The Cursed King

***

Marc received Loriel's text and was waiting for Elise. He responded politely to his uncle and thanked him for this opportunity… Yes, he was the one thanking the man for trusting him with this responsibility?

Honestly, Marc didn't know a thing at all.

Oh, Marc was aware of the ins and outs of this woman called Madeline who introduced herself as Elise. This was all enshrouded in mystery for him. Why was his uncle so interested in a woman with such a past like that?

It was a good thing that this wasn't his problem at all! He had Alex to handle all of these things for him. Hehehe.

Marc could already imagine the two of them… getting along?

While Alex was a headstrong woman, Elise seemed like a good and sweet person. The two of them were probably going to end up as good friends or something similar like that. 

Marc's phone started ringing.

His eyes widened and he thought it was Loriel, but sighed in relief when he realized it was Alex. "Hey, where are you now? Aren't you a bit late…"

Wait a second, if Alex was late already then it meant Elise was late too. Marc's blood started rising. Gosh, did he lose the dear woman that Loriel wanted him to watch over?!

Alex's words suddenly made him listen to her voice. There was a woman waiting for him in the lobby? 

"I haven't slept with anyone lately at all!" Marc said in annoyance when he heard of Alex's hinted accusations. 

Hey… that was Elise, wasn't it?

Marc slapped a hand over his face and started talking. 

"Alex, I want you to stop talking and start treating this woman correctly while I go down and meet her. If my guess is correct, then this is the one who's supposed to work as your assistant. It's vital that you treat her properly."

Marc decided that this was the best option. If Alex knew how to treat this woman then there would be no harsh encounters between the two of them. 

He wasn't sure if Elise wanted to be treated as a new employee, but if she had the chance to gain favor from Loriel then it was best to be used.

Marc rushed out of his office and headed into the closest elevator.

***

"There you are!" Marc shouted in relief once he stepped out of the elevator. He saw Elise and Alex standing together in the lobby.

"Ah, good morning, Marc." Elise waved her hand at him. "I mean… Sir... Boss?" 

"Are you alright? Did you wait long?" Marc asked her with such respect that Alex thought she was hallucinating.

Elise smiled and shook her head. "No, not too much." 

Alex glanced to see her boss and pursed her lips. It was a strange sight to see her boss nearly fall over his heels trying to greet this woman beside her. 

Alex received the careful instruction that she needed to be kind and respectful to this woman. So if this wasn't someone Marc slept with, then who was this woman? Marc was so polite like he was talking to a grandmother.

In another area of the lobby, the receptionist's jaw dropped at the sight of their boss running to meet up with the same woman that she turned away harshly. 

The receptionist began to worry about how it would reflect on her.

"Still, I need to apologize for still making you wait, I failed to inform my people about your arrival." Marc smiled apologetically. He glanced over his shoulder and checked the people who were around.

"Oh, I did think it was something like that," Elise said. "But it was a sudden arrangement so it can't be helped."

Marc smiled. "But since you've met my assistant, Alex. I think the two of you can start working immediately."

"What?" Alex batted her eyes at her boss. Did she hear him correctly?

"You're going to work as an intern under my assistant Alex. I hope the two of you can get along."

Elise smiled sheepishly, turned to the right, and extended her hand. She already noticed earlier, but this beautiful black woman truly was Marc's assistant.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Alex, I'm… Elise. I'm looking forward to working with you." Elise introduced herself properly. It was a difficult thing to juggle. She introduced herself as Elise, but her ID would be showing Madeleine.

Alex sent another look to her boss, but eventually accepted Elise's hand and shook it. 

Marc's problem was solved immediately. 

Marc wiped the sweat off his brow as he saw the sight of the two women shaking hands. His job was done and now he could focus on other more important matters to the Sanderman Group.

While it was true that Loriel certainly helped bring their family's success, Marc still needed to keep running it.

Most importantly, Marc needed to ensure that Elise was comfortable. He cleared his throat, "I'd also like to receive a report of your daily learnings and activities, you can submit it to Alex too and she'll send it to me."

It was important to be up to the news with the things that'll happen around Elise. While Marc will consider this as a mistake on his part for forgetting, there should be no other problems, right?

***

People often forget how fast news spread within a company. Alex was showing Elise around the building to familiarize herself with her working space when a group of people was enjoying their coffee break together.

One of the workers nudged at their friend. "Who's that pretty lady?"

"What is she supposed to be? Is she Alex's girlfriend?" A woman snickered.

It earned a couple of laughs and jeers with her coworkers. But the laughter quickly died down when somebody else spoke up. "No, that's supposed to be someone working here. New employee."

"For real? There aren't any open positions. I work in HR." A woman frowned slightly.

The person next to them shrugged. "It seems like the higher-ups are the ones in charge of it then."

"Nepotism at its finest then." Somebody rolled their eyes.