by Eva Luxe
“I just wanted to see if you had a chance to go over the new file.”
He holds up a manila envelope identical to the one Adriel just dropped off in my office. He knows I haven’t had the chance to review it. Even if I wasn’t just playing ‘Name Your Fantasy,’ it would’ve taken me a lot more time to take a look at that file. He expected to walk in on something and for once I’m glad nothing happened.
“I haven’t had the time yet. But when I do, you’ll be the first to know.”
With that I close the door on his annoying face and go back to sit at my desk. What am I doing with this girl? I met her three days ago and I’m pursuing her like some kind of lost puppy. I even asked Gregson to make sure she delivered all the files from her floor to this one. Is there even a point to all of this? I rub my hands on my face and try to snap out of the sex haze that’s taken over my mind. Right now, I need to get back to work. I can worry about Adriel later.
ADRIEL
I spend the rest of the day focused on work. If I keep my mind occupied, it can’t wander to other places. Other darker, very forbidden places. Soon, it’s no longer light outside and I’ve stayed way past the typical clock-out time.
I had had a chat with my parents concerning my work schedule. It took some convincing, but I was able to make them understand I’d be home late sometimes. They weren’t too happy to hear this, but since it was for my job, they accepted my explanation. They kind of seemed happy that I was simply talking to them.
Before leaving, Harriet threw some more files on my desk saying they have to go upstairs to the partner’s office. Since they weren’t urgent, I could wait until I was about to leave to deliver them. I couldn’t go up again and face Mr. Staples. But since everyone has gone home, I can go slide them under all the partners' doors without the risk of running into him again.
I grab the files and head upstairs. It is a bit creepy being here so late at night and alone. The offices of Mr. Masters, Mr. Chambers, and Mr. Williams are all locked. I slide the files under their doors with no difficulty. When I get to Mr. Staples’s door, I go to slide the file underneath, but it ends up pushing his door slightly open.
My curiosity gets the better of me and I enter his office. I drop the file on his desk and look around. The past two times I was here, I was too distracted by his presence to get a good look at his office. It’s tastefully decorated, but lacks a personal touch. Mr. Masters and Mr. Chambers had pictures of their families, things indicating their likes and hobbies, knick-knacks and such. None of this is present in his office. It feels kind of lonely.
I go to the other side of the desk and sit in his chair. This isn’t a good idea, but I haven’t been having a lot of those lately, so what’s one more? I spin around because it is near impossible for me to resist the urge to do so whenever I sit in a spinny chair. As I turn, I think of the words he said to me earlier.
“…But I also want to fuck you while your face is pressed against my desk. You’d be leaning over it, offering yourself to me. Maybe we’d do it in the middle of the day. The thrill of being caught coursing through our veins.”
I come to a stop by placing my hands against the hard wood of his desk and I bring my face down into my hands. What am I doing with myself?
CLIVE
I don’t know why I decided to stay behind this late. Actually, I do. I hope work will keep my mind off Adriel. I’m constantly thinking about her, but achieving no satisfaction. Our little performance in my office earlier only made the entire situation worse. Now I know she has some rather kinky fantasies, but, thanks to Chambers, I didn’t get to hear exactly what she wants. I still can’t believe she wants to tie me up. I’d have never expected that. And I think I’d be into it.
I’d left the office to pick up some dinner and now I’m on my way back. It wasn’t until everyone had left that I realized how hungry I was. I worked my way through lunch. And for some reason, I’m going back to the office to eat my takeout. A lot of what I’ve been doing lately hasn’t made much sense.
I get to the top floor and head for my office. The door is open? I’m pretty sure I closed it. As I get closer, I think I hear… mumbling? I can’t pick up any words, but it sounds like someone is in there. Is it Chambers? Would he sink so low to search my office? That’s not even a question, of course he would. The man is insufferable. I march to my office with the intent of telling him off.
“I swear to God, Chambers-” I get inside and instead of the old bag, I see Adriel with a look of alarm on her face. She looks beyond scared and I immediately feel sorry.
