I felt him press against me when we kissed, last night.
“Oh, I don’t know anything about that,” I airily respond. The girls giggle.
“Well, we’ve got a good thing going here. I was expecting like, a really charged, backbiting sort of office. Instead we’ve been getting along pretty well. And Cindy’s nice too, even if she can be pretty stern. You’ll deal with her more, I suppose, later on,” Salma explains. I really like the lilt of her accent when she speaks.
“What exactly does she do?” I ask, glancing at her desk. “I mean, there are four secretaries… and one Cindy. She didn’t even really vet through the candidates at the interview, remember that day? Yeah, she just… sort of greets people, and that was it.”
Jane raises an eyebrow. “Cindy runs everything. She’s practically Mr Boyd’s second-in-command. We all handle his schedule, but Cindy makes sure the company does everything he wants it to do.”
“Really?” I ask, surprised. In the time I’ve been here, I realize I haven’t quite gotten a grasp of what Boyd Industries really does. Sure, Magnus talks about hostile takeovers and negotiations and being a busy energy billionaire… but so far all I’ve been doing as inner office secretary is help shuffle his calls and meetings. And he never speaks loudly in his calls, nothing that I can eavesdrop. His sense of dominance is one where it’s already assumed.
Of course people obey him. The steel in his voice makes you do everything he asks. He does not need to present himself as some sort of tough guy: he’s already an alpha male, the best in his industry.
There’s something incredibly sexy about how he’s managed to accomplish that.
“Well, goes on to show how complex this company is,” I say. “Hey, thanks for sharing a drink of water with me. I really mean it, I’d like to spend more time with you girls. We should grab lunch together sometime. I’ve heard the cafe on the ground floor’s pretty good.”
“Oh, it’s terrible,” Salma immediately dismisses. “If you want quick, good food, and decent tables, you go to the cafeteria on the seventeenth floor. We tried it yesterday. It’s really good. There’s like, ten different places you can pick your food from. And they even have vegan options.”
“You’re vegan?” I ask Salma.
“Oh God, I could not be vegan if I tried,” she answers.
Frances giggles. “I’m vegan.”
Figures, I murmur under my breath. She’s so cute. Tiny, adorable, with hair all curled up like she’s some sort of 1940s screen queen. All the other girls tower over her, especially Salma, who’s close to 5’10”, if I had to guess.
I have to cover my mouth to avoid smiling or laughing because I’m immediately thinking about six-footer Magnus having to kneel down to speak to Frances at eye level.
After all, he did have to bend down to kiss me…
Oh, that kiss.
I haven’t allowed myself the chance to indulge in thinking about that kiss. It’s just so difficult to do so, not when we’re working in such close proximity. Magnus today has been warm, but not especially close — I feel like he too hasn’t managed to figure out about what we were exactly doing last night.
I drop the plastic cup in the recycling bin and thank the girls, heading straight back for the inner office.
“Hey, Cindy,” I greet Magnus’ personal assistant when I pass her desk.
“Hi right back, Shaleigh. Is everything settling okay so far? Don’t hesitate to come ask me for help if you ever need any.”
I smile and promise that I will, with one hand on the door handle.
Magnus looks up as I reenter the office. “Ah, Shaleigh.”
“Mr Boyd.”
I keep my tone professional, of course. It’s important to. We’re still employer-employee.
He waits ’til I close the door behind us. “I don’t think I’ve managed to… thank you, for last night. It was everything I wanted.”
“Not quite, I suspect,” I wink, making sure my back is to the doors.
I can see him shift in his seat, nodding and chuckling to himself.
Last night, that first kiss became the first of many — we ended up making out for the rest of the date. Magnus kept his promise about being an old-fashioned gentleman, letting his hand rest confidently on my lower thigh, exploring no more than that. Although I could sense the tension in his hand.
How he wanted more.
“It was great for me too,” I tell the billionaire, drifting in and out of the memory.
After a margarita each, he drove me back to my place, and the whole ride through, I debated inviting him in. It was already a leap for me to give him my address, knowing that he might draw some judgments based on the house Phil and I share. But this was trust.
Trust means letting him in, no matter my past.
When he stopped the car, it was now or never. Magnus looked at me expectantly, and waited for me to say something.
“…Ah, thank you. I had a really great time. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said instead of, “do you want to come in?”
Magnus exhaled, smiling confidently still. “Oh, I had a great night as well. And you don’t need to look so… torn, Shaleigh. I understand completely. We can take this slow. I may be a wolf… but I’m a patient wolf. And delayed gratification is the most arousing of all.”
Leaning to the driver’s side, kissing him, and pulling back was pure torture.
I wanted his hands all over me, I wanted his body pressed to mine.
But I also know that the only way this would work is if we wait.
Magnus understood.
Looking at him sit back in his office chair now, unaffected by any frustration over not getting any last night… I can honestly say that I realize a fundamental truth.
This was a man in control of all his desires.
An alpha male, through and through.
Chapter Ten
My head tries to wrap itself around the prospect of being with Magnus. We’re definite opposites. He was born to money, I was born to nothing.
He doesn’t know that yet. Eventually, he will. Will it make a big difference? That isn’t even what he has to worry about most.
