She opens her mouth and then closes it again.
Yes, maybe I really do need to take action soon.
“Sit down,” I tell Olívia.
“Good morning,” she replies instead of obeying.
“Good morning, Olívia. Now, sit,” I command again.
Sit, because I don’t need the distraction of your slim waist, which highlights those delicious breasts even more.
“Yes, sir,” she says, still sounding reluctant.
She looks different from when I left her in the hotel lobby three days ago, and I’m not sure I like the change. She’s wearing a bit of makeup, and her beautiful hair is tied back, like the other secretaries here usually keep it.
“Are you settling in well?”
I know she is; Melissa has sung her praises many times. What I’m really trying to do is distract my mind from improper thoughts, such as the fact that I spent last night in bed imagining her alone in her room, warm and disheveled, talking to me on the phone.
I promised friendship, and that’s what I should focus on.
“Very well. Melissa is great. Thank you for sending her to help me. She also took me around the hotel and explained how things work. She said that, based on what you told her, my role is that of a junior secretary. Is that what I am?”
“Do you want to work as a secretary?”
“Can I answer honestly?”
“Don’t you always?”
“That was before I signed a contract with you. Now it’s different.”
“You can be honest. I want to know everything you’re thinking.”
I think she holds back the urge to make one of her ironic remarks. Olívia is transparent.
“We’ve already talked about this.”
“About what?” I ask, because I got distracted for a moment by the movement of her lips.
“About my thoughts being private.”
“All of them?”
“Work-related ones aren’t private.”
“And what if I want to know about the others?”
Why the hell did I ask something like that?
I see her chest rise and fall quickly. It’s the first time she’s reacted to me since that day in the café, when I caught her looking at me with pure feminine interest. Which should put me on alert, but it excites me.
“Why would you want to know about the other thoughts?”
I stay silent because there isn’t a single appropriate answer about my motives.
After a while, looking embarrassed, she takes the initiative to speak. “Okay. Let’s go back to your question. I’ll accept any role offered to me here. You found out firsthand that I don’t have many options. Losing my job at the café wasn’t part of my plans. On the other hand, I have to be honest and say that I have no idea what the duties of a junior secretary would be.”
“You’re very smart. You’ll learn quickly.”
