This winds me up. I want to snap, freak the hell out, and say just because I have tattoos that doesn’t make me exotic. Nor does it make me a slut. But, I have to keep my opinions inside. I might lose my job if I snap, and I don’t want to do that on my first day. I already signed up to pay for Jane’s treatment.
Keeping my opinions inside isn’t usually my strong suit, but I need to change for this job. I don’t have a choice. I need to be the tight lipped pressure cooker who does whatever is needed of her. For Jane. I can take anything thrown at me if it means that she gets to live. Nothing else matters.
Chapter Eight
Isaac
I’m bored. That’s all I can think as I tap my pen on the desk, barely able to contain my restlessness. Bored as fuck. I don’t even know what I’m doing here. I know that I want to have some fun, that’s the real issue.
If Charlie wasn’t here today, giving me the stink eye, I would sneak out and head for some fun. I would go to a bar or find some party. Anything other than sitting behind the desk and staring at the wall. It isn’t supposed to be this way, I think that might be the issue. When I hired Lexi, I assumed that we would have this fiery relationship where she would challenge me and make me fire up.
But she isn’t. She’s being boring and professional. She dresses crazy, that’s for sure. Her tattoos are always on show, making me want to see more of them, but she’s keeping herself in check. I didn’t hire her to be professional and behave, I don’t even want my filing cabinet sorted. I don’t give a shit about any of that stuff. I just want fun. I don’t know how I can keep it together any longer. I need to drag her out.
What can I do? I’ve tried flirting and prodding. I’ve tried the friendship thing and having a laugh, which was better than I expected it to be, but it still isn’t what I want. How can I drag out that person who I saw at the restaurant? There has to be a way, something else that I can do.
I could talk about the sexual favors, that part of the agreement we made. I could say that I’m going to hold her to it and see where that could lead. Good or bad, either way would be fun… but that doesn’t feel right now.
If I don’t shake things up now, I’m going to fire her. Get someone in that I can really have a good time with. Someone like Amelia, who was willing to do whatever I needed her to… but I don’t want that.
I chew down on my bottom lip thoughtfully, trying to plan out my next move. Whatever I choose to do with Lexi will determine which way things go. It needs to be the right move. I watch her talking on the phone with a pissy expression on her face, her lips pulled tightly together. She doesn’t like who she’s talking to, they are probably giving her a hard time, but she still isn’t reacting. God damn it, there has to be some way to bring her out of her shell. There needs to be something I can do to piss her off.
Piss her off… that’s what I need to do. I need to really piss her off as much as I can. I need to make her do shitty jobs, to push her out of her comfort zone, to make her flip her lid.
“Lexi!” I call her loudly, grabbing her attention. “Lexi, come here a minute.”
She holds up her finger but quickly ends her call and comes to see me. I smile at the relaxed way that she rocks her hips as she walks. She looks good, and I’m glad that she’s finding her place here. It’s almost a shame to rock the boat for her and wreck the status quo, but at the end of the day, I’m a selfish bastard, and my needs win out. I need this place to spice up a bit, have some fun with Lexi, so that’s what I’ll do.
“Everything okay, Isaac?”
“Yes, all good. I just need you to do a job for me actually.” I pull a ticket out of my suit jacket pocket, working off a moment of inspiration. “I need you to pick up my dry cleaning for me. Across town.”
“What?” She takes the ticket from me but looks confused. “Isn’t that a personal errand?”
“Yes, but I need it for a meeting, so it’s kind of work. Oh, and also, I need my car washed.”
She narrows her eyes at me, I almost think that she might be about to flip out. The excitement brews, I lean forward in anticipation… but then she nods, being as compliant as fucking always.
“Will you be okay monitoring the phones while I’m out then? Or should I take a cell?”
“I’ll get one of the receptionists to sort it.” I feel a sulk coming on. “Don’t worry.”
I have to remind myself that this is only step one. There are plenty more opportunities to make this work out for me, give her worse and worse jobs. While she’s out doing these personal chores for me, I can think of all the other terrible things that I can have her do. She’ll crack eventually. There is only so long that she can hold her head up high. She can keep her confidence high at the moment, but it will crumble.
“Okay, so I will pick up your suit and get your car cleaned. I will be back here as soon as I can to pick up the slack.” She chews on her long nail, which is probably the first time she’s ever done that. “Back soon.”
As she walks away, I smirk to myself. There are tiny signs of her crumbling, which is all I need. One tiny little glimpse into her outer shell falling apart and I can keep on pushing. I will get her back, no matter what it takes. I will do whatever I can to tip her over the edge. She has had an easy first week of normal work. Now she will have shitty jobs until she explodes. I don’t care how long it ta
kes, I will make it happen.
Charlie will be pleased to see me in the office more. He wouldn’t be if he knew why, but that’s beside the point. He just needs to see me, that’s all.
Lexi is doing her best to avoid me. She’s been doing it ever since she came back from running my personal errands. I can understand, I would probably want to do the same thing if I knew that I was being disrespected, but she can’t avoid me forever. She is my personal assistant after all.
It’s time. I nod to myself as the decisiveness runs through me. It’s time to get started.
“Lexi!” I call out with a smirk playing on my lips. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”
She gives me a wary look as she steps inside. Before, she knew where she stood with me, but now she has absolutely no idea. I can see that as she steps towards me, on edge.