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manatee
pathological people pleaser.
although he had everything
his h.e.a.r.t desired
he was spoiled
selfish
and unkind.
There was nothing in the world that he liked more than money. Money was everything. It was in total control of life, and he had enough to last him a lifetime. Money aided him in all of the fun that he liked to have, and he didn’t have to bat an eye when he paid for last minute vacations or bar tabs for his entire group or anything else like that. It wasn’t as if Wesley Vaughn had ever wanted for anything, he didn’t even understand how to want for something. The most he’d ever wanted was for about three seconds – or as long as it took a credit card to slide through the machine.
To say that Wesley Vaughn lived a privileged life would be an understatement. Things went well for him, they always had. His father had started one of the biggest banks in the nation, and before that they had been more than blessed with family money. All he was exposed to was his father working all the time, his mother standing faithfully by his side when he was at the office until nine at night or later, and Wesley had decided early on that he would never be as dedicated to anything as much as his father was to work. There was no room for fun if he had to think about a business all the time. And Wesley loved having fun.
He knew that one day his father was going to get too old to handle the business and it would be his place to step in. He’d gone to an Ivy League school, gotten a double degree in business and banking. Wesley Vaughn might have never taken anything seriously, but he wasn’t stupid. At Ivy League schools the focus was on getting the highest education possible, and he had done that. On the weekends though, the guys from those schools partied hard. Wesley was introduced to seedy bars, and thin lines of powder on a stoic porcelain bowl, and he remembered the headlines that his mother had cried over the next morning.
Sometimes when he sat at the breakfast table on those visits home, his mother wondering where they had gone wrong, he wanted to shake her. Had she honestly thought being raised with money tossed into his face was the best way to raise an upstanding individual? Wesley never talked about his feelings or reasons that he might have been the way he was, but if there was any sort of belief that something had happened to him when he was younger, it was correct. All he knew was to stay out of the way and to be rewarded with materialistic possessions. His father silenced him with new clothes and a pocket full of cash, and when Wesley had tried to say he wanted to go to another school for college, he’d ended up with a brand new car and the rights to their summer home on the coast whenever he wanted. No was not an option in the Vaughn family.
Maybe at one point in his life he would have wished for his parents to be around more, to be more present in his life. But when he got to college he realized it was just how things worked. In fact, he had it well. What more could he have asked for? He had a bank account that was bottomless, a nice car, and parents who supported him. But Wesley lied when he said that he had everything he wanted. All he had really wanted was for his mother and father to show him interest, and it hadn’t happened. It was college and it still hadn’t happened, so he knew to not get his hopes up. He learned to cope with it, and the best way to cope with not having anyone around. Over the four years at college he got entirely too used to being alone, unless he was out at a party. He also got used to the papers and trashy magazines having his name in the headline, and his father paying off those newspapers to stop publishing articles about his son. His mother and father might not have cared or shown him any interest, but they certainly didn’t want him to ruin their name.
“Wesley, your father is sick, can’t you please show a little compassion and just take over his spot at the bank.”
The pleading in his mother’s voice was more than he’d ever heard before – even back in college when she’d been begging him to stop all of the partying. Not that he had ever stopped going out and making bad choices, but he got a lot better at paying people off to hide it. He’d already told his father that he didn’t want to do it. Why would he help him out? His feet were propped up on the couch as he reclined, and Wesley wondered absently how his mother had gotten into his house. He knew she didn’t have a key. Maybe his housekeeper had let her in – he’d talk to her about that. Wesley didn’t want his parents in his life. They hadn’t wanted in it when he’d been younger, so they had no place in it now.
Wesley had been perfectly content with sitting with his feet propped up and ignoring his mother, but he could feel her eyes on him. She was glaring at him, and he looked up from the game he was playing on his phone and studied her for a moment. It wasn’t an option he realized. She wasn’t asking him to do them a favor, she was demanding it. He knew that his father couldn’t really be that sick, but apparently it was bad enough to keep him from work.
“Fine.”
