The 34th Floor Pt. 03

[Part Three]

It was ten till midnight when the two women reached the lobby. Neither spoke on the way out of the building. Having recovered from her previous bliss, the pain in her pelvis from where she had been pinned to the desk radiated heat up her front. Shit, that was rough, she thought. Every other step stung a bit where her yoga pants brushed against her waist. Along with the pelvic pain, she noticed her scalp stung a bit as well, but the pain wasn't too bad.

Reaching the passenger side door, Alex looked at her dim reflection in the window. She couldn't see much but from what she could see, her hair was a disheveled mess. Alex stepped into the car, thankful that the few people she had heard in the building when they got there had been long gone. Anyone who saw her would have had at least a decent hunch what she had been doing there so late.

Sitting down she buckled and tried not to look at her mom, who had just sat in the driver's seat. The pity that she had felt towards her mother in the office was fading and another, more complicated emotion was taking over.

"So...," Alex began after Lisa had started the car. "He quit my job for me."

Lisa was quiet for a moment. Alex got the impression that she hadn't lost the urge to never speak again yet herself. "Yes," she answered finally, "he quit your job for you."

This was like a flashbulb to Alex. Suddenly her heart was pounding and she felt ready to fight. "Why would he do that? He didn't even know me! Was he just that sure that I would agree?" The words came loud and fast. Her mother flinched slightly at her sudden aggression.

"I don't know, Alex. He has a way with people. You have to be good at sealing deals, to have his job."

"His job? What about MY job? The job that I had no say in losing!"

"Come now, Alex," Lisa said in a testing tone. "You know you didn't actually like working there."

"Oh, hell no." Alex threw back at her mother, venomously. "You are not defending his actions right now." She had turned and faced her mother, who had both hands on the wheel and whose eyes were unmoving.

Lisa took a second to reply. "No. No I'm not. He was wrong to do that." Alex could see in her face that Lisa was close to tears. As much anger as she had in that moment, she made herself pull back. She did love her mother and even now, she didn't want to see her cry.

"I had friends at Wendy's. I've never even missed a day of work, and now I'm just gone without warning. That's not who I am! But enough about my job, for now," she added as she wasn't sure she was done with the subject, "what about your job? How long have you been his... plaything?"

Lisa was once again slow to answer. "For almost ten years. Not too long after I started working for him."

Alex did some quick figuring in her head "Wait, that was around when Jonathan died. Did you start seeing him before or-?"

"After," Lisa said sharply, finishing her sentence for her. "We were newlyweds when he died, Alex. I would never have cheated on him."

"Right." Alex said accusingly, "And just how long did it take until you and DeMarco made y'all's arrangement?"

To Alex's surprise, Lisa hit the brakes hard on the empty road. The tires squealed on the asphalt. "Listen here, Alex." Lisa had turned and was pointing at Alex. There was a fire behind her green eyes that made Alex feel like a child getting scolded for breaking something. "Don't you dare imply that I didn't care about your stepfather. That I didn't mourn.

"Your stepfather was the breadwinner of the family. You might not remember this, but we were going to lose the house. When he died, all I had was a job as a secretary. It wasn't enough. I had met Mr. DeMarco a few months before that, and he offered to hire me as his personal sec. He implied there was more to it, but we needed the money, Alex. Just like you do. I wasn't about to let my child starve or be homeless or grow up wanting." Headlights shone through the back window. Lisa didn't care.

"Mr. DeMarco provided everything we needed. I owe him a lot." The car behind them honked and drove around. "Jackass!" Alex heard the driver yell.

"Mom," Alex's voice was timid and had lost all the fire that she had had before. "Maybe we should move?"

Lisa turned back to the wheel sharply and resumed driving. Alex hadn't wanted to see her cry, but this... this was much worse. They never spoke about Jonathan, and she hardly ever spoke about Mr. DeMarco. Now Alex could see why. She could tell that Lisa had wanted to say all this for some time.

Several minutes passed before Alex found her voice again. "Mom?" Alex probed.

"Yes, love." Her voice was soft again, the heat of the moment having passed.

Alex was about to apologize, but pivoted, "Why can't you do the job anymore? You've been his... servant... for nine years. Why now?"

