Chapter 8 Ian
After escorting Collette to the basement and showing her the assets available to her, I left her alone to adjust to the new surroundings.
I headed off, back to my condo in the city, as the helicopter took off I considered how the afternoon had gone.
She was an intriguing woman. Something I hadn’t expected to find in the crop of women that were vying for my attention in that outer office room. It would normally take countless interviews to find a suitable match. It had never occurred on the first day, let alone with one interview.
That was what appealed to me right off the bat with her. She wasn’t demanding. Just considered the facts, weighed them as if they were only a portion of the final decision.
When we’d walked through the door earlier, she’d considered the basement arrangements without a fuss. She hadn’t asked any questions.
None.
Which struck me as curious because most women had questions. They always wanted and needed something when I was gone. A list of things to make them more comfortable.
Food, snacks, and a television were generally at the top of the list. What they didn’t know was that I wouldn’t be giving in to their requests. It wasn’t part of the conditioning that needed to occur for them to be completely mine.
Though I didn’t think she had any idea what she’d gotten herself into. She seemed to be genuinely certain it was an assistant position. It made me wonder, again, what kind of motive she might have for wanting to get close to me.
After reading the contract with her for the second time, I was certain she hadn’t even read the details beforehand.
Several of the items, including the sexual stipulations had seemed to surprise her.
I wasn’t going to enter into anything that wasn’t mutual and consensual. It wasn’t my style.
She recovered well, not really having an issue with sex, but more that it was in the contract to begin with. But I never moved forward with an arrangement without a contract. I needed anything I could to protect my company and myself.
In my line of work, I had learned to read people. There were too many situations where I had to make decisions based on someone’s answers. She took everything I threw at her and kept going. All of the others had paused and reconsidered when sex had come up. When I’d mentioned the ban on social media, she hadn’t batted an eye. It was when we’d found her personal phone that she’d lost her calm.
A text to Rossi would fix that problem.
We needed to have her phone analyzed to find out what she was hiding.
Her hesitancy to do more than skim the contract seemed to contradict the fact that research was her specialty. One would presume that as a research assistant, she would be more detail oriented.
Especially when signing a contract—most researchers I’d come into contact with had been meticulous in their methods.
Why did she want this job so badly? Was it simply a way to get closer to me? Could this be another company wanting dirt on my personal life? Did we have a connection I couldn’t recall?
I ran a weary hand over my face. I wanted this to work. She drew me in and I wanted to experience everything about her, but I would throw her away if I had to.
No one knew what my assistants were to me. Anyone that had been a previous assistant had not only signed the NDA, but was monitored so that they didn’t turn on me at a later time. So far, nobody has wanted to spill any details. The bonus package was very lucrative and made life easier for every previous assistant.
It wouldn’t matter anyway. Whatever game she was playing, I had way more practice at it.
I’d had years of practice at hiding my feelings or trying not to have feelings at all.
She might appear to have a hardened or tough exterior on the outside, but with a little pressure applied to the right points, she would crack and come willingly to me.
I needed the naivete that she seemed to exude. Something in her life had made her extremely self contained, though she was still soft in a womanly way.
My body ached with the need to lose myself in her. It’d been awhile since a woman had drawn such a reaction from me. I had control, but she pushed that boundary which I craved and knew would be addicting. I didn’t let myself have random dalliances with women. There were too many possible problems that might come up.
It wouldn’t do to be accused of rape, or impregnating a woman without plans. As the CEO of Holdt Tech, there were enough other types of scams to fend off, that I didn’t need the addition of a group of money hungry women trying to distract me from my work.
Trust was a huge part of the bond between me and the woman I chose for a year. They had to want to be there. Most had a small adjustment period, but after the first few weeks, they were willing, if not eager, to do as asked.
Not a partial trust, but complete trust. Trust with total surrender to me.
I had to know that she would follow my instructions to the letter. It could mean the difference between life and death. It was also important for my need to have control in all things.
My cock ached for relief. I shifted in my seat and rubbed it through my suit pants. The thin material didn’t hide my erection well.
Sweet release was needed, but none could be had from her until she was compliant and willing.
