“Yes.”
He blushes. “Not that you can’t be … um, I mean, I’m just surprised. Do you want coffee?”
He’s startled. Nervous. He bites his lip.
Oh, baby, don’t do that.My dick hardens.
“No, I don’t want coffee,” I say.
“Oh, okay. Well, if you need anything—”
“I do.”
“Oh. Sure.” Elias straightens up, abandoning his pen. I glance down to see what he was writing. A closing-up note. It’s tidy and concise. There are bullet points. “Anything I can help with?” he asks.
“Oh, yes.”
His blush deepens. He scrubs his palms on his green apron. “What, um, do you need?”
We’re going to have to work on the “um,” but I’ll save that for later. I tell him, “Come here.”
He obeys me instantly. It doesn’t occur to him to question me or be cautious. He just walks around the end of the counter and straight up to me. When he suddenly realizes how close he’s come, he startles. He steps back, but I step forward, maintaining the distance that he instinctively chose. His dark eyes widen slightly. He sucks in a breath.
Does he know, on some deep, subconscious level, that my body is the one that took control of his?
I’ve considered several lead-ins to what I’m about to tell him, clever little circuitous routes to chase him toward the inevitable. I even considered posing it as an offer, pretending thatnowould be a safe word.
But we’re already at the end of this particular chase, so I simply tell him, “You’re going to come work for me.”
He stares at me. Blinks. “Uh … what?”
“As my personal assistant.”
His confusion is kind of adorable. When it’s clear that he is really and truly incapable of responding, I help him out.
“You’re hard working, dedicated, intelligent, and pay attention to detail. You’re attractive, and with a change of wardrobe and haircut, you’ll fit right in. Most importantly, I like you.”
His confusion has morphed into total embarrassment. Is it sadistic to enjoy someone’s embarrassment? Probably. But I don’t let him suffer too long.
“Do you know what a PA does?” I ask.
“I …” Elias trails off. Maybe he doesn’t know. Maybe he’s just too stunned to respond.
“I’ll teach you what you need to know,” I promise. “You’ll start at 110 per year, plus benefits, room and board, and a signup bonus.”
Elias stares at me. “Is this a joke?”
“No.”
Elias keeps staring at me like I’m going to reveal that this is, actually, a joke. I just stare back and let him see that I’m dead serious.
I know the instant he believes me because his face goes pale. He sways and catches himself against the counter. He keeps staring at me, his eyes huge with shock and maybe a touch of horror.
God, I’m enjoying this.
He’s clearly speechless, so I tell him, “I’ll give you a minute. I need to grab a few things.”
He stares at me as I walk off. I go down a few aisles pretending to look at things, but I keep checking on him. Every time I emerge, he’s still staring at me. It takes everything I’ve got not to crack a smile. I’ve been looking forward to this, but somehow I wasn’t expecting it to be this fun.
