Remove the Empty Spaces
A Totally Bound Publication
Remove the Empty Spaces
ISBN # 978-1-78184-934-7
©Copyright T.A. Chase 2014
Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright January 2014
Edited by Sue Meadows & Rebecca Douglas
Totally Bound Publishing
This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Totally Bound Publishing.
Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Totally Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.
The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.
Published in 2013 by Totally Bound Publishing,
Newland House, The Point, Weaver Road, Lincoln, LN6 3QN
Warning:
This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has a
heat rating
of
Totally Sizzling
and a
Sexometer
of
1.
This story contains 89 pages, additionally there is also a
free excerpt
at the end of the book containing 5 pages.
Rags to Riches
REMOVE THE EMPTY SPACES
T.A. Chase
Book one in the Rags to Riches series
Finding a solution for his boss brings Ion to the point of having his deepest fantasies come true.
Being a mailroom clerk is a stepping stone for Ion Vasile. He doesn’t plan on working in the basement at Bellamy International forever. Ion spends a lot of his time fantasising about Adrien Bellamy, CEO and President of the company. He’s sure Adrien doesn’t know he exists.
Adrien Bellamy
does
know Ion exists. Even with all his money and power, Adrien isn’t sure Ion would want to go out with him. So he keeps his distance from the gorgeous mail clerk.
After Ion finds a solution to a troubling acquisition, Adrien takes a chance and asks him out. Their attraction runs red-hot, and a serious relationship becomes a possibility. But first they have to deal with their families and the differences pointed out between them. Adrien must find a way to convince Ion his lack of money and name doesn’t mean anything because Adrien loves him no matter what.
Dedication
Thank you to those who read the first draft of this story, and saw the potential for more.
Trademarks Acknowledgement
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Armani: Giorgio Armani S.p.A
Calvin Klein: Calvin Klein, Inc.
Sexiest Man Alive: People, Time Inc.
Chapter One
“I want you all to fucking think of a fucking solution.”
It was going to be one of those days, Ion thought, as he pushed his mail cart off the elevator onto the executive floor.
“Why the fuck do I pay you bastards such fucking ridiculous salaries if you can’t come up with one fucking good idea?”
Ion winced before sending Patrick, his best friend and Mr Adrien Bellamy’s executive assistant, a sympathetic grin. “Sounds like he’s in rare form today.”
“You have no idea. Bellamy’s been like this all morning.”
Adrien Bellamy was the CEO and President of Bellamy International, a multi-national company that acquired failing businesses and tried to make them successful again. Well, it was just one branch of the business. Bellamy International had its fingers in several different pies, which suited Ion just fine. He might only be working in the mailroom right now, but he planned on making his way up the corporate ladder to a troubleshooting position someday.
Ion was ambitious, and it was his drive to succeed that had brought him to the company. Bellamy International was one of the top one-hundred businesses in the world. Where better for a young businessman to work?
“All your ideas are shit. I won’t lay off a thousand workers simply because the men in charge were fucking greedy crooks. You have to find me a solution that doesn’t result in people losing their jobs.”
Ion knew better than to ask why Mr Bellamy was furious. Patrick couldn’t tell him since being the head man’s minion meant he came across a lot of sensitive material, and Patrick could lose his job if he were to share any of it, even with another person in the company.
After handing Patrick some mail, Ion checked his list to see whom else he had to deliver to.
“They’re all in the conference room. Have been since this morning when I got here. Bellamy called a meeting of all the execs.” Patrick sifted through the large pile of envelopes Ion had given him.
“Why aren’t you in there taking notes or whatever he has you do during meetings?”
Patrick shrugged. “Not sure. I sent him a text to see if he needed me for anything. He told me to cancel the rest of his meetings for the day, and work on something else.”
They both jumped when a loud crash resounded from the conference room. Ion straightened from where he’d been resting his hip against Patrick’s desk. The door flew open then ricocheted back after hitting the wall with force. He and Patrick watched in amazement as Mr Richardson, the CFO, dragged Mr Bellamy out of the room.
“God damn it, Sidney. Why the fuck do I have them here if they can’t figure out one fucking solution? Monkeys are more intelligent than that group.” Mr Bellamy yanked his arm out of Mr Richardson’s grip. He paced the length of Patrick’s office area.
Ion had left his cart next to the elevator, and he found he was happy about that because his boss would’ve tripped over it. It was wise to stay out of the way when Mr Bellamy was angry, if only because he didn’t pay attention to where he was going. After pressing into a corner, Ion hoped no one would notice him.
“They’re fucking morons.” Mr Bellamy ran his fingers through his hair.
