" a deal with the devil. "
LATELY, I'VE BEEN showing up to the office more and more early. Simply because, Rainer requests me to do so, for no reason at all. He'll call me to his office when he sees I've logged in aned tells me to stay there as I do my work.
I don't mind it, his office is much more quiet and peaceful than the crowded cubicles on the twenty-fifth floor.
Besides the calm atmosphere, I also have a jaw-dropping companion. I'm lucky that in the morning, there are times when Rainer doesn't get to dry his hair properly and he comes into the office with messy, wet hair. And if God decides that I'm his favorite on that day, he'll bless me with a couple of undone buttons on the upper part of his button ups.
I blush at the thought of Rainer with more than a few buttons unhooked and his blonde hair, messy and covering his eyes, just enough for his emerald hues to stand out. The image advances, making me chuckle softly but I'm pulled out of my trance by a harsh voice calling my name.
"Aurelia Emberlyn! Hello? I'm talking to you." Sofia's mother-like tone rings in my ears.
"I'm sorry, Sof, just got distracted a bit." I chuckle and my eyes are stuck on the small screen of my iPad in front of me. I'm staring at a blank, Google document that's supposed to contain at least five pages of a report that's due later this evening. Sofia, however, is stress-free while she has the entire fabrics department running around, getting the new custom-made fabrics which are guaranteed to impress Rainer.
She's been bragging about it to me for the whole week, going on and on about how he complimented one of the samples' texture and how he commented that the color of one of them had been his favorite.
Yellow. This man, who wears black, navy blue, and dark blue suits, all in order, every week,'s favorite color is yellow.
Not the mustard yellow, not the regular yellow, or the neon, but pastel fucking yellow.
Sofia chuckles, "Well, I hope you're spacing out for a good reason or else you're dead to Mr. Ruthless." She couldn't be more true with that. I'm just holding onto a small string of hope that he doesn't suddenly call me into his office before I'm able to finish this. Knowing him though, he most likely will.
I try to get any other thoughts of Rainer out of my head as I attempt to type out a report. Sofia is sitting across from me, scrolling on her phone and occasionally checking emails on her laptop while she sips on a Mocha Frappuccino. The silence is filled with the distant chatters of other employees, the pads of my fingertips hitting each key, and heels hitting the marble.
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A few hours have passed and thankfully, I had finished ten pages despite all of the "quick" breaks I had with Sofia.
I quickly save the file after typing out the last sentence and making sure to download it already for when Rainer asks. As I lock my iPad, my phone next to it springs to life, its shrill ring piercing my ears. Glancing at the screen, it's none other than Rainer who's contact I now changed to 'Mr. Ruthless'. I was playing life and death by changing it, risking the chance of him seeing it, though I'm sure he wouldn't really mind.
"Yes, sir?" My voice is soft, just like any other time.
"Come to my office now, Gold." Rainer's voice is the complete opposite. Husky, deep, and toneless.
I'm not quite sure why he's asking for me, it hasn't even reached eight o'clock yet, which was the deadline of the document I had just finished. I glance at Sofia, who sits up straight, and point to my phone as a way to signal who was on the line.
"Okay, sir. I'll be right there." I say goodbye and to no surprise, I get no response and just the tone which signifies that the call has ended. I groan, slouching back on my chair as I place my hand on my forehead. "He's calling me to his office again." I sigh.
Not wanting to get scolded, I quickly take my laptop and phone while waving goodbye to Sofia. She only chuckles and waves back while I walk away.
It's been a week since I first started, and thankfully, I've memorized the majority, or maybe even all, of the ways to his office. Either way, it doesn't matter to me how I get there, as long as I don't take about ten minutes, I'll survive.
It's a long elevator ride up to his office. From the fifth, where most food stalls, break rooms, and tables to dine at are, to the thirtieth floor where there's a few offices and important storage rooms and at the end, Rainer's office.
The elevator dings and I get off, fastening my pace while walking to his office. My hand plays with the hem of my brown skirt, pulling it down slightly. Today, I'm wearing a white collared top that matches my brown skirt and a sweater patterned with diamond shaped brown, white, and pink patches to cover up.