Lisa's face soured. "Because I'm forty." There was bitterness in her voice. "He just can't finish with me anymore. Apparently, that's just too old for him."

There was silence between the two women for a minute. "He was going to stop paying me what he had been. 'I'm sorry, Ms. Davis,'" Lisa mimicked Mr. DeMarco's deep voice the best she could, "'I can't afford to pay you like a whore if you can't perform like one.' Like it's my fault the number forty is his line in the sand."

Alex had never heard her speak ill of him before. As if catching herself, Lisa returned to the careful tone she normally took when talking about Mr. DeMarco. "But he gave me a condition. He would still pay me most of my normal pay, if I brought him my replacement." There was shame in her voice at the last couple of words.

"But why me, Mom? Me?" Alex asked the question that had been burning in her since Lisa first asked her to come help with a project that night.

"He wanted you," Lisa stated matter-of-factly. "Asked for you by name. Like I told you earlier, he knows me very well. And I guess he figured..." she sighed. "Anything I could do, you could do..."

"Younger." Alex finished for her. She felt gross. Like discovering that a dish she greatly enjoyed had been made with slave labor. "I need a shower." They had arrived at home.

"Yeah," Lisa spoke just above a whisper, "I do, too."

[Part 4]

Alex woke up the next morning to her 6:00 alarm blaring. She groggily turned it off and sat up. It wasn't until she sat up and saw that she was still wearing her clothes that she remembered the night before. She sat up and checked her phone. She was expecting a message from someone from the Wendy's morning crew asking about why she quit. No messages, yet. She supposed that it was only just now six and her other openers would have just heard about it last night, if at all.

Alex thought back to what happened after they got home. When she had gotten back to her room last night, she remembered thinking she needed a shower, sitting on her bed for a moment... and passing out. She was so tired then and she was still tired now. Tired, but not sleepy anymore. Her body, after hearing her alarm for work, had decided that now was the time to be awake.

As she shifted in her clothes the events of last night swam into her head. The job interview, DeMarco, and her mother... she had the sudden urge to take that shower. She walked across the house to her bathroom and turned the water on to warm. She removed her clothes and tentatively looked in the mirror. Her hair was a disaster. It stuck up at odd angles and was almost assuredly knotted. For not the first time, she had the urge to cut it all off. Hopefully, the steam will help.

She continued surveying her body. On her waist, she could see four finger-shaped bruises on each side of her waist and she was willing to bet a fifth on each back side as well. There was a darkish red line just above her pubic mound from the edge of the desk. It didn't actively hurt anymore, but she discovered that it did still sting when she touched it. Christ, how hard was he pushing?

Memories of being pinned with her arms behind her against the desk while being taken from behind swam into her consciousness. She could feel her growing arousal at the thought. Fuck, that felt amazing...

Checking the temperature, Alex hopped into the shower. She could feel the tension in her body melt as the hot water and steam enveloped her. As she slowly washed her hair she thought about the conversation she had had with Lisa the night before. According to her, Mr. DeMarco had been their family's savior. Their white knight; providing for their family for years. Paying her God knows how much, for doing God knows what. What had he said? "She is embarrassed to be exposed like this in front of you, though she has performed for an audience before."

Maybe exhibitionism was part of his kink? Or did he mean that she had taken on multiple people? She stopped washing herself. No, I don't want to think about Mom like that.

In response to her objection, her thoughts shifted. Instead of her mother, she pictured herself, naked in a room full of executives, being railed by Mr. DeMarco over the table while they jeered... money flying... without even realizing Alex's hand had moved up to her breasts. She pictured being groped from behind, not knowing who was doing it, while Mr. DeMarco smiled coldly across from her, his demeanor exuding power... Her other hand slipped lower to touch herself.

She stopped. What the fuck has gotten into me? I am never this horny. After her last boyfriend, she had given up on sex for a while. It always seemed to lead to too much drama. For over a year she hardly even touched herself or used her favorite vibrator.

But now... was it the sudden attention that was doing it for her? The depravity? The money? Or had it just been too long since she last had any? Or was it something about DeMarco?

"No, it's not him," she said aloud. He's a creepy old man who took advantage of a grieving widow. Even as she thought this, the image of him leaning back against the desk, commanding and strong, swam through her mind. "The position... is however I see fit," His deep voice echoed inside her.

