Caught in the Dark

by Ann Jensen

  Chapter 9

  Welcome to the shit show. We’re happy to have you.

  One hour left on her first day. Crappy boss… check. Mind numbing account setup complete… check. All that was left was to listen to the ‘welcome to our company’ speech and then she could head home with Joshua and decide if there would be a day two. The department she was in didn’t do any of the interesting work she wanted to be part of. Instead focused on the corporate clients’ internal security software.

  There were around twenty other people milling around the modern conference room, all younger than her and in much better moods. The one highlight of today would be meeting Joseph Vallier, the man behind the company. Doing her best to fade into the background, Angela took a seat in the corner and didn’t make eye contact with any of her fellow new hires. Everyone found a seat, and the lights dimmed for a video about what it meant to be part of Vallier Technologies.

  Angela tuned out the movie. She had done her research on the company; it was why she was here. The photos on the website had only included group shots, none of which contained the executives. What type of man would the CEO be? She had gotten a degree in psychology for the sole purpose of better understanding people and why they did things. A CEO who didn’t want the publicity was a riddle.

  If he was anything like his programs, he would be elegant. Angela snorted at the notion. Joseph was probably a pale, skinny, middle-aged geek. The lights came up, and she forgot to breathe.

  A sharp pain shot through her chest. The sexy, gray-eyed man from last night stood at the front of the room. His well chiseled physique, beautifully contained within a black, button-down shirt and gray slacks which had to be custom tailored to display his legs so well. She would have bolted from the room if every muscle in her body hadn’t locked up in shock.

  “I’m Joseph Vallier.” He gave a smile that caused her stomach to flutter. “Working at this company should be about more than the paycheck. Making the world a safer place is our goal, and each of you should want to be a part of that. I like to meet every employee and find out why they chose to work here rather than somewhere else. Let’s go around the room, I want each of you to introduce yourself and tell me what you think you can contribute.” His voice was unmistakable. Deep and rich, it had filled her dreams last night.

  How was this possible? Of all the men in the world, how was he her new boss? Okay, her many times removed boss, but still. Angela’s ears buzzed as the people around the room introduced themselves, their words bouncing off her brain like raindrops. Oh God, would he recognize her?

  She was wearing a wig and had all her clothes on, so maybe not. Should she try to disguise her voice? She could fake a seizure… pretend to be mute… The last idea had merit. Maybe spontaneous laryngitis was a thing. This couldn’t be happening to her!

  “Ms. Turner?” His voice snapped her out of her panic.

  She popped up out of her seat and said the first thing that came to her mind, “I’m Angela Turner. I wanted to work here because I would like to optimize your search algorithms for subject acquisition to use behavioral models in selecting prioritization of data processing.” She dropped back into her seat, her whole-body heating with embarrassment. Praying the floor would swallow her.

  Joseph, or should she think of him as Tek, smiled. “That is an interesting idea.” His head cocked, and he studied her. “Do you have experience with that kind of work?”

  Her legs squeezed together as his crisp business tone reminded her too vividly of last night. “Yes, Sir.”

  “You seem familiar. Have we met?” She bit her lip, praying he wouldn’t place her, but his eyes widened for a moment and she knew that wish would be unfulfilled.

  She nodded. Oh God, she was going to die. Spontaneous combustion or a stroke anything to make this end. Running was a thought, but though she was in shape, his legs were longer. At the moment, she barely remembered where the door was. Finding a path out of the building was unlikely without being caught.

  His small, knowing smile was unfairly sexy. “I’d love to hear your ideas on optimization. Please stay after the meeting and we can discuss them.”

  She really doubted he had any intention of discussing business. While parts of her body were totally on board with listening to anything he had to say, her brain was sure the statistics on mixing her carnal goals with her work ones were dismal. Tek continued on with a canned speech which was probably moving and important, but she didn’t hear a word of it.

  Would he try to reenact last night, only replace secretary with intern? The idea was tempting. Maybe he would fire her because of her side job? That would make the decision on whether or not to stay much easier. Tek’s voice raised slightly, and she focused back on the front of the room. “It was wonderful meeting you all. Welcome to Vallier Technologies. I look forward to all your great work.”

  Everyone clapped and stood to leave. The air in the room seemed to thin and Angela had a hard time breathing. She couldn’t stay and face him. Whatever he wanted to say would have to wait till later. Or never. Never worked for her.

  She waited till Tek turned his head to answer the question of one of the other new hires and snuck through the crowd out into the hall. Her heart pounded against her chest as she picked up her pace. This whole place was too open-concept to hide. Wait, there to the right. A door that wasn’t an office. She grabbed the handle and ducked into the room.

  Shelves of paper and office supplies lined the small closet that, thank goodness, had a light. She paced the three steps she could and held back the scream that wanted to crawl out of her throat. Why had she run? Okay she knew why but this was not part of the new confident and under control her. So what if her new boss had seen her dancing on stage and made her orgasm at his command? She wasn’t ashamed, was she? Pulling out her phone, she texted Joshua.

  Me: Help! I’m hiding in the 3rd floor supply closet.