The physical chemistry that exists between us has the potential to spill out into the workplace, too.
When Monday comes along, I make it a point to arrive half an hour early at work. I carpool with Phil, and my roommate is decidedly not in the mood to hear more about my perfect date night. “It’s just been one date, babe,” Phil tells me, as we negotiate rush-hour traffic.
“One amazing date. Although I’m kinda disturbed he didn’t try and ask me out for this weekend,” I answer.
“Didn’t you tell me that was because he was away for the weekend?”
It’s true. Magnus was away for the weekend — I was the one who booked him the tickets on business class, because the company jet was undergoing repairs. Georgia for two nights. At first I thought he meant my home state, but turns out it’s the small country bordering Russia.
“I’ve never even fucking heard of Georgia before,” Phil laughs. “But okay, did you expect him to invite you to come with or something? See some exotic, faraway land? What’s the capital of Georgia anyway?”
“Don’t even ask me to pronounce it,” I shake my head. “It’s got a T and then a B. That’s all you need to know. I don’t think there’s ever been a tb- sound in the English language.”
“They probably don’t speak English there, you know,” Phil notes. “I see you trying to dodge my point, though, babe. Come on, you’re more mature than that. Well? Tell me. Did you expect him to take you?”
“Of course not,” I huff.
“But?”
I focus on nothing in particular out the window. “Well, it’s kinda just… he’s some jet-setting playboy, right? One weekend here, one weekend there. Jealousy isn’t my thing. We’re not exclusive, not right now. But I’d just… not be into him, if he went to Georgia, decided, hey, I’m going to party with all the hottest supermodels th
ere.”
“Oh my God, get this,” Phil says. I look at him and see him on his phone. I knock it out of his hands, chastising him to pay attention to the road.
“Okay, okay!”
“Jesus, Phil!”
“Don’t you want to know what it was I was going ‘oh my god’ at?” he asks. “I’ll tell you anyway. Georgia is in the same neighborhood as Armenia. Ring a bell? Kim Kardashian? The women there must be searing hot.”
“Why do you care if the women there are hot, Phil?” I ask. “You’re gay.”
“Uh, I don’t care… but I care about you. And your feelings regarding Mr Billionaire-Off-To-Georgia. If you’re afraid of temptation, he’s practically off to the place where he could most easily be tempted,” Phil warns.
“You’re just being paranoid.”
“Whatever, girl. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Now… your office is just ahead, right? Mind if I drop you off here? Saves me having to detour into your street and lose another twenty minutes. I’m late enough as is.”
When I exit Phil’s car I realize I have absolutely no idea what he does for work. Only that he works shifts, somewhere.
It’s not important, I tell myself. Instead, I power-walk to the glittering, high-tech Boyd Industries headquarters.
Fast forward to Cindy.
Magnus’ chief lieutenant always has a motherly look going on, but as she’s speaking to me I almost feel like she’s being incredibly patronizing — probably not on purpose. But I don’t need to be treated with kiddy gloves.
Ugh, I think my irritation from Phil this morning is bleeding through.
“Shaleigh…” Cindy begins.
“Yes, Cindy?” I respond, with almost obnoxious perkiness. I figure this is the only way I get to have some leverage over the bad news that’s clearly about to be imparted to me.
“I’m in charge of assignments for you girls, and I know you’re enjoying working closely with Mr Boyd — but I have to reassign you. You’ll be doing the outer office. Salma will try out the inner office job. So it’s you, Jane and Frances working out here. I hope you understand.”
I smile and let her return to her desk.
Guess what. I am annoyed.
Sure, we talked about this last week, but I felt like there was the false high of all the other girls praising me for my seemingly-close connection with Magnus. All that was pride, of course. I crave being the best, being the one who does the job most efficiently. Magnus sure hasn’t had anything to complain about.
And I know there was bound to be some rotation. Maybe Frances or someone might actually prove to be a better inner office secretary.
But I wanted that job, I wanted that job so, so much.
So glancing over at Salma, seated in the corner desk in the inner office where I normally sit, rankles with me a little.
The day breezes through and I barely get a chance to speak to Magnus. I’m starting to understand what the outer office girls mean. The work is also a lot more intense in the outer office — there are calls I have to reroute practically every five minutes. Emails that need to be read, responded to, and forwarded to the appropriate departments. I have to be the one in charge of finding the best time-slots for the department heads’ meetings with Magnus, realizing that the inner office secretary — who used to be me — would then just as easily reschedule the meeting and make my work even harder.
I realize everything that made work so smooth the last week was because of the way Jane, Frances and Salma, under Cindy’s supervision, streamlined every part of the job before I had any tasks to deal with.
“Damn,” I murmur, slumped at my computer. “They do a fine job.”
As the day goes by I can’t help but find myself slow down because the desks for the outer office girls are all arranged in such a way that there’s a semicircle facing the sliding doors leading to Magnus’ inner office.
So every time I’ll see Salma smile or laugh at something Magnus says, I can’t help but feel the pinch of jealousy.
I try to look away. After all, Jane and Frances seem to do so just fine.
