Under His Discipline - Love Under Lockdown

My cheeks flushed.

Five minutes on the job, and I’d already messed up.

“Sorry, Sir. Yes, Sir.”

Once outside the office, I blew out a slow breath. That hadn’t been a disaster, but it hadn’t been a success either.

I closed my eyes in an attempt to pull myself together. The way he looked at me left my nerve endings tingling, my panties damp, and my nipples hard.

How cliche was I?

First day on the job, and I already had a crush on my boss.

“Coffee, Charlotte,” he called out.

“Coming, Sir.”

I realized I didn’t have the first idea where the coffee machine was. Elsa wasn’t in her office, so I couldn’t ask her what he liked. Since it was still early, no one else had arrived yet. The office wasn’t that big. I had to find it eventually.

Walking with a purpose, like I knew where I was going, I circumnavigated the space, eventually getting to the right door. It occurred to me I should have waited until Elsa reappeared, but I had already taken up so much of her time, plus she had her own job to do.

She seemed amicable, but it was best to try not to annoy her. The last thing I needed was enemies—especially ones as powerful as she was. I wondered if she and Mr. McInnes might have a thing going on.

Finally, I found what I’d been looking for. I had never seen any such thing before. It looked less like a coffeemaker and more like a replicating device from a sci-fi movie.

I searched for the ground coffee but only came across the little pod things. Following the instructions on the machine’s side, I managed to fill a cup without serious injury. Just when I was thinking things might be looking up, the gods of mischief took notice.

The mug didn’t so much as break when I tripped over my feet and landed on the tiled floor. It more or less exploded into shards, sending shrapnel flying in all directions. Cursing my clumsiness, I started picking up the tiny pieces, careful not to slice up my hands.

“Way to go, Charli. Real professional.”

After cleaning up as best I could, I stuck another pod in the slot and brewed a second cup of coffee.

The flow shut off with a click and it was time to make another attempt at walking. I considered just taking off my shoes and striding through the office barefoot, but that was likely to attract attention.

I knew my new boss wouldn’t think that was professional, since he had already made such a big deal about nicknames. I would have put my sneakers back on, but I left them back in my bag in my office, and Mr. MacInnes was waiting for his coffee.

I took a breath and focused all of my energy on my feet. My parents kept me out of sports, thinking them too dangerous and me too fragile. I still did gym class and would run when I could, but I’d never had what some might call “strength training.”

I made it from the break room back to the editor’s office without so much as a wobble.

It was going to be fine.

I could do this.

I was going to make it.

It was all going to be… a disaster.

The heel of my shoe caught in the carpet, and for the third time that morning, I was on my hands and knees.

There were positives and negatives in every situation. My dad taught me to accentuate the positives. The only three I could think of at that moment were that the carpet was dark and plush, I didn’t get hurt, and I could barely see the massive coffee stain in the middle of the room.

Mr. MacInnes came out from behind his desk and picked up the mug. I glanced up at him, feeling like the tiniest creature in the world. He peered down at me. His expression was unreadable as he handed me a cloth.

“Clean it up,” he barked, the deep timbre of his voice shaking me to the core.

“Yes, sir,” I whispered.

I remained on my hands and knees and did my best to soak up the coffee. I was aware of the back of my skirt shifting up because of my position.

Mr. MacInnes was looking at me. I didn’t have to see him to know. I felt his eyes on my ass.

Judging by the feel of the air against my skin, my panties were practically visible under the swaying hem of my skirt. The warmth of his gaze heated my pussy, and I flushed with both embarrassment and desire.

What would it be like to have him take my virginity here and now? To have him stalk up behind me, yank down my panties, and fuck me? I’d read books like that but didn’t know if bosses screwing their assistants ever actually happened in real life.