Today was Monday, and marked the second day where she would be doing everything by herself. She managed his schedule, brought him coffee, wrote his letters, screened his emails, took phone calls, kept his files in order, and a host of other activities. It was similar to what she’d done for the printing company—just on a larger scale. She loved the feeling of being useful, of being efficient once more. And she especially loved it when Greyson would stop by to offer her a few words of praise, to tell her what a good job she was doing.
Actually, she loved it whenever he talked to her at all. He had a rich, deep voice that was like a velvet hand stroking down her spine. His smoky grey eyes were fringed with thick, black lashes that made her heart beat faster even though there was never anything in them but polite respect.
Occasionally she thought she’d glimpsed something more, something that accelerated her pulse and caused her to lick her lips, but it was gone so fast she was sure she was just imagining it. His ten thousand dollar suits were perfectly tailored to show off his tall, muscular body, and his thick, dark hair was a little longer than the norm—it curled to just below his jawline.
She often thought about running her hands through the wavy mass, then blushed whenever she caught herself thinking about it. He was her boss. She couldn’t have these feelings about him. And even if he wasn’t her boss, she knew he’d never be interested in her anyway. His was the type with tall, skinny models on his arm.
There was no reason for a man like him to look her way when any of those women would lick his feet if he asked them to.
She stepped off the elevator and into the spaciously appointed waiting area, with lush cream carpets and dark green walls with gilt edges on the molding. Her desk sat in the center of the room—the bastion that protected Greyson’s office from the rest of the world. No one got through her unless either she or Greyson sanctioned it. That was one of her duties, and she was proud to uphold it.
Usually Greyson was in his office, already started in on his work for the day. But this morning he was in the lobby, a hip propped against the outer edge of Eva’s desk. Confused, she nevertheless stepped forward to greet him, but the smile froze on her lips when his eyes met hers. Today they were a cold, iron grey, like snow clouds in winter. His face was a stone mask.
“Good morning, Mr. Stone—” she began, then stopped as he cut her off with a raised finger.
“In my office. Now.”
He turned abruptly and stalked inside, and she followed on his heels, her heart thundering painfully. His office was spacious—the skyscraper the building was housed it was cylindrical rather than having corners, and so the room was shaped like a quarter of a circle rather than a square, with the curved wall completely lined with glass. The two inner walls were a glossy black, with several paintings and ornate shelving cabinets as well. The center of the room was dominated by an l-shaped desk of mahogany, and two low-backed, comfortable chairs for visitors.
Greyson shut and locked the door behind him, then rounded on her. She backed up at the full force of his displeasure focused on her, and felt her legs graze one of those chairs. Try as she might, she couldn’t form the words to ask him what was wrong, what she had done to earn his wrath.
“Did you really think you were going to get away with this?” he asked, his voice deceptively soft.
“G-get away with what?” Tears pricked at her eyes as she began to tremble.
He snatched papers off his desk and waved them in front of her nose. Her vision was too watery to make out what was written on them, but an awful feeling sank into her chest as it hit her—it was her resume.
“I decided to give your credentials a closer look. Only one of your references matches up. The rest, including your college degree, are false.” His eyebrows arched as real fear flashed in her eyes. “What do you have to say about that?”
“There must be some mistake?” Eva tried, desperately grasping at straws. She reached for the resume papers in his hands. “Perhaps I put down the wrong numbers, or misspelled a name.”
“Nice try, Ms. Moore. But I don’t believe it.” He leaned in close to her, his six foot five, muscular frame towering over her, and gripped her shaking shoulders. “A little liar like you needs to be disciplined.”
Eva’s mouth went dry at the look in his eyes—they had gone molten, like quicksilver. She darted her tongue out to wet her lips, and his eyes followed the movement like a cat followed a piece of string it was about to pounce on.
“A-are you going to fire me?”
“I could do that,” he said softly. “But despite your lies, I like you. Over the past week you have made an excellent assistant so far—I knew what I saw when I interviewed you and that you had guts and determination.”
Fear had frozen her vocal chords; she dared not say anything lest she change his mind. His face was so close to her that his breath fanned her face—warm, laced with some kind of minty freshness and a hint of coffee. His lips curved into a cruel smile as he lifted her chin and forced her to look directly into his eyes. She blinked back tears so as to straighten her watery vision. She would show him that determination he had praised, even if he did fire her. What she had done was not out of malice, but necessity. If he threw her out on her ass, she would go with her head held high.
“It takes a lot of both to lie straight to my face in order to secure a position in my company. I’d love to see that bold, raw spunk unleashed in the bedroom.”
“Bedroom?” she asked, her brows drawing together in bewilderment.
“Oh yes.” He stroked his other hand down the side of her neck, halfway ignoring her confusion. “You have such beautiful skin, Eva. I can’t wait to see single inch of it.”
Eva sprang back. “What? I’m sorry but…”
His grey eyes gleamed with a challenge. “But, what? I’m not asking you to do anything that you didn’t agree to, Eva.”
“You’re not?”
He lifted a brow. “Didn’t you agree during the interview to assist me in any way required?”
“Sleeping with you wasn’t exactly what I had in mind nor was it what I was offering, and you know it.” Her voice lost some of its fire despite the protest, and he smiled. She was obviously giving this some consideration.
“Perhaps not, but you did agree nonetheless. All I’m asking is that you follow my orders as my assistant. You’ll do what’s required of you from me, whether it’s in the boardroom… or the bedroom. Not that it will always be the bedroom, mind you.” He grinned wickedly, and her heart pumped faster despite her head still railing against it.
“I… so you’re telling me I will get to keep my job as long as I give you sexual pleasure?”
“Oh, Eva, you misunderstand.” He pushed her up against the wall, his hard abdominal muscles pressing against her breasts. Even through the layers of clothing he felt her nipples pearl. “I intend to give you pleasure as well. You will follow my every command, certainly, but I promise the experience will be just as sexually satisfying for you as it is for me.”
Eva’s breath came shorter now, a light flush coating her cheeks. “And how long will I have to do this for?”
“For as long as I require of you, or for as long as you are in my employ. Whichever comes first.” His lips hovered a mere inch from her own. “If you please me well, though, I might even consider promoting you. You could become a partner if you wanted—if you can follow my orders and do whatever I ask of you. No matter how uncomfortable it might be.”
A partner? She couldn’t fathom that. Her mind began to quiet as it struggled to grasp that possibility of the future, and allowed her heart to take over. She couldn’t deny that she was powerfully attracted to this man—not just because he was handsome, but of the authority and dominant nature he exuded. Would it really be so bad? Her mind didn’t exactly agree, but her body wanted him. It wasn’t like the experience would be unpleasant—she had no doubt that a man like him was as good as his word when he promised a woman pleasure.
Sucking in a breath and wondering if she’d gone completely mad, she nodded. “I’ll do it.”
“Good girl.” He glanced at his watch just as the phone rang outside. “We don’t have time right now, but I will make sure to deliver your first lesson today.”
“Lesson?”
He smiled. “Of course. I did say you were going to need training.” He pulled away. “For now, get out there and do your job. I will call on you when I have need of you.”
“Yes sir.”
Fleeing from the room as though her heels had grown wings, she answered the phone and wondered just what it was she had gotten herself into.
****
Monday was generally the busiest day of the week, and today was no exception for Eva. She was kept incredibly busy by the constantly ringing phones, the juggling of Greyson’s schedule, and myriad other tasks she had to complete by the end of the day. She was grateful for the work—it helped to keep her mind off the agreement she’d made just that morning—the agreement in which she’d surrendered her body to him.