Under My Boss's Control

He stares me right in the eyes, and it sends a chill down my spine.

“I know you don’t have money, so the only price I’m asking is that you let me do whatever I want to you, whenever I want,” he says softly but sternly. “You will have to be at my disposal and meet all my needs.”

I really need a place to stay, and deep down there is a part of me that’s curious to know what he means by that. I can feel shivers run through my body as I nod my head in agreement.

“Good, now finish packing. We’ll take my car as soon as you’re ready,” he orders.

He picks up his briefcase.

“There’s just one more thing,” I tell him.

He raises his eyebrows at me, waiting for me to continue.

“I have a dog,” I inform him.

He shrugs and says, “Okay. The dog can come too.”

That was all I needed to hear. I hurry to pack up my things.

“I’ll wait in my office until you’re done,” he says.

I watch him walk away my mouth slightly open in shock. I’m in awe of the way he just commanded me like that. I want to be offended, but I can’t be. He wasn’t violent or forceful with the way he took control. That’s what intrigues me about the whole thing.

I realize I’m standing here wasting time. I hurry and clear out my desk of all the important items. I leave a few miscellaneous things, but they can stay; they aren’t necessary. I take my belongings and walk to Ben’s office. The door is open, but I decide that I should knock quietly on it.

“I’m ready,” I say softly.

He looks up at me.

“Excellent,” he replies.

He grabs his briefcase and turns out the light in the office. I’ve seen it empty like this before, but today it feels kind of sad in here. We walk out of the office together. We stand outside in the evening air and wait for Ben’s driver. I’m briefly worried about my own car and belongings, and I tell him so.

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s on company property. I can have someone keep an eye on it and bring it out to the house in the morning,” he replies, looking up from his phone.

He sounds so confident and in control that I stop worrying. My mouth drops open again as a limo pulls up in front of us. Ben courteously opens the door for me to get inside. This is my first time riding in a limo. I’m excited by this, but also a little nervous around Ben.

“This is nice. I didn’t know your car was a limo,” I ramble, then feel awkward.

“I have other cars that I drive. But this is the one that my driver takes me back and forth to work in,” he says, with a slightly amused smile on his face.

“I see,” I reply.

Ben watches me briefly. I can’t tell what he’s thinking. I wish I could, maybe then I could stop feeling so awkward.

He asks me for Sue’s address and then tells the driver to go there.

“Hurry, please,” he says, with a tone of longing in his voice that matches how his eyes looked earlier.

“Yes, sir,” I say instinctively.

He smiles and I can tell he likes that I said that.

Once Sue answers the door, I tell her, “Don’t ask. I’ll explain later.”

“You’d better!” she says, gaping out the door at the limo.

“I found a place to stay but I have to hurry,” I urge her, as my dog rushes out.

I attach his leash while Sue hugs me.

“Okay. But I want all the deets later.”

“Sure thing,” I promise her, and then head back to the limo.

Mr. Barker jumps in – it’s his first time in one, too – and then I don’t know what to say again.

“Thank you once again for everything,” I offer. “Especially for letting me bring my dog.”

“It’s not a problem,” Ben replies. “Believe me. You’ll be working hard to earn your keep. Helping me in more ways than one.”

We are sitting on opposite ends of the seat. I peek at him out of the corner of my eye and watch him stare out the window. He’s so handsome and intimidating at the same time. I don’t know how I can handle this for however long we’re in quarantine.

It’s part scary, part exciting. But it’s much better than having to live at my old apartment without my dog, and it’s way better than being homeless.

Chapter 6

Ben

While Samantha and I are in the limo on the way to my house, it’s exhilarating because I finally have her here with me. I wasn’t expecting it to happen this quickly, so I’m even more excited about that.

I didn’t even have to cajole her very hard. It’s funny how things work out. I suppose you never know what some people are going through. She’s kind of quiet, but I can tell that her occasional rambling talk is all just nerves. I listen to her talk about the limo ride and hear her be grateful for my help.