Chapter 6 #3
“You mean, you’re not going to marry me?” I gaze at him wide-eyed. “But please. You touched me, so you should. Imagine how happy we’ll be?” I paste a goofy smile on my face. “In fact, we’ll make such pretty babies."
He blanches. I swear, the man goes completely white.
It’s so funny—and pathetic—that the thought of marrying me turned my very macho boss pale, I allow myself a chuckle. It’s either that or cry, and no way, am I going to do that.
“Relax.” With a panache I manage to drag from the depths of my being, I wave my hand in the air. “I was kidding. You spanked me. I enjoyed it. It was an interchange between consenting adults. It doesn’t mean anything.”
Actually, it means a lot to me, but I’m not telling him that.
No one has made me feel this cherished before.
The fact that he wanted me enough to spank me and bring me to orgasm...
makes me feel so wanted. Something I yearned for every time a foster family told me I wasn’t welcome at their place. I push the thoughts aside.
“Excellent,” my boss says in a relieved tone that makes my heart squeeze in my chest.
What was I expecting? A relationship? Ha. This strange—whatever it was—was some kind of sexual encounter. And I should treat it like that. I tamp down the part of me that wishes it to be more, then square my shoulders. “Right then, best I get on with my job.”
I grab my tablet and my phone, as well as my pen and notebook, and march out of the boardroom.
I drop them off on my desk, then continue on down the corridor to the ladies’ room at the far end.
It's empty. I turn my back on the row of sinks, then pull down my skirt, my stockings, and my panties.
I glance over my shoulder at my reflection.
Jesus, my entire bottom has turned red, and I can see the imprint of his palm on my butt-cheeks.
I place my much smaller palm over the fingerprints.
Sparks. A shudder grips me. That’s hot. That’s twisted.
That’s sexy. And I want more. I hear the sound of someone in the next stall flushing.
I sit on the toilet, do my business, then straighten my clothes. I wash my hands and head out.
I spend the rest of my day getting through my to-do-list and replying to his emails, then taking notes while I sit in on his next meeting with the acquisitions team.
This one passes without incident, though I flinch at the coldness in his voice and have to try hard not to show my disapproval at his instructions for the takeover of a company.
He shrugs aside the fact that it can be a risk to the Davenport Group to do so, that they might be overstretching.
He wants to take risks and isn’t going to shy away from it.
I’m no mathematical genius, but even I can tell, it's a foolhardy move to go after this company. Or perhaps, he knows something the rest of his team doesn’t.
Then, it’s on to compiling the sales figures from his team, and the next thing I knew, it’s five-thirty p.m. and the office has emptied out.
Mary comes by on her way out and nods at me. “Heard about what happened in the staff meeting, and if you ask me, that chump had it coming.”
“Umm, okay?” I venture. “I hope it doesn’t cause Mr. Davenport any problems. The guy was livid when he was being dragged out by the security guys.”
“Nothing Knox can’t handle.” She waves a hand.
Just then, a delivery guy walks over and proceeds to place cartons of food on my desk. “Um, I didn’t order that.”
“It says it’s for Kelly Assistant.”
I sigh. So, we’re back to that?
I accept the delivery, and he leaves. I stare at the cartons in bemusement. “Do you think he—”
"Knox ordered it, all right.” She gives me a funny look. “Guess he must feel sorry.”
“Feel sorry?” I frown.
“For acting like a twat, which I assume he must have been over the last week.”
Or was he apologizing for saying there couldn’t be anything else between us and trying to smooth my hurt feelings?
My landline buzzes, and when I answer it, he growls, “Need the California team on the phone. Did the estimates for the new office in Birmingham come in? You need to brief the recruitment agency for a new Finance Director. And where’s the new advertising campaign?”
I look up to see Mary wave and leave, then turn my attention back to the phone.
“The California team will call you in five minutes. The Birmingham estimates are in your inbox. The recruitment agency will send you a shortlist of candidates by nine p.m. tonight and the new advertising campaign will be in your inbox tomorrow by nine a.m.”
There’s silence then, “You already spoke to the recruitment agency?”