It appeared that I’d be walking around with an erection for the foreseeable future unless I took matters in hand.
Discipline and control were key points in my lifestyle. The only way that I could deal with the issues from my past.
Let the games begin. I could outlast any woman, but the match with Collette was promising.
***
It had started in junior high when my father decided to toughen me up.
I laughed without mirth at the memory.
He’d certainly accomplished that. I wasn’t even sure that I was capable of love.
That was one of the reasons I began to have an assistant to tend to my needs. Dating was messy and often brought in feelings on the woman’s part that I wouldn’t allow myself to return. It would cause strife and anger. I prided myself on not being scattered all over the gossip rags, and I’d prevented that from ever happening. Business was only what the world saw me as.
It wasn’t that I was conceited or had a huge ego. When you were the person that others depended on, it forged a bond. Like the connection between a dom and his submissive, and easy to mistake it for love.
There had been a few women over the years that had piqued my interest in the beginning. After they’d finished training, the fun had gone out of the chase. Both parties upheld the contract and they were gone after a year and a day.
I gazed out the window of the helicopter to towering trees knowing there wasn’t a living soul within miles. My past fluttered around in my mind.
Everything had gone wrong when a girl in my seventh grade class had caught my eye. She was kind, with an innocent smile, and girlish laugh.
I’d asked her out for ice cream.
She had been so sweet and perfect. Her mother had promised to pick me up since I was twelve and didn’t have a driver’s permit yet.
Lisa had been her name and I knew she liked me as much as I liked her.
After we’d gotten the ice cream and chatted for a while, her mother drove me home.
Unsure if I was supposed to kiss her goodbye like in the movies, I leaned forward to plant my lips on hers.
She tasted of vanilla and honey. Just like the ice cream cone she had. I couldn’t have ice cream to this day.
“See you at school.” She’d waved as I ran, blushing, up the stairs to the mausoleum of a home I lived in.
My father met me at the door.
“What do you think you’re doing, boy?” he demanded loudly.
I didn’t answer. There wasn’t a point. One guess was as good as any as to what about the girl had set him off. Was she not rich enough? Was he mad I’d kissed her? Was he simply in a bad mood? It didn’t matter. He would do as he pleased, and nothing I said would be a good enough answer.
His wrath would only be appeased in one way—through his assertion of control over me.
None of the servants came to my rescue as he’d grabbed my arm and dragged me toward his den. An example had been set when one tried to interfere.
The welts on the back of my body could be felt through the torn clothes.
“Go get cleaned up. I’ll take care of the mess you’ve made.” He had picked up his glass of whisky. “Make sure that you’re seated at the table on time.”
“Yes, sir,” I answered through gritted teeth. It would be the last time I’d let him catch me long enough to incur his wrath.
He wanted everyone to obey him. Fear ruled our home, and he wanted to make sure that we knew he was in charge.
Even with the beating, I couldn’t wait to get a glimpse of Lisa again. To talk to her. To listen to her laugh. When I went to school the next day, she was gone. No one knew where.
Teachers and students avoided my gaze.
My father managed to control my life by using other people.
Her family had been offered a position three states away and they were moving immediately.
The Zenni name held a lot of weight in the community—as did the money my father continued to throw around. He had to make those under his control remember who owned them.
That was the first time my father’s reprisals had affected anyone but myself because of my actions. I vowed to refrain from all contact with girls in the future for fear my father would find out and they’d disappear. I never knew what came of Lisa. I never tried to find out either. Even though one phone call could give me those answers, I didn’t want to interfere in her life more than I already did.
Control was the only means to tamp down the rage at my father for his actions.
To the world I was a placid lake that reflected a smooth surface to all who viewed it, but underneath, my emotions were a turbulent, churning force that threatened to overwhelm me if not handled properly.
Collette was just what I needed: a new challenge that would keep my attention focused and my emotions under control. They’d been allowed too close to the surface thanks to issues that had arisen this past year.
She hadn’t even been in the same vicinity with me for an hour, and already she was causing me severe frustration.
My normally perfectly combed hair was beginning to stick up from the multiple times I’d run a hand through it.