This time, I knock when I reach the door. I wait patiently for a response, and when a distant 'Come in.' is heard from the other side, I open the door. My eyes subtly widen at the sight of Rainer leaning on the left side of his desk, rather than his usual spot in his office chair. He turns his head to look at me and our eyes meet.
I give him a small smile as I walk towards his desk. "Apologies, sir, but I thought the deadline was at-"
"That's not what you're here for, Gold," He cuts me off. "What we're going to talk about is going to take a while, so don't worry about that deadline anymore."
His words make my heart race. I furrow my eyebrows and again, my mind wanders all of the possible things he could mean. Did I do something wrong? Had I scheduled a meeting or booked a reservation for the wrong time? Was there an error in one of the previous reports I had submitted?
My teeth nibble on my bottom lip as I stand anxiously waiting for a response. Rainer, too, is standing there, his eyes are locked on mine until his gaze decides to wander my body. From my hair tied neatly in a ponytail, to my knee high brown boots. His gaze is so piercing, it almost feels like each piece of clothing his eyes go over is getting peeled off, one by one.
I take the time to check him out too, though what he's wearing is just the same as every other day. Navy blue pants, a white button up, and a matching blazer fully done. His tie is slightly messed up, though it's still in line with the one button undone at the top. His hair is slicked back rather than the usual middle part, and I couldn't love it more.
"I've called you here to offer you a contract. Though it may affect our professional relationship, I hope you can bear with me as I elaborate." He explains.
I nod, "No worries, sir, I'm listening and open to anything."
"When you say 'anything', does that include a BDSM contract?" I'm taken aback by his words.
"With me, of course." He adds, and I chuckle softly.
My feelings are a mix of surprise, confusion, and excitement. A contract, especially a BDSM one, is definitely out of the range of our professional relationships, though I wouldn't mind. Various things go through my head when the word 'BDSM' in Rainer's addicting, deep voice replays in my mind.
Bondage, discipline, sadism, and masochism. All things that I'd enjoy, especially with a man like him.
"You'd have to elaborate a bit more, sir. You can't just say 'a BDSM contract' and nothing else." I stall a bit, trying to get him to say a few specific words out loud.
Instead, he pushes himself off of his desk and starts to move towards me. He walks, and walks, and walks until our bodies are inches apart and there's still space to breathe between our faces. Rainer looks down at me with a smirk and tilt of his head.
"My family expects me to have a wife and kids in a few years time," He says. "I told them I already have someone in mind, someone involved in my business, and I decided it would be exciting to create a BDSM contract, beneficial for both sides."
"How would it be beneficial for both sides if, one, we're risking our professional images with this, and two, it's for your family." I contradict him, and he breaks eye contact with the shake of his head and a chuckle.
"Forty million dollars, cash or card."
"Fifty." I joke.
He glares, "Forty."
"Forty-five!" I'm living up to my nickname.
"I said forty, Gold."
"Mm, and I guess you don't need me that much then." I turn around on my heel and start to walk away from him.
I suddenly feel a tight grip on my wrist and I turn around to see Rainer's large hand grasping it. "Fine, Forty-five million."
That's what I like to hear. I smile at him, and turn back around. Our bodies are much closer and there's only a few inches left between us. I can almost feel his hot breath fanning my face.
"Is that all?"
"A better financial life and better sex. You're going to take this." He says sternly like a command. One that I'm going to follow, not that I have a choice. Even if I did, I still would've taken it.
We stand still for a few seconds. Silence as we stare into each other's eyes, which I now notice, compliment each other. Emerald and hazel, the thought makes me smile at him.
"I'll show you the contract. It'll need your signature, anyway." I didn't even realize that his hand was still gripping on my wrist until he started walking towards his desk, and I was moving alongside him. My heels shuffle against the floor as Rainer drags me to his desk then sits me down on his chair.
My height is further shortened by the size of this chair, Rainer fits perfectly so it's no surprise that it's wider by the shoulders and much taller. I look at his desk and see a stack of papers stapled together, the header reads 'The Contract' and I gulp.
"Read it thoroughly and carefully, I wouldn't want you to agree to anything that you don't want to." He says, his tone is caring, for once and it surprises me.
My heart is racing again as my gaze follows each and every word.
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