Glancing at the clock on the wall, I’m saved from myself when I realize it’s time for our staff meeting. “Let’s go. I will introduce you to the entire management team at once,” I say with my panty-dropping smile and she follows me back to the elevator.
“Mr. Powers?” she asks tentatively.
Turning to face her, I smile encouragingly and reply, “Dominic. Everyone here calls me by my first name so it’s really alright.”
The slow, shy smile crawls across her face as she says, “Dominic,” trying it on for size. “Are there set hours that I should plan on working or will it vary from day to day?”
“Hmm, that’s a good question,” I laugh. “The morning start time is normally the same. If we have an early morning breakfast meeting, I will let you know ahead of time. We will have a lot of late nights and several overnight trips. I’m afraid you’ll be spending a lot of quality time with me, Sophia.”
“I really don’t mind, Dominic. I’m looking forward to everything you can teach me,” she replies with her voice low and sensual. I can usually read people very well, but I can’t decide if she is intentionally trying to seduce me or if she really means she wants to learn.
“I hope I live up to your expectations then, Sophia,” I intentionally respond with an equally low and sensual timbre.
Her cheeks redden, heated with a mixture of embarrassment and excitement, in my opinion. She’s inexperienced in many ways but she’s very bright. What she lacks in practice, she makes up for in eagerness. If only circumstances were different, I could take that eagerness and really teach her the things I want her to learn. But not for my pleasure alone—I want to teach Sophia to heighten and increaseherultimate pleasure.
“I have no doubt you will, Dominic.”
Her response is so earnest and humble that it heats me to my core. I’m positive she feels the heat radiating from my eyes as I stare at her. The trust she automatically places in me after spending only a few hours together astounds and dumbfounds me. I wonder if she’s this way with everyone she meets or if it’s just me.
I resolve to find out the answer to that during our two-hour staff meeting. She will be subjected to many different personalities in a confined room. The tension is palpable at times, especially when there are heated discussions and major differences of opinions. One thing about my staff is they are all passionate about their jobs. It makes me proud most of the time; at times, it’s a pain in the ass to cut through the strong personalities.
Sophia and I make our way back to the top floor and to the staff meeting. Most of my management team is already in their regular seats and are ready to begin the meeting. A few stragglers come in at the last minute and quickly take their seats. Sophia is looking around the room, her eyes wide in apprehension and I briefly question whether she will stick around much longer. These men and women are loud, opinionated, zealous, and hard to handle at times.
“Everyone, let’s get settled in and begin the meeting. I have an announcement to make first,” I call out in my booming, take-charge voice. This quiets the room immediately and everyone moves to their seats. There are advantages to being the boss. My employees have been loyal to me and enjoy working for me, but I do expect a lot from them and I don’t put up with any bullshit. They know this and they are of the same mindset, so it works like a well-oiled machine for the most part.
“First up, I want to introduce you to Sophia Vasco. She is my new personal assistant. She graduated in the top five percent of her class from the University of Texas in Austin. She’s worked in the industry and has several successful multi-million dollar projects under her belt. Sophia’s first day is today so cut her some slack for the next couple of weeks. After that, she will be my right-hand person and will make executive decisions in my absence. She will help with contracts and, for all intents and purposes, she will be me when I can’t be here.”
“Sophia, do you want to say anything?” I ask, intentionally putting her on the spot to gauge her reaction. An abundance of energy usually keeps me from sitting too long during staff meetings. Today, it’s important to note the interactions Sophia has with my other staff members, so I move to the other end of the room.
“Yes, I do. Thank you for that introduction, Dominic. I am very excited to be here and look forward to getting to know each of you. As the department leads, I would like to set up one-on-one time with each of you to learn about your departments, how they work, what you’re responsible for, and how I can help you in my current position. I look forward to working with each of you.”
Color me impressed. Again.