The old woman was going on with a list of reasons as to why she needed an extension on her loan. The story must have been heartbreaking, and her lines convincing, and maybe if Wesley would have been paying attention to her he might have said yes. He understood that she wasn’t asking for much, just a two week extension, but he didn’t care. What was she going to earn in two weeks time that she didn’t already have now?
“No.”
His reply was short and simple and he didn’t even glance up from his phone when he spoke, just let out the one syllable word when she stopped talking and waited on her to start talking again. She did, so he repeated himself, his eyes lifting for a few seconds to eye her with boredom before he returned back to the text message on his screen. Wesley didn’t have time to deal with people – he didn’t want to be here. All he did was sit in his office, the best on in the building, and play games on his phone and make plans for the weekends. A good time was his number one priority, and he honestly didn’t give two fucks about his father’s business. There were literally hundreds of employees; there was no way that he even needed to be here on a regular basis. Besides, Wesley knew that his father really didn’t want him dealing with any of his business.
The woman’s last words caught his attention and Wesley eyed her like she was crazy as she gripped onto his wrist. He willed himself not to look down from her gaze, because he wasn’t going to back down from anything, even though it felt like where her fingers wrapped around his skin was on fire. Her words unnerved him, for reasons he couldn’t really explain. As she left his office, he sat staring at the doorway, her words echoing through his mind and his hand rubbing tentatively at his wrist for the rest of the evening.
That was the night that the first marks began to show; they were vines, wrapping around his list like her old, bony fingers.
Thankfully working in banking required a lot of suits. Normally Wesley preferred tugging off his jacket and loosening his tie, rolling up his sleeves to his elbows. Lately that hadn’t been possible. The vines that had appeared on his wrists had slowly started growing. It wasn’t daily, and it wasn’t a lot at a time, but now they reached his mid-forearm and they looked like a poorly done tattoo. Wesley had never had something marking his body so permanently before, and he’d even gone to a plastic surgeon to find out what could be done, but they had dismissed him saying it was unlike anything they'd ever seen. No matter how much he stressed that it wasn’t a tattoo, the doctor hadn’t believed him. And who would? Wesley could tell just about anyone on the planet that these mysterious marks had appeared on his arm, but who would believe something like that? He hadn’t seen the lady since the day she’d begged for an extension on her loan in his office, sitting across from the very chair he was sitting in currently. Sometimes when he looked at the chair he shuddered, remembering bits and pieces of what she’d said to him before she left.
What did that mean? His family was one of the wealthiest in the country, there was no way he’d ever have to see what it meant to beg to survive. His father had invested too much, become smart with his money, and so had Wesley. Sure, he was more frivolous than his father, but he still knew the importance of investing and saving and making the most of idle money in his accounts. Wesley never had to beg for anything in his life and he never would.
The knock on his door jarred him from his thoughts, but it didn’t remind him that he was at work. He’d been in his usual position, leaning back in the desk chair with his feet resting on the expensive wood, legs crossed at the ankles as he played absently on his phone. Sometimes he went through emails, but most of the time he was messaging – looking for something to do that night – or playing countless games, anything but looking through bank statements and monitoring investments. Who wanted to do that for a living? And why would he want to do that for his father?
There was another knock but still Wesley didn’t move. There was a woman saying his name and he glanced up at the closed doors before scrolling absently through his email. He vaguely remembered his mother mentioning a personal assistant, and telling him the rules of not to get involved with her, and he rolled his eyes, letting out a breath and about to speak out for her to enter when she was opening the door and making her way in.
His eyes only lifted from the phone for half a second to catch a glimpse of a petite frame and he listened as she went on, trying to hide a smile as her voice grew more and more frustrated.
“So, I'm taking it that you're my new assistant?" His tone was all amusement, “What can I expect you to do for me?”
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Doubt
clueless goddess
Ava Green
"Principessa?"
"Yes mama?
"Promise me you will always smile, no matter what the situation is."
"Of course mama."