“Patrick, can you call the cleaning crew and get someone to come up here? There’s a mess in the conference room.” Richardson seemed calm, but then he always did. Ion had never seen the CFO lose his cool in the three years Ion had worked for the company.
Mr Bellamy was the complete opposite. He lost his temper at least once a week, usually at Patrick, then later, Ion would get an earful about what a prick Bellamy was. Yet Mr Bellamy never seemed vicious with his anger. He simply had a short fuse, and intolerance for stupidity.
“Yes, Mr Richardson. I’ll make sure it gets cleaned up.” Patrick reached for the phone.
“Also, cancel all of Mr Bellamy’s appointments for the rest of the day. I’m taking him out of here. He needs to cool down before he ends up firing every person who works for him. I’d hate having to pay them bonuses to make up for his temper tantrum.”
“Shut the fuck up, Sidney. I wouldn’t threaten to fire them if they’d just do their jobs.”
Ion tried hard not to stare as Mr Bellamy passed by him, but it was difficult not to when the head of the corporation could easily be in the running for Sexiest Man Alive.
Christ on a stick!
If Bellamy hadn’t been worth a billion dollars or more, he could have made his fortune on the runway as a model.
Bellamy’s hair was a pale gold that he wore cut short on the sides and longer on top. His bright blue eyes sparkled with fierce intelligence, and hidden deep inside, a kindness that Ion knew Bellamy rarely showed to anyone.
Ion had happened to see one of Bellamy’s random acts of kindness to a homeless woman who had claimed one of the alleys next to the building. Ion had been making his way to work one morning, and he’d spied Bellamy covering the woman with what looked like a brand new blanket.
He had waited until Bellamy left before he’d dropped off the bag of sandwiches he had brought for her. It wasn’t much, but Ion had come to learn about the woman’s past, and she was a wonderful person who’d fallen down and couldn’t get back up on her feet.
Bellamy had nicely tanned skin, speaking of his time spent outdoors, doing all sorts of exciting sports like sailing and rock climbing. Ion got to hear about all those trips from Patrick, who had to book them for Bellamy.
The man’s tailored suits were probably hand-made in Italy. Everything Bellamy wore and how he carried himself spoke of money and privilege, yet he knew the names of the people cleaned his office and those in the mailroom. Ion was pretty sure most CEOs wouldn’t know anyone they didn’t have to deal with on a day-to-day basis.
Oh, Ion knew Bellamy could be arrogant and get into snits when things didn’t go his way. Being friends with Patrick gave him an unique insight into Bellamy, but it didn’t make Ion dislike Bellamy. In fact, all the contradictions fascinated Ion even more.
“This needs to be fixed before Monday, Sidney. If not, I’m going to have to fire all those people, and I don’t want to do that. Not when it wasn’t their fault the company was run into the ground. Why do incompetent people always think they can run national businesses?” Bellamy whirled, waving his arms around and hitting Ion in the chest.
Ion froze, really not wanting to be drawn into this discussion. He snorted to himself. Like Bellamy and Richardson would ask a lowly mail clerk his opinion on such an important situation. Even though he didn’t know what the problem was, it was obviously to Ion that Bellamy needed it solved quickly.
“Oh Ion, did you have mail to deliver?” Bellamy sent him a distracted smile like his mind was still caught up with his racing thoughts.
“Yes, sir. I dropped some off to Patrick. Just have a few for Mr Richardson.” Ion tipped his head to both men before meeting Patrick’s gaze and seeing his friend mouth ‘Talk to you later.’
Before Mr Bellamy got started, Ion gathered his cart. He grabbed the letters for Mr Richardson, then handed them to the CFO’s assistant. Ion rushed to the elevator to push the button. Bellamy, Richardson, and Patrick all stared at him while he focused on the floor numbers lighting up at the top of the elevator. Not wanting to give away his nervousness, he refrained from poking at the button again.
“Come on. Come on,” he muttered, wishing that pushing it several times in a row actually did make the elevator go faster.
Ion could almost hear Patrick snickering at him, especially since Patrick had been privy to one of Ion’s drunken ramblings about how beautiful Adrien Bellamy was, and how much Ion would love to get that man in bed. Being this close to the man didn’t happen to Ion very often, and he was rather flustered, knowing Adrien was watching him.
Finally the elevator arrived, and Ion shoved the mail cart into the car. When he swung around to poke the third floor button, he saw that Adrien and Sidney were gone, and Patrick was propped up against his desk while he laughed.
“Just remember, Patrick, payback’s a bitch,” Ion shouted as the doors closed. He’d get Patrick back somehow. It would take him a few weekends thinking on it, but he was sure he’d come up with something. After having been best friends with Patrick for ten years, Ion knew the man well.