Sophia is looking around the room and her eyes connect with mine. A slow, sensual smile crawls across my face. I sit on the edge of the credenza and cross my legs at my ankles. She is beautiful, elegant, graceful, and the master of our staff meeting. It’s a new aphrodisiac for me. A stray thought forms that perhaps my former lovers should have worked for me. It would have created a new experience, without a doubt.
Two hours later, I am more refreshed and relaxed after a staff meeting than I ever have been before. Sophia jumped in and took control of any takeaways that I have. She is organizing several of the group initiatives we have underway and made several process improvement suggestions during the staff meeting. I am again reassured that my decision to hire her is sound.
We walk back into my office and I begin assembling various types of contracts, acceptable language and terms, and other related items so we can continue her training. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her begin to pick up a chair so she can sit beside me. I drop the papers on my desk and move swiftly to her side. My hand grasps the chair, grazing hers as I wrap my fingers around it, and a slight tremble rolls through her body. Her breath hitches and she peers up at me, her brown eyes asking the very question I’ve been avoiding all day. We stand frozen for several seconds, just staring at each other and allowing a million questions to run through our minds at once.
“No need to move that, Sophia. We can sit at the table together. But, for the record, if it did need to be moved, I would do it. I have no doubt you’re capable, but in my presence, I will take care of moving any furniture or anything else heavy for that matter,” I advise her, leaving no room for argument or discussion.
She blushes, appropriately chastised, “I didn’t want to assume anything, Dominic. But I do appreciate your concern and chivalry. Not all men are like you.” She finishes her last sentence on a whisper. It makes me wonder how she has been treated in the past. It’s not something I want to dwell on right now—not the thought of her in another man’s arms or how he may have treated her wrongly. But she is exactly correct in saying that not all men are like me.
I’m not sure she could handle the real me. The man that no one here has ever seen or has any inclination that he even exists. That thought actually makes my pulse increase. Worlds collide, though, and it’s best that my employees never know about my proclivities.
“You’re right, Sophia. Most men are not like me. That may be a good thing, for the most part,” I tell her with all seriousness and sincerity.
She starts to speak but the pink in her cheeks quickly turns to deep crimson. Whatever is on her mind is obviously hard for her to voice. I feel the need to know what it is she’s thinking, even if it cuts to the quick because I know I can’t do anything about it. The glutton for punishment in me wants to wallow in it for a while.
“What were you going to say, Sophia? You look like you have something on your mind. You’re me, remember?” I encourage her to speak her mind, using her new position as the reason why she should do so.
She’s flustered as she opens and closes her mouth a couple of times without speaking at all. I begin to think she really won’t tell me—that her shyness will get the best of her—and I will never know what was on her mind. Then she surprises me again with her words.
“I think the world needs more men like you, Dominic,” she whispers. “Every woman could use a man like you.”
I shake my head in disbelief at her words. “You’ve only just met me. You don’t know what kind of man I am, Sophia.”
“You’re a good man. Anything else is just icing on the cake,” she replies hesitantly, without meeting my gaze this time. It embarrasses her to say these things to me. I’m her boss. I’m her employer. But, that’s not all I want to be to her and I feel myself getting closer to crossing that line.
Standing close to her, I can see the gold flecks sparkling in her brown eyes as they betray her thoughts. They reveal to me that she is interested in more than a working relationship with me. She is still shy enough that she wants me to make the first move, but her eyes tell me that she is more than receptive to me. Funny thing is, she believes she’s hiding this from me. She doesn’t realize that I already know or that I can read a woman’s body as well as I can read the contracts lying on my desk right now.
Taking a deep, calming breath, I take a step to my desk and pick up the papers I had left there. Turning back to Sophia, I give her a crooked smile and extend my hand toward the conference table behind her. “Let’s have a seat at the table and go over these contracts, Sophia,” I say, steering the conversation away from what we were just talking about. I’m not ready to share that with her just yet.
I’m not sure she can handle it.
I’m not sure I can resist it.