The memory seemed to always play in Ava's head wherever she went. Whether it was during primary school when she tried to colour inside the lines or when she was trying not to look lonely and nerdy with her big frames and bright blue braces. Her mother was a major puzzle piece of Ava Green's life yet with her mother gone, the puzzle could never be completed. Ava grew up in the outskirts of Italy with her Uncle Marcus after the death of her mother from cancer. Ava hated the word, cancer, it seemed to bring misery and hatred to whoever spoke it aloud. It was strange to live without her mother, Ava was a walking mistake her mother made as a teenager and in all honestly, Ava didn't understand why her mother didn't give her up for adoption. She was bossy, blunt and had no filter on her mouth. A sinful princess her mother would call her with a smile on her face but not a cruel one, instead, it was a comforting and calming smile. It was a small inside joke between the Italian mother and daughter, something that Ava cherished as a child and as an adult.
Ava soon struggled as a child, her world seemed to be nothing but darkness without her mother's smile shining her way. She lost friendships, her aunt could barely connect with her and her bed seemed to be attached to Ava's body. It wasn't until she turned sixteen when she discovered writing. It was completely by accident, emotions were locked up inside of her like an angry lion in a tiny cage and then suddenly with a cheap notebook and pen, Ava wrote her heart out. She found her passion and she was determined to not loose it. But in life, things cost money and Ava had little to none to support her dream. So after spending two years of working three different jobs, Ava bought herself a cheap one-way flight to America, more specifically New York. Things were terrifying to the eighteen-year-old but with a little luck, she found her way.
That was almost three years ago, Ava soon found her feet and with the help of her roommate, Elizabeth, Ava learnt English and had multiple yet short-term jobs around New York. After being fired from her last job, Ava decided to find another job as an assistant. After posting the ad online, a mere hour later she had a reply from a Mrs Vaughn asking for an assistant for her son, Wesley. Ava happily accepted the task and she received everything she needed to know about the job over email. But of course, being the little nosey person she is, Ava researched about her new boss on the internet. She found multiple articles about the Vaughn bank and her new boss, Wesley Vaughn.
"Have you heard of this man, Liz?" Ava questioned curiously as she hunched over her laptop.
"Oh god yeah," Liz groaned as she rolled her eyes, "that family is loaded. Apparently, the Wesley guy is a major dick."
Ava rose a curious brow at her roommate, a major dick? She decided to shrug the comment off and went back to researching.
++++
"Ava are you awake? You're going to be late!"
Ava groaned as sunlight flooded into her small bedroom. Her vision blurred as she tried to untangle her petite body from the multiple blankets that clung onto her. After struggling for a few more minutes, Ava unwrapped the last blanket off her body and grabbed her phone from her bedside table. Her eyes widen as she read the notification on her phone.
'New job! Vaughn - 9am'
Ava leapt from her bed as she rushed around her room, quickly dressing herself a clean outfit from the pile of clothes that sat on a chair in the corner. She scurried to the kitchen, brushing her hair with a cheap comb while grabbing a green apple, placing it in between her teeth as she finished brushing her hair. Ava waved goodbye to Liz with a smile as she took a bite from her apple and went downstairs. She felt anxious knots form inside of her stomach as her ordered taxi pulled up next to her on the kerb, maybe her boss was mad at her already? Ava fiddled with her fingers nervously as the taxi drove her closer to her new job.
The taxi came to a screeching halt in front of the large building. A large lump formed in Ava's throat as she admired the grand building, the building was memorising which only made the girl even more anxious. Ava said her thanks as she jumped out of the taxi, slamming the door behind her. Slowly, she climbed up the staircase with her heels clicking on the surface. Ava knocked loudly on the grand door as she waited for someone to answer.
"Wesley Vaughn?" Ava called out as she banged on the door once more.
Soon her anxiety was taken over by anger. Was this some kind of joke? Ava continued to yell out Wesley's name until the door opened unexpectedly, making her jump in fright.
"So, I'm taking it that you're my new assistant? What can I expect you to do for me?"