A few minutes later she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. "Okay," she said, speaking to herself to help organize her thoughts, " maybe I liked parts of it, but he took it too far. Way too far." As she reached for her towel, her phone buzzed. Looking at the screen she saw it was from her mother.

"Just left for work. There is a gift on your door. Please remember to say thank you."

Alex had a feeling she knew who it was from. Drying herself off and wrapping her towel around her chest, she tentatively walked back towards her room.

Hanging on her doorknob were three black garment bags. The first of them had a note on it. She took the bags into her room and laid them on the bed. Opening the note, it read, "3 GRN BusCas, 38S, B/P/H". The handwriting was tight, slanted, and hard to decipher. She guessed it hadn't been written for her. She flipped it over. In what appeared to be the same handwriting it said "Your uniforms. Look nice." That definitely had been written for her. My uniforms? She supposed that they hadn't discussed dress code, but she knew what kinds of things her mother wore to work. She would have found something decent to wear. Bold of him to assume that I would need him to buy me something to look presentable. She looked into the first bag.

"Oh... my god..." Alex muttered to herself. Inside was a beautiful, emerald green, short-sleeved, V-neck, blouse with ruffles on the sleeves and collar. She could tell from the material alone that it was well above anything that she could have afforded. It was cool and airy to the touch and felt amazing. Underneath the blouse, she saw a pair of light grey slacks, and tied to the hanger in a clear plastic bag were a pair of gorgeous black heels.

Alex looked in the next. It was another full outfit. This time a long-sleeved, dark green button-down made of the same material, a pair of dark grey slacks, and another set of black heels. In the next bag, a light green, short-sleeved button-down, with black slacks and grey heels. They were all so nice. And green...

Green was never her favorite color to wear. She hardly ever found things in green that she would want to wear and had long since removed the color from her wardrobe. Maybe she could ask him if she could return them for something in a different color? She looked at the outfits for tags to see if any still had the tags. All had been removed, except for one. On the first blouse she had looked at was a small tag that read $125.00. "Jesus Christ! How much did he spend on me?"

She laid all three out on her bed and decided to try on the ruffled blouse. She had to admit, it was a pretty cute top and it might just bring out her eyes.

Trying it on, she noticed that it fit extremely well. Had her mom told him her sizes? Or was he just that good at judging? If she did tell him, were they talking last night after she went to bed? For some reason she doubted it. Surely there weren't any luxury clothes shops still open when she left the office last night. Was this just something else Mr. DeMarco had taken it upon himself to do before she even accepted the job?

She checked her phone again. 7:15, and she had a message. This time from Colbie, a coworker whom she was quite fond of. Or former coworker she supposed.

"Are you okay? Mako says you quit? Did something happen last night?"

Alex wasn't sure how to reply. Eventually, she just settled on, "Yeah. I'm okay, just had some personal stuff come up. Don't worry about me."

Alex thought her friend deserved a better answer than that, but didn't know how to begin to explain the events of the night before. She had known DeMarco for less than 12 hours and she felt like he was affecting every part of her life. Can I really take five weeks of this?

With this thought, Alex gave a sideways glance at the clothes laid out on her bed and the dirty T-shirt and yoga pants on the floor. She picked up the pants, retrieved the $300 from the pocket, and placed it on her bedside table, right next to her car note.

____________________

Alex showed up to the office at 9:30 AM. Stepping into the building she felt like she was stepping into a world that wasn't hers. The building had an entirely different vibe during the day. Instead of cold and abandoned, the entry floor felt inviting and warm. This was helped by a kind-looking man behind the front desk who was smiling heartily at her. "You must be Alex Monroe?" the man asked as she approached.

"Um, yes. That's me."

"Of course you are, you look just like your mother. Mr. DeMarco told me to expect you. You will be needing this. Welcome to the Demron family!" The man handed Alex a badge with a smile. It had her name on it under the words "Demron Enterprises".

"Thank you, very much." Alex took the badge and returned the smile.

"Love the blouse!" He added as she started to walk away.