The problem is now apparent to me. For someone like Magnus, gorgeous women are commonplace. Individually, any of us among his secretaries would be absolute knockouts, but when we’re all together, the collective level of attractiveness seems to stall and become… something else.
I tell myself to be strong, to not focus on Magnus. There are times when I can see him look out, in my direction, and for a second our eyes meet. At this distance, I can’t read him.
My heart begins to second-guess the billionaire. Did not inviting him in after our date fundamentally change how he sees me now? Does he think I’m some kind of prude who won’t give him what he wants?
I know he’s an immensely sexual person, even if he doesn’t say it: he’s the sort of alpha male who doesn’t have to openly speak about what makes him tick, but he’s also the sort of alpha male who can afford to just… have anything he wants.
It makes me think about Phil’s warning.
And it really doesn’t help that Magnus looks handsome as hell today. He looks like a movie star. His thick head of hair, swept back… the angular jawline… the piercing eyes. I’m only admiring from afar today.
Not just today. All week.
And Salma seems to shine, too. She’s va-va-voom in every way, as usual, but particularly today. She’s busty and enjoys wearing low-cut tops that just about straddle the acceptability of work chic.
As for me, I’ve been dressing more and more conservatively. Blouses with jackets. Long sleeves. Muted tones. Part of it is an active desire to not show off, to let Magnus have to come see me for who I am, not how I dress. I can be elegant, but I’m also at work — I want to be appropriate.
I was a cheerleader back in my small town, and with only a small crop of girls in every year, it was easy for me to stand out among the rest. Maybe that’s why that dark incident in my past had to happen: it was the universe, punishing me for some mysterious mistake. Or just being cruel. Because I always had my sights trained on leaving this town, karma had me forced out of town in disgrace.
The sigh I make startles everyone in the outer office. Jane even actually has a smirk on her face. Frances looks at me as if she’s worried.
I have to focus on work, as hard as it is. If Magnus is worth it, he won’t flirt with Salma, he’ll stay true. Or he’ll at least try to make his interest in me shine through more.
Now is not the time to be insecure… although if ever there was a time to gracefully exit this minefield of a romantic interest with my boss, now would be it.
Chapter Eleven
It’s only at the end of the workday that I finally get the chance to confront Magnus.
“Yes, Shaleigh?” he asks, seemingly confident and casual about everything, lugging a briefcase with him as I pull him into the elevator. It’s just the two of us.
“I’m sorry, this is probably the wrong time for it, but I’m just… I just… I…” I can’t find the words.
“You can say it, Shaleigh, my dear,” Magnus says. His warmth immediately sets some of the anxiety I have at ease, but I know that’s not enough. I really have to ask him what I want to ask him.
“Well,” I try again. “We went on a date. One date. Will there be more dates? Do you want more dates? What do you want, anyway?”
The alpha male smiles. “Relax, Shaleigh.”
That only makes me even more agitated. “I really hate it when a guy tells me to relax.”
“Okay, I’m sorry,” Magnus nods. “I don’t intend to be condescending, but I also don’t intend to be tangled up in any unnecessary drama. We’re both busy people. Surely you understand that with our schedules, we’ll have to take it slow? Let me remind you, you were the one who suggested taking it slow.”
“Taking it slow means doing everything one step at a time, not ignoring me for days on end,” I answer. “Or swapping me out from the inner office job.”
“I have four secr
etaries I’m trying out,” Magnus answers.
His phrasing irritates me — I’m really having a bad day. My eyes glance at the numbers breezing through as the private, executive elevator goes straight to the basement. “Trying out. Like we’re shoes or something.”
“No, trying out, like I’m the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company trying to figure out what works out most efficiently for my bottom line,” Magnus says, a flash of annoyance appearing in the way he frowns at me. “Shaleigh, what’s gotten into you?”
“I don’t know!” I say. “I just don’t like feeling uncertain. And sorry, but Magnus… you leave me uncertain. Especially right now.”
He shakes his head, watching the door open. His hand holds the gap, ushering me out. “I can’t think about this right now. You know, this is exactly why I don’t open up to people.”
“That sounds awfully like you’d just prefer if I avoided talking about my feelings, Magnus,” I say, turning around to face him.
He’s driving the same car he did the night of our date. “Do you want a ride?” he asks.
“We’re not done yet here, so yes.”
He looks at me, and digs for his keys in his pants pocket. “You’re right. We’re not done yet. And no, Shaleigh, I don’t just prefer to avoid talking about feelings. Yours or mine. I’m rarely in that position, so yes, it’s awkward. But that doesn’t mean I avoid it. I don’t avoid anything. I face things head-on,” he says.
He’s maintaining a sharp civility to his words, but I can tell that I’m getting to him.
I simmer in silence as I get into the car with him, leaning back against the seat. I think back about the last time I was leaning back into the seat, enjoying the expensive, smooth leather seats. I was happy then. Now, I’m confused.
Confused because everything I want is so keenly tied to Magnus.
“I really like you,” he tells me, after a period of silence, as we begin to drive, weaving into city traffic. “And I want to see more of you. But we also need to acknowledge the elephant in the room.”
“Which is?” I ask.
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