  A minute passed before her phone dinged a response.

  Joshua: I didn’t know you were in the closet. Does this mean you are coming out?

  Me: Ha Ha. No, I’m never coming out of the closet.

  Joshua: Oh sweetie. I love you no matter what your orientation.

  Before she could figure out a way to strangle her friend through the phone, the door to the room opened. She relaxed, assuming her friend had come to save her from herself. Her breath caught in her lungs as she looked up.

  No such luck.

  Chapter 10

  You can’t make good decisions without experience, and you can’t have experience without bad decisions.

  Tek closed the supply room door and leaned back against it, studying the sight in front of him. It was hard to believe this woman was the same temptress he had met last night. Instead of confident and sexy, she stood in the back of the closet looking like a cornered rabbit. The new look was interesting. The black wig she wore was high quality and the suit obviously designer, but the shocked look in her teal-blue eyes was almost comic. Was she just hiding from him because of embarrassment, or was it something more?

  Tek had been frustrated when he noticed Angela had snuck out of the room without talking to him, but a helpful employee had told him he saw the new girl duck in the supply closet. He had started the orientation meeting with several questions for this puzzle of a woman, and now he had so many more. He started with the simplest.

  “Why did you run away from me?”

  He could almost see the gears turning behind her expressive eyes. She took a deep breath and seemed to steady. “I d-did not run, Mr. Vallier. I attempted to a-avoid an unnecessary awkward conversation.”

  He couldn’t help but chuckle at her haughty tone of voice. He stepped forward and enjoyed the way her breath shuddered, and her nipples visibly tightened under her blouse. “So formal, Ms. Turner. But I hadn’t planned to have an awkward conversation with you in the very public conference room.”

  “Oh.” She looked around; eyes gone wide. “We’re not in p-public. Does that mean you’r
e going to fire me here? I’ve never been f-fired before. Is it usually done in p-private?”

  She was adorable and sexy in a mix that was irresistible to him. Even her stutter was a perfect tell which let him know she was as affected as he was. He crossed his arms, fighting the urge to close the distance between them. “Why would I be firing you?”

  A beautiful pink shade filled her cheeks. “Because of last night?”

  Tek’s lips twitched in an amused smile. “I quite enjoyed last night.”

  She swayed towards him for a second, her lips parted as if remembering what had happened between them. It took all of his willpower to keep his distance.

  She blinked as if coming back to herself. “I m-mean because I’m a s-stripper.”

  “And I go to strip clubs. It would be hypocritical of me to fire you for that.”

  “Well, the world isn’t really known for its lack of hypocrisy and statistically it is the woman who is held to higher standards. You c-can’t really blame me for thinking that might be the case here.”

  It was adorable the way she was stumbling over her thoughts. Cute wasn’t a quality that Tek would have thought of as desirable, but everything about her worked for him. She licked her lips, and he wanted to know what she tasted like.

  Her hair had fallen down in front of her eyes and he wanted to brush it back so he could see her face clearly.

  “I don’t hold people to double standards.”

  “That’s good.” She looked up and bit her lip. “Why did you follow me?”

  “I found out today I had an overly qualified intern working for me. Did some research and found out she is highly desired by all sorts of people.” Tek enjoyed the blush his suggestive words caused. “I had to meet her and see if there was anything I could do to seduce her into taking a more hands-on position with the company.”

  “I-I well uhm. Thank you. But I d-don’t like the stress of commitment. I like to be free to do who I want. I mean what I want.” She slapped her hand over her mouth as if she just realized how her words could be taken.

  Tek laughed and enjoyed the freeing sensation. It had been a long time since someone made him truly smile at something so simple as a slip of the tongue.

  “Good to know. What made you choose to work for my company?”

  “I told you at the meeting.”

  He quirked an eyebrow. “Optimization of search algorithms?”

  Her face seemed to come alive, all hints of shyness gone. “Not just any algorithms, the ones used to prioritize data source selection when searching for criminals or missing people. Have you heard of the behavioral modeling research being done for AI?” She started pacing in the small room. “Of course, you have. Well, if you were to combine that along with the current criminal profiling logic you could predict probabilities of movement, purchasing behavior, and use the data to prioritize what databases to search decreasing the time it would take to find anything there is to find on your subject.” Her eyes were sparkling with excitement, her stutter missing when talking with passion.

  “You make it sound easy,” Tek teased.

  “No, not easy.” She stopped her pacing and stood only inches from him, looking up with a serious expression. “It would take several months of work and resources, but the result would possibly save lives. That’s what you do here, why I want to help.”

  Her words sparked something inside him that had been pushed aside for years. The reason he had created the company in the first place. Profit had replaced passion, and he wanted that sense of purpose back.

  He wanted to fan her brilliance and be part of her success. How could one person challenge him mentally, reignite his passion to make a difference and tempt his body? Tek stroked a finger down her cheek. He rolled the hair of her wig between his fingers, enjoying her tiny gasp. “Why the wig?”

  “I was trying to be professional.” Her deep breath had her chest brushing his. She looked up and her breath mingled with his own. “I wanted to impress my new boss.”