“Mr. Staples!” She jumps out of my seat and it rolls back and hits the wall. The noise makes her wince. “What are you doing here?” The better question is…
“What are you doing here?” She seems to calm down a little and realize that she may be the one in the wrong. She hugs herself and curls into her body.
“I-I-I was dropping off another file,” she points to it, “and I guess I- I don’t know… I’m sorry I came into your office like this. If you want to fire me, I understand…” Fire her? That’s ridiculous. I still need to figure out why I’m so enraptured with her. Plus, sitting at my desk isn’t such a horrible thing.
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not a big deal. You just did something I do every day.” She’s surprised, but I can see her shoulders go down as she relaxes. Her arms drop and I even get a small smile.
“Really?”
“Really.” I go over to my desk and sit down opposite of Adriel. She watches me with an unchanging expression. “Why don’t you sit down?”
“In your chair?”
“Yeah, like I said. No big deal.” Adriel finally takes a seat, but I can see she’s once again quite tense. I’d love for her to relax. She shows so much more of herself when she’s relaxed. She has her hands folded on her lap and won’t look at me. “I just picked up some dinner and you can join me, if you want. I honestly got way too much food and I don’t want it to go to waste.” She looks up at me.
“I am hungry…” I decided on pizza since it was the closest place. I tell her to open my desk and get some paper plates. Soon we both have some slices, but I’m the only one eating. Adriel must still be uncomfortable.
“What are you doing here so late?” It is a bit weird. Even I don’t stay this late typically and I actually own a part of this company. She’s only been here for… three days? Wow. I’ve known her three days and look at the mess we’re in.
“I just wanted to get some work done. I didn’t realize how late it was getting.” She finally takes a bite and I think that if I can hold an everyday conversation with her maybe she’ll relax. I ask her about her family, hobbies, life, anything I can think of. Soon, we’re both laughing and I’ve learned a lot about her. She loves to cook and paint. This is her first job. She’s an only child from a very religious household. She wants to move out of her parent’s house, but needs to get the funds together. She also loves to run. I wish she wasn’t so ashamed of what happened between us. I also wish I didn’t care so much. She’s one woman, yet her happiness has become… important to me? I even divulged some facts about myself. I don’t like talking about myself with anyone, especially women I’ve been with. But I guess, technically, I haven’t been with Adriel, but I would like to be with her and, in my mind, sharing isn’t very sexy. But she must be the exception because the more I learn about her, the more I want to know.
Before I know it, we’ve been talking for a couple hours and it’s almost… 10! “I didn’t realize how late it was.” I can tell Adriel doesn’t know how late it has gotten, so I tell her. Once again, she shoots up from her chair.
“Oh my god! I need to go!” She’s scrambling to gather her stuff and I find this mad dash slightly amusing. But I don’t want her to leave.
“You don’t have to leave. We can keep talking.” My words make her suspicious and to be honest, if I was her, I’d be wary, too. Usually, this is the kind of line that I would use in the hopes that by the end of the ni
ght I’d be having sex. But just spending time with Adriel is enough. Of course, I want to sleep with her, but I also just want to be with her. Dear God, what am I saying? “If you’re afraid the night will take a turn… I can good if you can be good.” I look at her expectantly, hoping she’ll say yes. She stops her scramble and looks down at me. I can see her thinking about my proposal.
“I’d like to stay,” she says this while fidgeting with her hands, “but I need to get home. I’m sorry.” If she wants to stay, she should stay. But I don’t want to push her away. I feel like tonight has changed things between us and if I move too fast, I might scare her off again. I watch as she gathers her things and heads for the door. She’s about to leave, but before she exits, Adriel turns back to me. “Plus, I don’t think I could be good for much longer, anyway.” With that she leaves my office and I’m left to contemplate her words. She keeps saying things that I can’t wrap my head around. This has gotten a lot more involved than I’d expected.
