Dauntless Desires

4

Tris felt consumed by her new role. Or maybe it was just Eric himself. She would never let him see how much he made her squirm.

She'd always played down her looks. Being blonde, toned and with a girl-next-door face wouldn't have done much in her favor if she hadn't taken steps to curb the stereotype. She was smart, driven and sensible. Getting to be objectified had never been her thing. Yet now, Eric was making her conscious of everything about her image, her work ethic, her very self-control.

How she put up with him and his insufferable behavior she'd didn't know. No other assistants had to go through what she did with him. Sometimes, she had the strangest feeling he was pushing her to the wall, hoping she'd say 'fuck off' and leave. Part of her longed to do just that, just snap and lose that self-restraint she was so proud of. With a perfectly aimed kick to his torso or a resounding punch to his devilishly handsome face, she could then walk out of his office for good. But she knew she would never dream of doing that.

When he arrived to his office, he never bothered to acknowledge her. He had no problem showing his disapproval of her clothes whenever he chose to. There were occasions where he made her endure his examination, she would be instructed to stand in front of his desk, her hands placed behind her back, legs shoulder width apart. Then he would inspect her minutely and if satisfied, she would be told to return to her office. As if that wasn't bad enough, he had her coming in for work earlier than normal and sometimes, she was the last to go home.

On top of that she had to plan his meetings, and do any shopping that he 'didn't have time for'. There were the trips to other factions, as well, where she had to accompany him. Which she didn't mind, she got full briefing on what changes would be made and what was and wasn't working. And she always had to be available when he wanted an 'escort' to any social outing.

The more he pushed her, the tougher she got. Eric couldn't break her. She had a long history of having to fight for everything she'd earned. She was determined to be nothing like her underachieving parents who'd been the type to settle for Abnegation. Tris didn't want to sit back and 'accept' what life threw at her. She'd seize the future with hard work and dedication, not expect that life would hand her everything she deserved.

Winning Eric's acceptance was never going to happen. Even after months of working for him, she knew she would never get past his wall. No matter how hard she tried, there was no way he'd show her the appreciation she knew was due. She might as well wish for the moon before that happened. But more to the point, why did she even feel his appreciation mattered? This was just a job, and he was just her leader. Just another man who felt his power could make her feel like less than she was. Nothing had changed since initiation, he was still the cold 'scary' Dauntless asshole he always had been.

One thing she did let trouble her, was how it all affected her relationship with Four.

Three months after she'd started working as Eric's assistant, she returned to her apartment at the close of a hellish day. There had been deadlines to meet, meetings to schedule. She'd barely had time to catch her breath until she walked into her nicely furnished living room where she could relax.

But not for long. Four came storming in an hour later, his files in his hand and a furious look on his face. "Where were you?" he growled.

"At work," Tris said, eyes darting at his attitude. "Why, what's wrong? Didn't training go well?"
Four was at training all day, getting ready for the new initiates to show up, they were supposed to come tomorrow.

"It wasn't just training, Tris. The new initiates came today. I was the only leader there besides Lauren and you couldn't bother to show up, not even for one goddamn hour."