Ava dusted her skirt as she cleared her throat. "I'm taking it that you're my new boss?" She said in a similar tone like his, "Your mother asked me-"
Ava's voice trailed off as she pulled out a crumpled note from her bag, it was a list of instructions his mother asked for her to do. She cleared her voice once more as she began to read the list.
"Make sure Wesley Vaughn does his work, not waste his day and stay off his phone." A small smile curled upon Ava's lips as she read the last instruction.
"So, what do you want me to do first?"
manatee
manatee
pathological people pleaser.
He got it, he knew that his mother hiring him an assistant was like a babysitter. Wesley knew that as a middle twenties businessman he should not need a babysitter. He also knew that every single important person in the business world had a personal assistant. So while he was up in his tower, scowling over the fact that someone was going to not only be watching his every move but dictating it, he figured he might as well make the best of it. He had known it was a woman - whoever his mother had hired - which he thought was a massive mistake on her part. There were so many games he could play with her, so many ways he could make her feel uncomfortable and quit. It was like giving a new toy to a spoiled boy. History always repeated itself.
Riling her up a bit was only fun and games - at her expense. As long as he got a rise out of it, did it really matter who else was affected? As she barged her way into his office, Wesley's eyes lingered on the time at the top of his phone. She was on time, but not early. It shocked him that she hadn’t gotten to his door before he’d arrived just to impress him. Maybe she was already impressed. It didn’t cross his mind at all that maybe she was one who didn’t quite care about impressing him. Maybe her honest to god reason for standing in front of the large, solid oak desk was because she wanted a paycheck in her hand every two weeks. It was only slightly shocking to his ego that her world wasn’t going to revolve around him.
As she stood in front of him talking, Wesley let his eyes take in his new employee. She seemed young, shockingly young, and for a moment he wondered what she would be doing accepting a job taking orders from him. It was the briefest of moments, however, because then he was taking in what she was wearing and her hair and the way her top moved across her chest when she moved her arms. He was a man, after all.
Nodding his head as she listed off her duties, Wesley dropped his phone onto the desk and stood, lowering his arm to button his suit jacket back together. “Sounds fascinating,” he answered dryly, leaning back against the desk and crossing one ankle over the other, his legs outstretched. “First thing, I always do my work. It might not always be on time, but it gets done. If my father wanted it done briskly, well, he shouldn’t have left me to it.” Without taking time for her to answer, Wesley was pushing himself off of the solid wood surface and motioning for Ava to follow.
“Right outside my doors you’ll find a desk - it’s yours. If you can get my number of clients to a minimum, you might see an increase in your pay.” His icy gaze met her own and he frowned, letting her know that he wasn’t joking. “It’s really just you and I up here at the top, down the hall is my father’s secretary - but I can’t imagine you needing her.” Wesley left her standing in front of her sleek designed desk and took a few steps backwards to the iced over glass of his own double doors. “Oh, I take my coffee black and I take my lunch at precisely noon.”
There was a beat of a pause as he eyed Ava thoughtfully.
“You will join me for lunches.”
Riling her up a bit was only fun and games - at her expense. As long as he got a rise out of it, did it really matter who else was affected? As she barged her way into his office, Wesley's eyes lingered on the time at the top of his phone. She was on time, but not early. It shocked him that she hadn’t gotten to his door before he’d arrived just to impress him. Maybe she was already impressed. It didn’t cross his mind at all that maybe she was one who didn’t quite care about impressing him. Maybe her honest to god reason for standing in front of the large, solid oak desk was because she wanted a paycheck in her hand every two weeks. It was only slightly shocking to his ego that her world wasn’t going to revolve around him.
As she stood in front of him talking, Wesley let his eyes take in his new employee. She seemed young, shockingly young, and for a moment he wondered what she would be doing accepting a job taking orders from him. It was the briefest of moments, however, because then he was taking in what she was wearing and her hair and the way her top moved across her chest when she moved her arms. He was a man, after all.