ADRIEL
I’m lying in my bed thinking about the two encounters I had with Mr. Staples today. They’re drastically different, but they both make me smile. However, when I got home, my parents were furious with me. I’d stammered out an explanation, but it didn’t do much to mitigate their anger. They said that for all they knew I was dead in a ditch and if I’m going to be that late to at least text them. But I didn’t regret it. Every moment I spend with Mr. Staples, I don’t regret. I may feel bad afterwards, but I wouldn’t erase them. I understand that now. It’s such a conundrum. I feel like all my feelings are coming from a pure place, but their physical manifestations have been… not so pure. And now I’m having trouble falling asleep. I learned so much about Mr. Staples tonight. He’s an avid reader (meaning he knows about the whole C.S. Lewis thing). He actually has a Ph. D., but prefers not to be called Dr. I found that weird. I thought the whole point was that everyone had to call you Dr. for the rest of your life. He has a weird combination of modesty and pride. He also has a much younger sister, but his relationship with his parents isn’t the best. Like mine, they’re a bit overbearing.
I turn over and lie on my side. I smile remembering how our night ended, “I can be good if you can be good.” Maybe he was telling the truth. I believe he was, but it’s not just his self-control that could be a potential problem. The more time I spend around him, the more I can feel my resolve slipping. I told Pastor Nichols I’m not going to sleep with Mr. Staples and I’m going to stick to that plan.
The next day, I’m sitting at my desk and Harriet drops some more folders for me to deliver to the top floor.
“Could you get someone else to deliver these?” I think I’m the only one who has to make these deliveries. I feel like my coworkers are picking up on this and some of them are giving me dirty looks.
“Usually, I’d have mixed up who takes up deliveries for the top floor, but both Mr. Chambers and Mr. Staples requested that you deliver anything that has to go upstairs.” Huh? I expected Mr. Staples to be involved, but Mr. Chambers? “I was just as confused.” Harriet must’ve seen my surprise. “You must’ve made an impression on both of them.” She shrugs and is on her way. And it looks like I’ll have to face all the partners again…
I go upstairs and make sure to end of Mr. Staples’s office, again. I knock on the door and I get the usual, “Come in.” But when I enter, he’s on the phone and motions for me to place the folder on his desk. I move slowly, expecting him to want to have another talk with me, but it looks like he’s completely occupied with his phone call. I leave disappointed. I didn’t even want to come up here and now I’m let down because Mr. Staples didn’t talk to me. Do I even know what I want? Is my brain even a functioning organ at this point? I go back to my desk and find myself feeling sullen for the rest of the day. Which is ridiculous. I mean, I wanted this. Well, I didn’t want it, but it is what needed to happen.
Over the next week and a half, Mr. Staples doesn’t really speak to me. I still drop off all his files, but we don’t have any conversations of substance. Even though he’s just upstairs, I find myself missing him. Plus, Mr. Chambers still hovers whenever I come upstairs. That man makes me nervous. All these men are making me nervous. Mr. Chambers and his predatory nature, Mr. Staples and my attraction to him, Mr. Davis and his enigmatic warning. The final partner is the only one I have no solid opinion on. Ms. Williams. Yeah, turns out, she’s a woman. Why have I never seen her? I know she exists, but whenever I go to her office, she’s never there! But I’ve gotten closer to Harriet. I’ve even started to confide in her. She’s explained some of the politics between the four partners and how Mr. Chambers wants to bring Mr. Staples down a peg. She’s also the one who told me about Ms. Williams, but she had very little information on her. She may remain an unsolved mystery. And I learned that Mr. Davis and Mr. Staples are close friends. Learning about them from an outside source was enlightening. Plus, it was nice to make a new friend.
So, my second week working here is coming to an end and it’s been one emotional trip. Tonight, I’ve once again stayed a little bit past closing, seeing I have no Friday plans. Harriet tried to invite to go out with her and some people from the office, but I couldn’t bring myself to say yes. I’d love to hang out with her more, but tonight just doesn’t feel like the night. And anyway, there are more files for me to deliver upstairs. I don’t know why I’m still doing this, though. Obviously, Mr. Staples doesn’t want to talk to me. Whenever I go into his office, he momentarily acknowledges me, then goes back to whatever he was doing. Maybe, I should’ve stayed that night. I wanted to. I really wanted to. And he promised nothing would happen… but I couldn’t make the same promise. Meaning I had to leave.
