Fighting Seduction (The Boss 1)

“What? Why?”

“We are saving it for our anniversary. Have to keep things spiced up.”

“By actively not, you know, spicing them?” I shook my head. “You sex-having people and your weird ways.”

“You’ll get there soon enough. Very soon according to your boss.”

“Please tell me you believe I can resist him.” I could. I really, truly could. Why was I trying so hard to convince myself when it was obviously the truth? My first time having sex was a mistake and no way was my second time going to be too.

“You are stubborn enough to,” she said, flipping through the magazine. “But if I were you, I would have some fun with this whole thing. I mean how often do sexy gazillionaires pay you to date them? I’d do him for free, if he asked.”

“Don’t make me shout for Nick again.”

She threw the pillow back at me and I caught it right before it hit my head.

“Fine. You sit here and be boring on your computer, I’ll go find my boyfriend.” She got up and left mumbling: “who is probably sitting on his computer and being equally boring. What does one have to do for some fun roommates around here?”

---

As the work-day came to an end and people started evaporating away, I felt a strange knot in my chest. Zayden had sent me an email earlier:

Aria,

Hang around after 5. Our deal begins today.

Best,

Zayden

Zayden Sinclair

Chairman and CEO

South National Bank

I wondered what he had in mind for today. He hadn’t mentioned anything about going out, and seemed perfectly comfortable lying on his office couch typing intently on his MacBook. Yep, we definitely weren’t going anywhere. Just as well, I could ask him questions for my Econ paper on progressive taxation. There was nothing else I could think of for us to do within the premises of this bank except that, because that was just not happening.

When everybody else cleared out, I wasn’t sure whether to walk over to him or wait for him to summon me; he seemed occupied by whatever was on his computer. Maybe he wouldn’t even notice if I quietly snuck out. I did have tons of homework to get to. I tentatively started packing up but the phone rang.

“Who said you could leave?” He was staring at me. “You signed a contract.”

“You seemed busy and I wasn’t sure if you wanted to be left alone.”

“If I wanted you to leave me alone, you would know Aria.” With just that much he hung up the phone and went back to typing vigorously on his laptop. What the hell was I supposed to do just sitting here? I pulled out my phone and started texting Stacey.

“it’s weird as fuck. he’s just sitting there doing work but I’m not allowed to leave.”

Stacey wrote back immediately.

“ask him if he needs anything. offer to make him some coffee.”

“and set feminism back a few decades?”

“it’s just a nice gesture, nothing to do with you being a woman. he’s helping you out, be nice.”

“fine. whatever.”

I called him back. “Would you like some coffee?”