Smith had been informed of Mary's arrival earlier, so, he wasn't surprised to see her but what he didn't prepare himself for, was seeing the sensual beauty she possessed on display. Her gown did nothing to hide that fact, despite being modestly dressed. He stood right in front of Mary, who kept taking a step back as he took a step closer to her. She kept up with that charade until she felt a hard surface behind her. Her back had hit a wall and she was trapped in-between, with Smith standing so close. Mary braced herself up, as she kept a straight face.
Smith dipped his head towards her, sniffing her neck. He loved the smell of her natural scent, mixed with her body spray. He raised his head to her face, his gaze landing on her soft, delectable lips. It took every ounce of his willpower to stop himself from having a taste of those lips. His gaze roamed over her body in open admiration before finally resting on her face. He saw a wave of emotions flicker through her eyes. Smith immediately sensed something was amiss. He saw the lingering sadness in her eyes. He took a few steps backward, creating some space between them.
Rather than relief, Mary felt a pang of disappointment when Smith finally took a step back. She was able to assess his strong features and beautiful body, at a close range; the gentle rise and fall of his chest, the dancing colors in his eyes as they glint of mischief.
"Come, have your seat"
Mary went obediently to take a seat. He noticed her eyes had lost its color, as a pair of anxious eyes stared back at him.
"What is wrong Mary? You don't look happy", he asked in a gentle tone
"I'm quite alright", Mary forced a smile as she replied, wondering why he cared.
"Actually sir, I've come to inform you of my readiness to work for you. After much deliberation on the matter, I have come to this conclusion", Mary continued calmly.
"What about your mom? Did she give her consent?"
Mary was suddenly engulfed in anger. She couldn't believe the audacity of this man.
Bastard! That's what you are. A fucking bastard! Mary was screaming in her head. How could this man mock their integrity. Mary thought, as she went back to the first time she had received the shocking news of her mother's health condition in Dr. Bright's office.
"My dear," she had begun, "I see you are oblivious to your mother's health condition this last few months. You see, your mother has been having some complications due to the nature of her job. The industry she works with makes use of some hazardous chemicals that can be injurious to one's health if not well managed. Unfortunately, your mother has been exposed to some of these radioactive chemicals in the last one year without adequate safety measures and intensive medical care put in place".
She remembered how she had narrowed her eyes at her as she straightened from her seat and started pacing the small but neat office. She went back and forth for a while, then suddenly stopped in her track, looked towards the direction of Dr. Bright.
"I can't believe mum was still working with ALF". She had managed to say but that had not been all of it, as Dr. Bright had more shocking news for her.
"Your mother's test result showed that she is suffering from leukemia; cancer of the blood. Her medical record shows that this leukemia has been in her system for some years now as she was first diagnosed with chronic leukemia. One good thing about chronic leukemia is that a patient can live with it for years without being placed on tyrosine kinase inhibitors or a bone marrow transplant, until the disease acts like AML - Acute myeloid leukemia. Unfortunately, her immune system could no longer fight this disease and, gradually, there's now a transformation from an acute to chronic leukemia. With this new development, we need to commence treatment on your mother as soon as possible."
"Mary! Are you okay?" Smith was calling to her.
Struggling to keep her tears at bay, she blinked her eyes repeatedly. She took a deep breath to calm herself before responding to his question.
"Of course sir", she managed to say, every fibre in her body vibrating.
Smith is no fool. He could tell from Mary's body language that all was not well but he chose to let the sleeping dog lie for now. He would have to comfort himself with the fact that she was ready to accept his job offer. For no particular reason, he felt Mary is the only one he could trust with the details of the job, aside Bugle, his legal advisor.
"I'll have my lawyer prepare a NDA. You must go through every detail in that document before appending your signature. It is important that you follow the agreement strictly. You do understand what a NDA is, don't you?"
Mary nodded affirmatively.
"Good. You will also need to submit a signed copy of your mum granting her approval.
Mary's heart flipped a thousand times in a second. She thought of a way to escape this dilemma. She decided she would deploy a defiant tactic.
"Why should you concern yourself with my mother's opinion anyway! I'm an adult for pete's sake! She said forcefully.
"Mind your tone young lady. You will do well to remember whose presence you are", Smith gritted out.
Mary blinked her eyes, mentally slapping herself for riling him. She knew what was at stake. The last thing she wanted was being kicked out of his presence without a second thought.
"Besides, you are just eighteen", Smith continued
"Nineteen actually. In precisely two months time", Mary interrupted, baring her teeth as she gave a wicked grin.
Smith ignored her statement, clearly not in the mood to banter words with her. What he would have loved to do is to satisfy the desire of his twitching palm.
It wouldn't be such a bad idea to put her across his knees and give her a good spank in the butt. Smith thought with a smug look on his face.
"Young lady, get me a copy of your mother's signed agreement and you have the job", Smith replied instead with a tone of finality in his voice.
"Consider it done sir", Mary replied without giving it a second thought, immediately regretting her hasty response.
This is what you get when you allow your mouth, rather than your brain to take control. Her subconscious mind pointed out to her.
"Then it is a deal, Miss Minali", Smith said laying emphasis on the title.