"Thanks!" She shot him another smile and headed towards the elevator. The office building was in full swing at this time of day. It took a solid ten minutes to get to the 34th floor with all of the stops the elevator kept making. As she arrived at 34, she had to remind herself which way to her office. She walked until she saw a familiar face. Lisa was sitting at her desk on the telephone. She looked up at her daughter as she passed. Alex took notice as she began to look her outfit up and down, stopping so her mother could do so. Lisa gave her a thumbs up and a small smile. Alex gave her a nod back and continued to her office. She still hadn't decided how mad she was at her. There was a lot she wanted to talk to Mr. DeMarco about first thing, and that needed to be her focus for now.

Alex walked past Mr. DeMarco's office to her own. The door to her office couldn't have been more different than his. Where DeMarco's door was large, ornate, and of a dark wood, hers looked like it could have belonged to the office copy machine. As she opened the door she saw that beside the handle was a small label, "Alex Monroe, Personal Assistant". She stepped into her office.

The first thing she noticed about the room was how cosy it was. The light coming from the tinted floor-to-ceiling windows was pouring over her new desk. The desk was a dark brown wood with a glossy finish, not unlike DeMarco's. Behind the desk was a very comfortable-looking spinning chair sitting before a dual-monitor computer setup. The room was also fitted with two plush loveseats and a small coffee table.

Placed right in the center of her desk, directly next to her office line, was a smartphone. She walked over and picked it up. Underneath the phone was a sticky note with the numbers, "815162". After verifying on the phone that it was its unlock code, she placed the phone on her desk and sat down.

Now what? According to her watch, it was 9:55, and she had no idea what to do. She looked at the spot in the wall where the hidden door was. From her side of the door, it wasn't nearly as concealed. While it wouldn't be the first thing you noticed upon entering the room, it certainly wouldn't take long for it to be spotted if you were stopping by. Anyone familiar with the top floor, or even just this hallway would know that the CEO's office was on the other side.

She looked at her silver wristwatch again. 9:57. Looking up again, a tall filing cabinet stood in the corner of the room. "Hmm..." Alex pondered aloud. Crossing the room to the cabinet, she placed a hand on either side and attempted to lift.

"Need some help?" a deep voice asked from behind her.

Alex screamed and spun around. The door to the neighboring office had been opened and standing in the doorway was the imposing figure of Robert DeMarco. "Jesus Christ! Don't do that!" Alex's heart was beating like she had just run a marathon.

DeMarco smiled at her. "I expected you at your desk, not with your back to me. I didn't intend to frighten you. Do you need help with that?" DeMarco nodded towards the cabinet Alex has been attempting to move.

Hand still on her heart, Alex looked at the cabinet again. "Umm... I was just going to move it over there." she stammered, pointing towards the door where Mr. DeMarco was standing. "By the door? It just seemed..." Mr. DeMarco had closed the door and was moving towards Alex with purpose.. Alex lost her voice as he approached her. Was he about to push her against the wall, right now?

DeMarco stopped in front of her, so close that Alex had to look upwards just to continue to look him in the eye. The look he had was bemused. Alex felt like prey looking up at the face of a predator. With almost no effort, DeMarco bent down, - Yes, pick me up, Sir. -, and lifted the cabinet effortlessly and placed it by the door.

"It just seemed...?" DeMarco parroted back to her after setting the cabinet down.

"What?" Alex said incredulously, head still spinning from where her mind had gone. What the hell was that? She had been all ready to give him an earful of her thoughts a few minutes ago, but the simple act of him walking to her had made her want to melt. Her heart was still hammering.

"You were saying. 'It just seemed'."

"Oh, right." Alex collected her thoughts and looked at the filing cabinet. As she had hoped, the cabinet did do a lot to disguise the entrance. Or at least make it seem like it wasn't in active use. "Well, it just seemed that... the door. It's pretty obvious from my side. If someone came to my office, it wouldn't be hard for them to realize it went to yours. It might seem, I don't know. Unusual? I thought the cabinet would help distract from it."

DeMarco frowned and looked at the cabinet and door. "I see. Do you plan on people visiting your office?"

"Um, no. I don't know anyone here, other than you and Mom. But I just figured, since you seem to value secrecy..."

"Looking out for me?" he chuckled. His laugh annoyed Alex for a reason she couldn't quite put her finger on. Instead of acknowledging Alex's point, DeMarco continued, "You are free to arrange your office as you see fit."