“First thing I did when I got back to my desk after the staff meeting.”
“And the advertising campaign—”
“The agency needed a few more hours. It’s not going to impact the media deadlines.”
“But—”
“And I know you don’t want any half-baked ideas. A few more hours won’t break the bank, and it’ll give the creatives a chance to flesh out their concepts so there's a better chance of you receiving a campaign that's effective.”
I’m sure he’s going to protest, but to my surprise, he drawls, “Good call.”
I blink. Then sit back in my chair and close my eyes.
A smile curves my lips. I bask in his approval, enjoying the fact that I surprised him and pleased him, at the same time.
All the demanding work this afternoon was worth it.
A bloom of pleasure surges in my chest. “Thank you. And also, for the dinner.”
“Can’t have my employees starving.” He disconnects.
I place the phone down slowly, then take my seat.
I wrap up everything else on my to-do list, stopping to eat in between.
The Chinese food he had delivered is from a well-known restaurant and tastes really good.
It’s also light enough that, despite my tiredness, it doesn’t weigh heavily in my stomach.
In fact, it revives me enough to keep going for a few more hours.
I should leave. Things can wait until tomorrow, but I want to impress him with my diligence.
If I work hard, surely, he’ll notice and appreciate my efforts again?
I’ll do anything for a few more words of praise from his mouth.
At eight p.m., I stretch, then switch off my computer. I gather my things and cast a glance in the direction of the closed door of his office. I take a step in that direction, then stop.
No, he hasn’t eaten yet. In fact, he didn’t even ask me to get him lunch, and when I emailed him to ask, he didn’t reply.
Yes, he’s been at work since very early; but really, that’s none of my business.
His family owns the company, so he’s putting in the hours to build his own legacy.
Besides, he’s a grown man. He can take care of himself.
I turn and walk away, then find I can’t leave thinking of him working on an empty stomach.
When he ordered the Chinese takeaway for me, he hadn’t ordered any for himself. Seriously the man needs a keeper.
I sigh, head back to his door and pull it open. The office is in darkness, except for the lamp on his desk. He’s working on his computer and doesn’t look up when I head inside.
“Can I order you dinner before I leave?”
No answer.
“I can’t have my boss starving.”
Maybe it’s the fact that I’m using his words back on him, that makes him lift his head. “Goodbye.” That’s all he says before he focuses his attention back on his screen.
Fine, whatever. I tried. I pivot and turn to leave, and I swear, I can feel his gaze follow me. But that must be my imagination.
I reach the door when he calls out, “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for. And yes, you can order me dinner.”
So, he was tracking my progress to the door? I turn, but he’s back to looking at his computer. So maybe not. But the fact that he answered me... I take that as a positive sign.
The next two weeks, he’s away for business.
An around-the-world trip that has him hopping from London to LA, then onto Buenos Aires, then Singapore and Mumbai.
He never misses any of his video conferences or agreements which need his signatures.
Perks of having his own private aircraft, I suppose.
The number of times zones this man has crossed is enough to give me a headache.
During this time, I get to know his team thoroughly, especially since he has me pass his directives to them and prefers me to answer their questions and pass on to him the ones I need help with.
He insists that all communication to him be streamlined through me, and while I’m hesitant at first, I grow into my role.
Surprisingly, his remaining department leads turn out to be good people who are focused on getting the job done and making his and their lives easier by working as a team.
In addition to getting to know the department heads better, I also become familiar with the people reporting to them.
And I come to the dawning realization that I can make a difference by helping to communicate my boss’ thinking in more detail to them.
I’m privy to the workings of his mind and I realize, he doesn’t have the patience to break down his strategies for his team.
As a result, many of them feel lost or left behind when it comes to the implementation of his plans.
I spend time breaking down my boss’ ideas to his team.
It results in them better understanding his intentions and appreciating the big picture which, so far, only my boss has envisioned.
It makes me feel good to do this. I feel needed. I’m bridging the communication gap between my boss and his management team. I’m making a real difference to the future of my boss’ company, and I feel so happy about it.