Thestorm had hit, and it was a fucking hurricane
He was dressed head to toe in black—the uniform of a creative director—but there was nothing else typical about him. He wore dark sunglasses inside, and had a cigarette tucked behind one of his ears. His hair was strangely, unevenly cut and was slicked back and wet looking. He had a beard, obviously—it's practically a prerequisite in this world—but it wasn't one of those massive hipster beards that made ordinary men look like lumberjacks. It was short and well-groomed and so damn sexy.
He would have been a sight under normal circumstances, but considering that only a few hours before he'd had me bent over his car seat, he was really, really quite a sight.
He wore a full suit, pants, jacket, waistcoat, tie—the works. He even had a black piece of fabric sticking out of his jacket pocket—Who dresses like that? Does he think he's Don Draper from Mad Men?
He was almost gentlemanly-almost. But the tattoo that popped out from under his cuff and ran the length of the back of his hand and the one peering out from his collar that went up his neck and stopped behind his ear were anything but gentlemanly. He loomed like a dark, mysterious creature. Fortunately, he still hadn't seen me.
"Oh my God he's soooo fucking weird," Vampire girl said, rubbing her neck. Did she want him to bite her?-"Weird" you must understand is a compliment in this world.
And then he looked directly at me and I nearly fainted. I inhaled sharply, so sharply that I started choking on a fleck of saliva. As Ness patted me on the back, his eyes lingered momentarily and then they left me. He showed absolutely no recognition on his face and in that moment-after I had recovered from my embarrassing coughing fit-I was overcome by two very strong emotions. One was relief. Sleeping with your new boss is not the kind of thing that looks good on anyone's resume, not to mention the awkwardness it creates around the office. And two... I was pissed-"I want you so badly, Sera. I need you" ... and now he didn't recognize me?
What an asshole! With his ridiculous indoor sunglasses, his oh-so-cool cigarette and his stupid black borderline-tuxedo.
I hated him.
***
Work was painfully slow that day. It seemed that the arrival of Ben Morgan- his name was Ben, just plain old Ben, not any of the aforementioned exotic names such as Blaze, Blade, Slade or Jethro... Ben-had caused people to forget they had jobs... and minds. People were standing around, eagerly waiting for their names to be called. Ben said he was "hands-on," a phrase that had caused me to both cringe with disgust and tremble with excitement at the same time. He explained he was going to be speaking to all the members of his team "one-on-one"-another phrase that brought back images of backseat bumping and grinding.
Ben had used several phrases that morning that had my panties in a twist-as JJ was so fond of saying. I couldn't figure out whether he was an innate pervert who tossed around sexual innuendos like salad croutons, or whether I was just being overly sensitive.
"I have a big load for you today," he'd said before he emphasized how he wanted to "get on top of things." All the innuendo caused strange feelings to pass through my body, but I almost passed out cold when he said he "wanted to really get his hands dirty and not be a back seat driver." The mere mention of his backseat nearly put me in a coma.
But the worst thing was that my desk was directly across from his glass-walled office, so I had a front row seat and a clear view and-Oh my God, he was sexy...
He was calling people in for their one-on-ones, which caused a temporary traffic jam in the bathroom as women slicked on layers of fresh lip-gloss and fiddled with their hair and clothes.
Ben, however, seemed totally cool and calm as he sat at his desk looking devilish. He was the kind of man that your mother always warned you about. In fact, he was the kind of guy that should be made to wear a bright red, flashing warning sign around his neck. His casual, bordering on disinterested, way of leaning back in his chair and running his hands through his hair and-oh God-chewing on the end of his pencil was intoxicating. And not just for me. Every woman that left his office looked like they'd just had the best sex of their lives. They all had a sort of flustered, dazed look to them-even some of the guys. God only knew what he was saying to them.
As the day went on, I tried desperately to remain calm, but it was getting harder and harder as more co-workers came out with titillating stories of him-Vampire girl was especially vocal. He'd glanced over in my direction a few times when he'd called the names of people sitting nearby, but still he'd showed no recognition whatsoever-maybe I should have worn the wig to work.
The torturous hours dragged on until the day was almost over, and still my name hadn't been called. At five I got up and started packing, completely thrilled to have been overlooked, but then-
"Sera Holmes?"
The sound of my name from his lips caused a strange reaction inside. I froze, like a mime in mid movement. Then I sat back down in my chair, locked my eyes onto my computer screen and stared straight ahead, unblinking.
"Sera. Sera Holmes?"
I didn't move. Out of the corner of my eye I saw his black figure striding towards me and within seconds, he standing above me.
"Sera?"