I go upstairs and make my final deliveries for the night. I finally get to his office, his office, and expect to be disappointed once again, but I’m ready for it. I almost don’t care. Almost. I go inside and once again find him on the phone. I place the envelope on his desk and make to leave.
“Hold on, Adriel.” I stop and turn around slowly. He’s still on the phone, so he motions for me to take a seat. I do so, tentatively, not sure what I’m in for this time. Another conversation would be nice, but I want more than a conversation. Maybe a conversation with our bodies… Dear god, that was cheesy. Delete that thought from my mind. I look up at him and see Mr. Staples watching me. I suddenly feel embarrassed and hope none of my thoughts were apparent on my face. Given how stupid they sound. He finally ends his call and instead of taking a seat in his chair, sits down on the desk. “How have you been?”
How have I been? Let’s see. There’s a mixture of disappointment, horniness, and curiosity mixing about in me. But no, I’ll just say, “Fine, fine. I’ve been… fine.” Sit up straight, betray no emotions, get through this. “How about you?”
“I’ve missed you.” Surprising. I’ve been here the entire time. It wouldn’t have been that hard to say hi. Wait, stop. I need to dissipate this anger. Why? Because one, I shouldn’t let him get to me like this and two, I can’t validate his feelings. I think I’ve kept a fairly neutral face and I also think Mr. Staples is picking up on my less than friendly feelings. He quickly changes the subject. “I’d like you to stay late. I have a project I need your help on.” Project? Bullshit.
“Bullshit.” I think I said that out loud. Yep, I definitely said that out loud. His mouth twitches and I think he wants to smile, but since it was quiet enough, he simply ignores my little outburst.
“Why don’t you gather your things and we can work in my office.” I nod and leave. As I ride the elevator down to my floor, I chastise myself for letting my… anger? I guess I am angry. I’m mad that he didn’t talk with me for over a week. I’m mad that nothing ever seems to resolve itself between us. And I’m mad that I have so many conflicted feeling about the two of us. That last one’s one me, but doesn’t make me any less angry. In fact, I believe it makes me angrier. I grab my things… angrily and go back upstairs. Mr. Staples seems to already be working on som
ething. Maybe there really is a ‘project.’
“What do you need me to do?” I sit down and he hands me some papers. He tells me read and highlight certain passages, find certain values, finance stuff, etc. We work for about an hour. There’s very sparse discussion.
“Can I see what you’ve got so far?” I nod and he comes to stand behind me. I begin to show him the papers and he places both his hands on my shoulders. It’s a simple gesture, but it puts me on edge. At first, his hands are just resting, but, after we talk for a few minutes, he moves his thumb to my neck and begins to make small circles. I’m starting to have trouble concentrating. “Are you okay?”
I snap out of my reverie, nod, and try to continue reading, but Mr. Staples keeps tracing circles. “Uh… Mr. Staples?”
“Please, call me Clive,” he leans in and whispers this into my ear. Shivers go down my spine. I know I have options. I can refuse to call him Clive and communicate that this level of familiarity is making me uncomfortable or I can take the plunge. I can move into uncharted territory and get the satisfaction I desperately desire. That I’ve been desiring for a while now.
“Okay… Clive?” There’s a question in my voice and he answers it with a kiss. A kiss along the edge of my jaw. I feel his tongue slip out and my breathing gets faster.
“Could you unbutton your shirt?” He’s still whispering in my ear and it’s driving me crazy. He’s so close, my stomach is doing the thing where it feels like it’s falling. With shaky hands, I undo all the buttons on my shirt. Clive removes it from my body. “I’m going to take your bra off now.” His hands hover over the clasp, waiting for my response.
“Okay.” He undoes the clasp with expertise. As he slides the straps off my shoulders, I reflexively cross my arms over my chest, keeping my bra from falling forward. Clive moves from behind my chair, so now he’s kneeling in front of me. I look down at him.