Nodding his head as she listed off her duties, Wesley dropped his phone onto the desk and stood, lowering his arm to button his suit jacket back together. “Sounds fascinating,” he answered dryly, leaning back against the desk and crossing one ankle over the other, his legs outstretched. “First thing, I always do my work. It might not always be on time, but it gets done. If my father wanted it done briskly, well, he shouldn’t have left me to it.” Without taking time for her to answer, Wesley was pushing himself off of the solid wood surface and motioning for Ava to follow.
“Right outside my doors you’ll find a desk - it’s yours. If you can get my number of clients to a minimum, you might see an increase in your pay.” His icy gaze met her own and he frowned, letting her know that he wasn’t joking. “It’s really just you and I up here at the top, down the hall is my father’s secretary - but I can’t imagine you needing her.” Wesley left her standing in front of her sleek designed desk and took a few steps backwards to the iced over glass of his own double doors. “Oh, I take my coffee black and I take my lunch at precisely noon.”
There was a beat of a pause as he eyed Ava thoughtfully.
“You will join me for lunches.”
Doubt
clueless goddess
Ava Green
At first, Ava was awestruck of meeting her new boss. He beauty in real life didn't compare to the photos she found online, it was just a shame that his personality wasn't the same as his looks. Her brown eyes studied the man carefully, noticing the little details on him such as his deep brown eyes matched his hair or how he was extremely taller than her, even with heels. Her gaze stayed focus on her new boss as he lead her through the office. Ava looked around as she shuffled behind Wesley, she felt like a child compared to the other workers here who seemed to be over thirty at least. Everything in the building seemed to be elegant and grand which only made the knots that formed in her stomach tightened. She felt out of place like a red pen in a box of blue pens.
Ava stopped next to Wesley as she looked at her new desk, it was a blank space with an oak brown desk and a chair on wheels. It wasn't much, but she loved it. A small smile formed on the young girl's lips as she returned her gaze back to her boss.
"Oh, I take my coffee black and I take my lunch at precisely noon."
Ava nodded as she made a small mental note in her mind, she would have to check the time once he left. Ava opened her lips to speak once more but before she could, she was cut off by Wesley.
"You will join me for lunches."
Ava nodded once more with a warm smile, "Yes sir." She hummed, her gaze fixated on his brown eyes. She couldn't help but become lost in them as if they were an ocean, not realising that a silence was filling up between them. Ava blinked a few time as she took a step back, "Anything else, sir?" She asked with a smile before returning to her desk.
+++
Her first few hours of being Wesley Vaughn's assistant were nothing special, she met new co-workers and had most of the task finished like he wanted them. Ava was waiting patiently in the elevator with a salad and a black coffee in her hands. She wasn't sure what her boss wanted for lunch and to be frank, she forgot to ask. A salad seemed to be the right option in her mind, it was healthy and delicious plus it was what she could afford with the little money in her bag. Once the elevator opened the doors, Ava scurried out of the elevator and headed straight to Wesley's office. She balanced the coffee on top of the salad's plastic lid, Ava politely knocked on the grand doors before slowly pushing them, popping head out with a smile. "Your lunch is ready, sir."
Ava slipped past the door and placed Wesley's lunch on the table carefully as if they were fine china. She took a step back and dusted her skirt off, "I hope that's okay, I forgot to ask you beforehand so I just hoped and prayed it would be okay." Ava awkwardly giggled as she pushed back a wisp of hair behind her ear.
"Anything else, Mr Vaughn otherwwise I'll just go back to my desk." Ava asked as she slowly made her way to the door.
manatee
manatee
pathological people pleaser.
Most of the day went by pretty uneventfully. Wesley had to admit that he was surprised by the fact that Ava had done his bidding precisely. It shocked him that for someone that seemed so young, she was able to hold a straight face when he ordered her around. She had done better than all of the other workers combined. As soon as he turned a corner, they generally cowered in fear. Although sensing their fear pleased him, he also enjoyed how refreshing it was that someone could stand and listen to him bark orders and not look like they’d just seen a ghost.