I knew I couldn't keep pretending I hadn't heard him, so I nonchalantly held up my hand and said, "Just give me one moment please, I'm in the middle of something." As soon as the words were out of my mouth I imagined being fired on the spot. Not only had I slept with him, my boss, but now I was making him talk to the hand-what a disaster. So I pretended to read a few more words on the screen, nodded a few times and wrote something down on a piece of paper.
"Done," I said. Then I stood up and, totally misjudging how close he was, my body slammed into his. I took a quick step backwards but it was already too late, the damage had been done. His sudden close proximity set off an involuntary chain reaction inside my body and I found myself fantasizing about the top of my desk, perhaps the wall, maybe the floor-Crap! I felt sweat beading on my forehead and I tried desperately to drag my eyes away from his mouth-Stop staring at his mouth. Stop staring at his mouth.
I could still make out a few pieces of glitter stuck to the side of his face and caught in his beard. I guess I had marked my territory. No wonder Vampire girl had walked out looking so dazzled, she probably thought he was a bloody sparkly vampire. Ben watched my eyes, and then his lips-which I was still staring at-curled up into a tiny, slight smile.
"Better things to do than meet the new boss?" he asked.
My heart leapt into my throat suddenly. "No... no," I said. I sounded panicked and tried to rein myself in a little. "There was just something from a client, it was very important...sorry...I just had to read it quickly...sorry, I-"
He held his hand up to stop my rambling, and all I could think about was how I'd sucked on his fingers the night before. I'd never sucked a finger before, but he'd obviously done some kind of black magic on me and unleashed my inner porn star. I snapped out of it and willed myself to look up at his eyes, and, when I did, his smile grew.
"I like your dedication," he said casually, like he was speaking to any other employee. There was still no recognition on his part, and a part of me still wanted to bitch slap him into tomorrow.
"Shall we?" he asked, gesturing with his arm toward his office.
When I stepped into his office, I immediately became aware of the smell lingering in the air-the same soapy, spicy, sandalwood smell as the night before-minus the Vodka and sweat, of course.
Ben closed the door behind me and walked to his desk. "So... Sera?" he started, as he leaned back in his chair and looked me directly in the eye.
I felt an electric jolt reach across the table and shock all my senses to life. I sat up straight and crossed my arms over my body protectively. "Ben. Boss. Ben," I stammered stupidly hating myself the second the words escaped my lips.
He smiled that little devil smile of his-His smile should come with a mandatory warning.
WARNING: Female's should be aware that this smile can be detrimental to your health. Side effects include rapid pulse, palpitation, sweaty palms and in severe cases sexual arousal leading to impromptu hot-as-hell backseat sex.
"So you're my client service girl, I see." He bit down on the end of his pen. Why did all his phrasing seem steeped in sexual innuendo? Accident? I think not. He was obviously some kind of modern day sleazy Casanova, going around deliberately trying to make females amorous-It was working. I crossed my legs tightly, just in case.
"Mmmm, yes." I managed with a slight nod, trying to look as professional as possible.
"Great. We're going to be working very closely on the next few campaigns."
"Mmmm, I'm very excited," I lied. I was terrified.
Then he shifted forward again and opened a file, "So I see you've only been here for three months. Straight out of college, enjoy long walks on the beach at sunset, badminton, puppies...hmm...Elton John?" he said.
"What? I beg your pardon. What the hell is that?"
"HR sent up files on everyone." He had a naughty smile on his face again.
"That's not in there...I don't like...why would that file say that?" I was totally confused and panicked now.
He chuckled. "Just joking, Sera."
"Oh." I forced a nervous laugh. "Of course."
He closed the file, leaned in closer, put his elbows on the table and locked eyes with me. "Well Sera..."-He kept saying my name. No one had ever made it sound so wonderfully filthy before. "I'm looking forward to working with you...Sera."
I stifled a gasp as my name dripped from his lips once more, "Th...thank you. Me too. Everyone's very excited you're here..."
"Well." His voice suddenly went all husky, like it had been at the bar. " I can't tell you how excited I am to be here."
That was it. His voice coupled with those smoldering eyes, his smile and smell, the seductive vibe that was oozing out of every one of his tattooed pores was driving me insane. I needed to put as much space between us as possible-right now. I stood up and stepped awkwardly away from the table. "I...I need to get home, so I better ... leave now and...because it's the end of the day and that's what you do at the end of the day is ...leave." My nonsensical words cascaded out like spilled M&Ms-wait, I'm usually articulate. This isn't me.
"Sure, I wouldn't want to keep you from going, because that's what you do at the end of the day, is go." He was smiling broadly now.
He was mocking me. "Ok. Thanks," I said flatly and headed out the door...until he stopped me.