"Right. Mr. DeMarco..."

"How did you sleep last night?" DeMarco interrupted.

"Fine. Well, even, now that I think about it. I was exhausted. But..."

"How are the clothes?" DeMarco seemed to be wanting to steer this conversation and at this rate, she wasn't sure he was going to let her have her turn at the wheel.

"The clothes are beautiful. Thank you, but you didn't need to buy me anything. I would have worn something decent."

DeMarco leaned against her desk and raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you would have. However, I was right in picking the clothes I did. You look fantastic."

"Mr. DeMarco, Sir," Alex interjected.

"Green goes quite well with your-"

"STOP." Alex was tired of the interruptions. Alex looked DeMarco in the eye. "My turn to talk."

Mr. DeMarco gave her a half smile which infuriated her. He didn't interrupt though. She had the floor.

"Look, thank you for the clothes. And the opportunity. And the office. But last night, was too much. Quitting my job, was too much. You are lucky I showed up today." When DeMarco didn't respond, she continued.

"Last night, was fine until you went too far. If you make Lisa do anything like that again, I walk. Get yourself a new fuck buddy."

"Last night, Alex; you and I both know you thought it was more than 'fine'. That's why, moments ago, you wanted me to lift you up and fuck you against that filing cabinet."

Alex was stunned. How the hell did he know what I was thinking? Was I that obvious? Alex was still formulating a snarky response to this when DeMarco pressed on.

"Last night I pushed you as far as I knew I could get away with. I saw your face at every moment. I knew when you hit your limit and I ended it. It was an interview, and I was testing your response.

You see, I know what your mother will do when I give her an order. I know how she responds. She finds little pleasure greater than serving me. You, Alex, are an unknown. I find that... exhilarating." DeMarco let the moment sit on the last word as he eyed her. He was making her mother sound like some kind of submissive pet with no will of her own. The thing is, she didn't know whether what he was saying was true. Based on what she did last night, Alex was inclined to believe him. She had put up with him for almost a decade. "I know now, where your line is."

"You know, normal people ask." Alex spat back at him.

"I am not a normal person." DeMarco's face was no longer smiling, and his tone was very straightforward. The words sent a chill down Alex's spine.

"As to your job and Wendy's," the way he pronounced the word betraying his attitude toward such jobs, "I quit your job for you, because you didn't want to work there. Lisa told me that you had an interest in being a mechanic." She did? Alex hadn't mentioned this to her mother since she left high school. She had always been mildly interested in cars, and had briefly danced with the idea of becoming a mechanic shortly before graduating. Nowhere had been hiring a fresh-out-of-school "mechanic" with no training, so she went to fast food. It was a passion that she neglected and let whither with time. Where the hell was he going with this?

DeMarco retrieved his phone from his pocket and opened his messages. "I have an acquaintance who owns a body shop. He has been looking for an apprentice for a while. I told him that I was going to offer a job to a beautiful young lady with an interest in cars, and if you said no, he was going to offer you a job under him. See for yourself."

He handed the phone over to Alex. She looked over the last few messages on screen.

Connor: yes absolutely. That sounds perfect. Send her my way if she says no, Mr. DeMarco. I owe you one.

DeMarco: And you don't have any issue with the pay I stated?

Connor: no that's fine. $20/hr. I'll make it work. For you.

Mr. DeMarco gently took his phone back from Alex's hand. "When I ask people for favors, they bend to my will. Everyone wants to be on good terms with you when you're rich. If I'm not mistaken, $20/hour would have been about 25% more than what you were making at Wendy's. And you would have been doing something that you actually could be proud of."

"I-... It's not your place. You don't get to make my life decisions." Alex had a quaver in her voice.

"It's what I do, Alex. I put people where they need to be. But, if you don't like the way I run things, I can text Mr. Connor. I can tell him you will be there in 50 minutes for an interview."

Alex didn't answer. $20/hr was nice, but it would still be several months before she had enough in savings to move. She had made $300 in one night.

"No more changes," Alex stated firmly. "I am not my mother. You ask me before you change things in my life, or I walk."

Mr. DeMarco stared her down with a soft, contemplative look. "Okay, Alex. Deal."