My lapse in control now was actually the reason why I needed a new personal assistant. Several years had passed since I’d hired one. I needed to let out all of those deep dark desires in a way that only someone like Collette could understand.
The problem was that the process had become mechanical, predictable. There wasn’t any feeling behind it, which in turn didn’t sate my thirst or need.
Training Collette wouldn’t be mechanical. She was already so different than the last few assistants had been. It was going to be explosive the first time I took her.
One look at her and I’d been imagining my body over hers as she screamed and pleaded for release.
While I’d managed to stave off the cravings for the past several years, life had continued to hammer at my control. There was no way I could continue to ignore the fact that I needed this diversion.
It was a simple business decision. I wouldn’t become entangled in her life or motives. I had to stay emotionally distant from the heated looks she was sending my direction.
Decision made, I picked up my cell to place an order for takeout to be delivered to my condo in the city.
Adding a helping of Rossi’s favorite Balochi, I also ordered a slice of cheesecake for dessert. It wasn’t often that I allowed myself to have a sweet treat. I deserved it after the day I’d had.
Most days, the job helped me to clear my head, but today my thoughts were full of the woman downstairs. She was clouding my thoughts. I let the driver take me back to the city to pack a bag, hoping a few hours of distance would help me keep things in perspective.
I hadn’t thought it would be this fast, this simple.
The vetting process alone could take weeks. There wasn’t time for that kind of thorough vetting for her. She’d waltzed in and taken my office by storm. More like taking my mind and concentration over. She was a force.
It wouldn’t have mattered if she’d been plotting my demise, I had to have her. She was everything I’d been looking for but just hadn’t known I’d wanted.
Collette had literally run into me and spiked my interest immediately. That alone stopped me and made me think.
I’d been tempted to take her into my arms where I knew she would fit perfectly. Her heavenly scent of vanilla and a citrusy orange had made me hard instantly. Harder than I’d been in months.
I itched to rub one out, as if that were going to bring the relief I wanted, but I was with the pilot. And it wouldn’t have done any good anyway.
She’d stormed into the elevator. I wasn’t thrilled when she practically forced her way into the quiet of my personal space. It was one of the few places I could have a moment’s peace before facing the wolves always lined up to see me as soon as I stepped into the office.
The mixture of innocence and determination were etched into her features. Her sultry voice had only kept matters hard and I’d smirked at her attempt to stay away from me.
When she followed me to my office, the look on her face just before I slammed the door was one I would remember with glee.
I played that look on her face repeatedly in my mind as we landed on my rooftop. I made my way into my luxurious apartment, and finished the meal ready and dished on the dining table in record time.
It didn’t take me long to pack a weekend bag with a few casual clothes as well as a spare suit. There was always one hanging in the office, but who knew if I would be able to stay in the cabin for the entire week.
Being prepared to be called out for an emergency situation made sense. It always happened at the most inopportune times.
I couldn’t remember the last time I was gearing up to be somewhere. While I could have stayed in the city and just commuted out to Collette, it would save me time and energy to be nearby.
The joy of watching her would bring a sweet sort of release to this feeling that was beginning to burn me from the inside out. A small relief that let out enough steam to keep me from erupting. It had been a while since I’d taken any personal time. I needed this to get my head in the game.
Collette didn’t deserve to feel my anger or have my emotions get in the way of what I was certain was going to be the beginning of a perfect relationship.
She had to want this. I wasn’t going to accept anything less than her complete surrender to me. I would need to be around to make that happen, to gain her acceptance.
Adjusting myself to ease some of the tension, I headed for the car.
“Rossi, do you need more time to pack a bag?”
“No, sir. I have one already packed in the vehicle.” He opened the door for me to slide onto the seat.
“Ah, yes, you are always prepared, aren’t you?” I sighed and leaned back with my eyes closed as the engine started.
The car would bring me closer and closer to my prize—Collette.
She had no idea that she’d signed away her rights because she’d failed to examine the contract. I was looking forward to showing her exactly how powerless she was. She couldn’t avoid me forever, and when she caved, I would be there to lead her in the correct direction.