"Oh Sera, I think you're forgetting something."
I turned and that's when I saw them. It took a second to register, but when I did, my brain felt like it was going to shatter into a billion fragments. Because there they were, peeping out of an envelope he was pushing across the table.
Pink. Lacey. Panties.
My panties.
I involuntarily slapped my hands over my mouth in utter gut-wrenching shock and I closed my eyes tightly, hoping that when I opened them again, my underwear would not be laying on my boss' table, that this was all a bad dream.
I heard a small chuckle and opened my eyes again. He was wearing his backseat look now-his eyes were doing that intense staring thing, his lips were slightly parted and he was running his hand through his hair like he was posing for a Playgirl spread.
Then the words poured out...
"I...I...can explain. Crap. I mean...I...I've never done that before...seriously. It wasn't really...well it was me, but it wasn't in a way. Someone else dressed me, I don't even dress like that, so you can't blame me...the real me anyway. Shit. I didn't know who you were; I swear I had no idea that you were my boss. I would never have done that if I'd known. Not that I ever do that! Please don't tell anyone. Please don't tell..." And then I caught myself and stuck my finger out at him accusingly, "It was sort of your fault too anyway; you plied me with Vodka cocktails all night and-"
He cut me off with a laugh. "Well its good to know that a few cocktails is all it takes. I'll remember that for next time."
"What?"-excuse me? Next time? I couldn't believe the audacity of this man and it made me instantly angry, and the anger turned to fury when I noted the filthy smile plastered across his stupidly gorgeous face.
"Firstly-" I was fuming now. "Firstly, Mr. Pervert, there will be no next time and secondly, this is sexual harassment. I could report you for this, you know. Sexual harassment in the work place is a very serious crime. And don't think I won't.....Jesus." I slapped my hand over my mouth again and bit down on my lip. "I'm threatening my boss. First I sleep with him and then I threaten him..." I sat back down in the chair. I needed to, it felt like my legs were going to give way under me. I slumped down and put my head in my hands. "It's fine. You can fire me if you want. I'm okay with it. It's okay...." I placed my hand over the telltale envelope and slowly slid it toward me, then quickly shoved it into my jacket pocket. I wanted the floor to swallow me up and never spit me out again. My head was still down when I heard him laugh again. "Fine. Fine," I said, "Laugh at me, too. Whatever. Ha, ha, ha."
His laughing stopped. "No one is getting fired," he said. He sounded calm. I looked up at him and noted that his demeanor changed to something that was completely businesslike. This waylaid my fears a bit.
"How did you even recognize me?" I finally asked once I'd calmed down a bit more.
He leaned across the desk, coming in as close as possible. "I could never, ever, forget a face like yours."
I shivered. Goosebumps ran up and down my spine. I had to get out of there, before some uncontrollable force threw me onto his penis. I stood up as dignified as possible, straightened my jacket and looked at him.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, Ben, and I look forward to a good PROFESSIONAL working relationship where we can become great COLLEAGUES and COWORKERS," I practically shouted the words.
"Me too," he said, also rising and walking around the desk towards me. My breath quickened again and I took a step back as he extended his hand. I looked at it in horror, as the various body parts that had come into contact with that hand began to tingle.
"Can't we at least shake hands?" he asked, taking a step closer.
I reached out tentatively and took his hand, but as I did, something incredible happened-you know how psychics have those clairvoyant flashes and visions when they touch something significant? The necklace of a deceased person, or a missing child's toy? It was like that. Vivid, colorful visions of the two of us flashed through my mind. I was on him. He was on me. He was pulling off my panties with his teeth. I was ripping the buttons off his shirt. I pulled my hand away as quickly as possible and looked up at him. He had that look in his eye again, that look he'd had just before he'd kissed me for the first time in the club. He bit his lip.
"I...I...I'm going now. Home." I leapt at the door and turned the handle, but it was locked-He locked the flippin door! I jiggled it around a few times in a frenzied panic-He locked me in his office! The sick twisted pervert had deliberately called my name out last so he could get me alone in his office. My heart started beating fast and that primal fight or flight instinct took over.
"Let me out! Let me out, now. I don't care if you're my boss...What were you hoping for? To have me on your desk?! Let me out-"
He cut me off by reaching out and putting his hand over mine. He turned the handle in the opposite direction and the door popped open, much to my relief and surprise...and embarrassment.
"You were turning it the wrong way."
"Oh," I managed pathetically. I looked at the floor quickly and didn't say a word as I exited like a beaten dog.
"Sera," he said. I didn't dare to look up. "Please close the door behind you on your way out," he continued. I nodded. "And Sera," he added, just as the door was almost shut. "Now I know I'm in love..."