing that I got to him this time around.

There's the Tatum I know.

There's the Tatum I have missed.