  He cupped her cheek, knowing that what he was doing was not smart. Her passion and physical pull on him was almost too much. He needed the answer to at least one more question. “Did you know who I was last night?”

  “No.”

  Her answer was an exhale of breath and he believed her. “I want to hear all your ideas, really I do, but first I have to know how you taste.”

  He leaned down and kissed her with the pent-up passion still simmering from last night. The flavor of something sweet mixed with mint was like a drug, pulling him in as her tentative tongue met his in an almost hesitant sweep.

  Her hands clutched his shirt and the tiny moans she gave were music to his ears. He ran his hand down her neck, enjoying the way she leaned into his touch like a cat. He swept his hand down her body until her pebbled nipples pressed against his fingers under the silky material of her blouse.

  His cock jumped at her throaty moan as he swept his thumb over the tight peaks, alternating as he came up from the kiss so he could see the beauty of her body.

  She arched as he pinched her nipples, her body trembling under his touch. His leg was pressed between hers and she had started grinding against it in a pulsing rhythm.

  Tek smiled as he continued to tease her nipples. He undid her pants and slipped a hand inside, loving how her wetness covered his fingers. “Last night watching you come without being able to touch you was an exercise in control. I wonder, do you have enough control to not scream as I make you come?”

  “Uhm.” Angela bit her lip. “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

  Her body kept moving against his hand regardless of her words. Tek stilled and nipped her ear.

  “You want me to stop, kitten?”

  “No!” she gasped and rotated her hips.

  Tek found her clit with the tips of his fingers and ran slow circles around it. “Are you scared that there is only a door between us and the rest of the company?”

  “No, it’s not that.”

  Tek leaned in, whispering into her ear. “Is this one of your fantasies? The intern being seduced by her boss. Being so swept up in the moment they both forget where they are or what might happen if they are caught.” He circled his fingers faster. “I know I ache to be inside you. I want to spend hours learning your body and your dirty, brilliant mind.”

  Her nails dug into his chest at his words. After hearing what he had about her roleplaying on stage at Darklights and everything he had learned since, he wondered if she might be an even better match for him than he had thought. He wanted to start here but take his time with her back at his place, exploring all the possibilities.

  “That feels so good... Mr. Vallier… Please, I want this, but I don’t… I can’t… think.” Her body was tightening, her words tumbling in sexy, incoherent strings.

  He added pressure, brushing her clit instead of just circling it. “Tek. When you come, I want to hear you call my name.” Her breathing became gasps. The sounds had him almost ready to come himself. “Tell me how you want me to fuck you, kitten. Give me the dirty words and I’ll make every fantasy come true.”

  Her head fell back as he thrust two fingers into her tight channel. She would be like a vice around his cock, pulling him to orgasm like a teenager in moments. He stroked her clit with his thumb and he felt her walls start to tremble.

  Angela’s eyes met his, her pupils wide. “I want to experience it all. From the captured harem slave to the naughty schoolgirl. I want the gentle lover and the rough biker who fucks me so hard I ache days later.” Her pants began matching his motions. He knew she would come soon. Later he would make her give him all the details of what she wanted. For now, he wanted to see her break apart in his arms. “I just… don’t want my first time to be in a supply closet. Oh God… Tek!”

  Her body convulsed around his fingers as she muffled her cries into his chest a little too late. The beautiful sight of her shaking in his arms made him slow to process the words she had said.

  Her firs
t time?

  Chapter 11

  When your thought starts with ‘Fuck it’, what follows is either a really good or bad decision.

  The world splintered into shining sparkles with her orgasm. Angela finally understand why people wanted a sexual partner. Orgasms triggered by others were so much more powerful than the ones she had given herself since she discovered them at twenty-one.

  She prayed no one had heard her cries but couldn’t dredge up too much concern. Even his hand slipping out of her sent extra sparks through her body. If this was what he could do to her in a tiny room with nothing but his hand, she looked forward to finding out what else he was skilled at.

  “Kitten?” Tek’s voice held a hesitancy causing her to look up into his concerned face. “You mean you don’t want our first time to be in a supply closet?”

  Was he purposely twisting her words because he didn’t believe her or because he didn’t want it to be so? She shook her head. Dropping the fact she was a virgin on him indirectly hadn’t been a conscious choice. With the speed they connected, she supposed it might be a shock. She’d hoped it wouldn’t be an issue, but the growing expression of horror on his face as she remained silent made that unlikely.

  He took two quick steps backward, and she felt heat rushing to her cheeks. Awkward conversations were something she should be used to. The joy and good feelings bled out of her body as she straightened and buttoned her clothes. Nerves as usual had words bubbling out of her.

  “While it is possible, you are a virgin as well, my request for a change in venue referred solely to my own p-preferences.” God, she hated her stutter. “I’ve been told your first sexual experience should be sp-special. I guess technically, since the majority of the population hasn’t experienced sex in a supply closet at work, this might qualify. I would prefer to have a bed or a more relaxing location. I apologize if that disappoints you and am willing–”