When he got some alone time in his office after a few trivial meetings, Wesley slid off his jacket and rolled up one of his shirt sleeves, studying his arm intently. The vines, a dark brown, now were halfway up his forearm, as if stretching out to try and touch his elbow. For a moment he rotated his arm slightly as he studied the rigged branches, noting how a few had thorns and leaves adorned to them. “Shit,” he growled, clutching his fingers into a fist and slamming them down onto his office desk. “How the hell am I supposed to change?” The old woman’s words didn’t even make sense to him. He wasn’t the worst person in the world. What was there for him to change? The first week after he’d gotten the marks, he’d given everyone a loan who had asked. That clearly hadn’t helped. He didn’t know what more to do.
Wesley Vaughn was helpless.
Lunchtime rolled around and Wesley hadn’t even noticed. He looked up from his computer screen as Ava walked into the dimmed office and he stared blankly down to the bowl of salad. There was a pull in his chest, something odd, when his eyes roamed over the cup of steaming black coffee and when he looked up to realize that it was currently twelve. The feeling was odd, almost like heartburn, and he pressed his fist to his chest to hopefully push out the sensation.
“It’ll do,” he stated after a moment of staring down at the food. He opened the lid of the salad, prodding around in it with his fork before he motioned to the little table set up near his desk for meetings that didn’t require the huge board. “That’s where you’ll sit.” He didn’t wait for her to speak or even sit before he was stabbing at some of the dark green lettuce and popping a bite into his mouth. Once he swallowed there was a bit of silence before he took a sip of his coffee and looked over to her.
“Next time,” he announced, “ask me what I want before you go get it.”
He didn’t yell, but he didn’t say thank you either. All he did was continue to eat his salad without talking and look through the various emails that were opened on his computer. His eyes didn’t even wander to the girl - whose presence felt like it was suffocating the entire room. There was something about her that made him feel odd, something that almost made it feel as if there was a tingling sensation coming from the vines that were slowly crawling up the length of his arm. He couldn’t put his finger on it, and it almost made him feel like he had forgotten how to breathe.
When he got some alone time in his office after a few trivial meetings, Wesley slid off his jacket and rolled up one of his shirt sleeves, studying his arm intently. The vines, a dark brown, now were halfway up his forearm, as if stretching out to try and touch his elbow. For a moment he rotated his arm slightly as he studied the rigged branches, noting how a few had thorns and leaves adorned to them. “Shit,” he growled, clutching his fingers into a fist and slamming them down onto his office desk. “How the hell am I supposed to change?” The old woman’s words didn’t even make sense to him. He wasn’t the worst person in the world. What was there for him to change? The first week after he’d gotten the marks, he’d given everyone a loan who had asked. That clearly hadn’t helped. He didn’t know what more to do.
Wesley Vaughn was helpless.
Lunchtime rolled around and Wesley hadn’t even noticed. He looked up from his computer screen as Ava walked into the dimmed office and he stared blankly down to the bowl of salad. There was a pull in his chest, something odd, when his eyes roamed over the cup of steaming black coffee and when he looked up to realize that it was currently twelve. The feeling was odd, almost like heartburn, and he pressed his fist to his chest to hopefully push out the sensation.
“It’ll do,” he stated after a moment of staring down at the food. He opened the lid of the salad, prodding around in it with his fork before he motioned to the little table set up near his desk for meetings that didn’t require the huge board. “That’s where you’ll sit.” He didn’t wait for her to speak or even sit before he was stabbing at some of the dark green lettuce and popping a bite into his mouth. Once he swallowed there was a bit of silence before he took a sip of his coffee and looked over to her.
“Next time,” he announced, “ask me what I want before you go get it.”
He didn’t yell, but he didn’t say thank you either. All he did was continue to eat his salad without talking and look through the various emails that were opened on his computer. His eyes didn’t even wander to the girl - whose presence felt like it was suffocating the entire room. There was something about her that made him feel odd, something that almost made it feel as if there was a tingling sensation coming from the vines that were slowly crawling up the length of his arm. He couldn’t put his finger on it, and it almost made him feel like he had forgotten how to breathe.
