Chapter 1

• After finishing college and working in several small companies, a close family friend had managed to get me an interview at a very important company to be Mr. Bornout's secretary, who practically owned almost the entire city of Los Angeles. As soon as I arrived, I parked my truck in the parking lot of my new apartment, turned it off, and opened the trunk to start unloading the few boxes left to officially move in. I walked towards the reception where the guard just smiled at me while I tried to maneuver the three boxes and press the elevator button. As soon as the metal box arrived, I entered and pressed the number 5 button, making it start to go up. Once I reached the apartment, I left the boxes on the floor and left my keys on the small table by the entrance.
• The apartment had been a gift from my father for my graduation, it was a very spacious place with large glass windows where I could see almost the entire city. As I walked to the small living room, I noticed a note with the address of the interview for the next day and the time. I heard my phone vibrating and began to search for it in one of the boxes, throwing almost all the contents until I found it. The caller ID showed Allie's name, a girl I had met in college when I had gone to study in New York and who had become my best friend.
• "What's up?" I answered when I picked up the call.
• "Are you in your apartment?"
• "Yes."
• "I'll pick you up in 15, wear something nice."
• I looked at the phone for a few seconds before picking up what I had thrown from the box and walking to my room, where I changed out of my baggy clothes into a light white blouse, blue jeans, and white Converse sneakers. I grabbed a small bag to put my phone in, walked to the door, took my keys and a green sweater I had left on my last visit, and locked the door.
• As I arrived back at the reception, I found Allie wearing a beach hat, black sunglasses, a pale pink blouse, and shorts that showed off her long legs. She squealed and ran towards me to hug me.
• "Welcome to Los Angeles," she greeted happily, letting go of me to start walking towards her car. "We'll go for a ride and then to a bar."
• "You know I can't drink," I commented, following her. "I have an interview early tomorrow."
• She unlocked the silver Audi A5 convertible and we both got in. Allie knew I had the interview tomorrow, but knowing her, I knew we would go out for drinks regardless of my opinion or what would happen.
• "So, how about a nice wine and some movies at my place, and then I'll take you back to yours at night?" she suggested, looking at me for a few seconds before heading out into the city traffic.
• I sighed, knowing she would find a way for me to drink at least a little, and honestly, I wanted to. So, without further ado, I accepted her offer. It was better to be at a house than at a bar where all Allie would do was find someone to sleep with that night. And so, with the wind playing with my hair and the music blasting, we headed to her house.
• Upon arrival, I noticed that her house was, in a few words, huge. I knew her family had money, but I didn't know they had that much. The main gate was golden and led to a fountain. Allie stopped in front of the house, got out, and I followed suit. She opened the door and entered, revealing a grand foyer and a fairly large central staircase. On the left side was a living room and on the right was a dining room.
• "You never told me what your house was like," I accused, following her to the door next to the dining room, entering a kitchen.
• "Well, my mother married a guy who does some tech stuff," she shrugged, taking out a half"finished bottle of wine. "They met a few months after she divorced my father.""
• She takes out two cups from the cupboard and starts pouring what was red wine, knowing that her parents divorced a few years ago and that's why she decided to go to NYU to avoid being in the middle of the problems that came with the divorce. She hardly talked about it and I never asked too many questions because I knew how delicate the topic was. She hands me the cup and I take a long sip.
• "So, this is his house?"
• "Yes, we moved here 5 months ago," she replies, grabbing another bottle. "For now, things are going well and the guy doesn't bother me much, he seems like a nice person."
• She gestures for me to follow her up the stairs, turn right, and enter the second door. Her room was almost the size of my apartment. The canopy bed was almost centered, with a pink quilt resting on it. There was a large balcony to the left, a few steps from the bed, overlooking a big pool. Allie closes the door and I notice a plasma TV hanging behind it. We both sit on the bed and she puts on a movie I didn't recognize.
• "Did you know that the person you're going to work for is one of the richest in the world?" she comments, catching my attention after several minutes.
• "I'm still not sure if I'll get the job, there are thousands applying for it."
• "Yes, but this guy has thousands of businesses scattered around the world and I think he's opening a tech company somewhere in Asia now," she speaks with interest, getting up from the bed towards the desk, still holding her cup.
• "And why should that matter?" I ask curiously, approaching her. "The job is well"paid and not too demanding.""
• "Don't you wonder what he's like?"
• She types Christian Bornout's name into the search engine and instantly several news articles and photos of the man appear. In one of them, he is seen with a serious face, looking directly at the camera, his gray eyes shining, dark brown hair and a perfect face. The man in the photo was really young, maybe in his twenties. I was surprised that someone who looked so young had built such a huge empire.
• After that, Allie and I continued browsing through some pages following the path of his businesses, then we spent the afternoon and part of the night watching movies of all kinds while drinking glass after glass of wine. I decided it was time to go home and seeing that Allie was not in the best condition, as she had more than just wine, she asked one of her drivers to take me home. So, a man named Miller dropped me off in front of my apartment and made sure I got inside.
• Back in my apartment, I changed into pajamas, set the alarm on my phone, and fell into bed, slowly drifting off to sleep, feeling the nervousness of the interview the next day.