by Ana Vela
She hung up with Bryce just in time. Mr. Benning strode back into the office only a minute or two later, freshly shaved and showered. He gave her a real, genuine smile.
“I owe you one for quick thinking, Miss Nabokov. That was just what I needed to get me ready for the day.”
His praise made her flush and she glanced up at him through her lashes, demurely. “It was nothing, sir.” She bit her lip. Bryce’s idea to appeal to him via his passion for his job was good, but she wanted to make sure he didn’t just want to teach her finance and market analysis. Mr. Benning cleared his throat.
“Yes, well. It was appreciated.” He glanced down at her desk. “Is that the market risk report?” He snatched it up before she could stop him, his cool blue eyes scanning the page. Anastasia curled her fingers into fists. Could he smell her juices on the paper?
“Was there anything else you needed, sir?” she managed to ask.
He tapped the paper against his chin. “Have you heard from Mr. Miyamoto’s assistant?”
“No, sir.” Anastasia knew Mr. Miyamoto was an important man at Wei-Lan. He was the one Mr. Benning needed to impress. Mr. Miyamoto was going to be in the US next week, and Mr. Benning was trying to arrange a meeting with him. “I’ll let you know as soon as I do.”
“See that you do.” He sniffed at the paper. Anastasia swallowed hard, but he made no comment. His eyes drifted away from her. “No calls until 10. Forward anything important to voicemail.”
“Yes, sir.” He turned on his heel and headed into his office. As he went, Anastasia saw him raise the paper to his nose again, absently. When his door closed, her breath left her in a rush. She wondered if the sequence of events had been some sort of chance stroke of fortune. Mr. Benning was subconsciously enjoying the aroma of her wet cunt. Perhaps it would influence his behavior toward her.
She giggled. Maybe she should try scenting more than just his morning reports. Anastasia shook her head at her own silliness and got to work. She still had to complete this earnings analysis. She wanted to dazzle him.
Her fingers paused over the keys. Ought she to wait? Bryce had said to let Mr. Benning think he was seducing her. To do that, she had to appeal to the interest he took in his assistants. There weren’t any rumors that he’d ever been involved with one. Ellie would have known if there were. But both Bryce and Serge had gotten in hot water for mistreating the other girls, and it had been Mr. Benning who’d caused them problems.
Clearly, he had some sense of feeling for both women. She only had to play into that. Showing him the analysis too soon might backfire. She’d wait.
When 11:15 rolled around, Anastasia brought him his second cup of coffee for the day. Instead of setting it at his left hand, she crossed behind him and stood just behind his right shoulder.
“Oh!” she said, injecting her voice with innocent inquiry. “Is that the list of Wei-Lan holdings?” She nodded at the computer screen, which looked like a bunch of names followed by random letters, but was actually an extensive breakdown of company titles and their stock exchange ID. Mr. Benning glanced up at her in surprise.
“Yes. How did you know?”
Wei-Lan was a mega-corporation that owned a huge portion of the Japanese entertainment industry, including video game development and at least one movie studio. “I recognize that one,” she indicated one of the company names at random. She knew all of them. “I didn’t realize their holdings were so extensive.”
His dark eyebrows, not yet sporting any of the white that was creeping into his hair, rose.
“You sound more interested than the usual intern.”
“That’s why I’m here. This,” she swept her hand at the computer, “is what I want to do. Someday.” She flushed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you. I know you’re busy.” She leaned over to place his coffee on the desk, making sure to press her breast against his arm.
She heard the tiny, sharp indrawn breath and had to keep the smirk from her face. “Can I do anything else for you, sir?” She widened her eyes eagerly. He coughed.
“That’ll be all for now.”
Anastasia walked out of the office, careful to keep the sway of her hips subtle. When she turned back to close the door, Mr, Benning’s eyes slid quickly away from her. He’d been watching. A thrill ran up her spine.
She didn’t know if he watched out his wall of windows as she approached her desk, but she kept her hips twitching gently just in case. She paused before the sleek wood and bent quickly, as if she’d just seen something, and remained there for a brief moment, ass in the air. Her tight skirt stretched across the firm mounds. She hoped he was looking.
The thought of Mr. Benning looking through those concealed windows and staring at her ass, maybe adjusting his semi-hard cock at the sight, flooded her already wet slit with moisture. She straightened and hurried back to her desk. That little test had gone well. Robert Benning found her attractive. Now she only had to convince him to act on the attraction.
She had to plan her next move.
***
There was no time like the present. So Anastasia’s mother had always told her. It was one of the few things her mother said that she took to heart. It was just after seven in the evening, and Robert Benning showed no signs of going home. As Victoria had told her, he didn’t expect Anastasia to stay any later, however. Normally, she’d head home now and he’d get his own dinner and either head home or, more likely, crash on the couch when he finally got too exhausted.
But Anastasia had other plans tonight. She’d called El Cantina, an upscale Mexican place that delivered, over an hour ago. The delivery guy arrived at 7:20 as promised. She tipped he kid generously from petty cash and took the big box of steaming, delicious smelling food from his spindly arms.
Mr. Benning looked up in surprise when she pushed into his office, her face flushed from the heat of the food. “What are you still doing here?”
She tottered over to the low table and began laying out dishes. “If you’re not going to take care of yourself, someone else has to! I see the take-out containers in the trash, Mr. B. You should eat better than that.” She flashed him a small smile. “Come eat?”
There was a salad with ripe red tomatoes, fragrant rice and black beans, and spicy beef filled tamales. She beamed happily when he moved around his desk and folded himself into one of the overstuffed chairs. He’d taken his suit coat off hours ago, and his shirtsleeves were rolled up to his elbows. His hair was mussed. He ran his fingers through it as he read through files and reports, strategizing for the Wei-Lan deal.
“This was very nice of you, Miss Nabokov.” He smiled briefly. “Usually I’m the last person in the office and its just easier to eat something quick at my desk.” She handed him a steaming plate of food and a fork.
“I hope you don’t mind if I eat with you.” She ducked her head as she spooned rice and beans onto her own plate. “I just thought...” She trailed off, shrugging.
“You thought I’d be more likely to actually sit and eat if you stayed?” He chuckled. “You’re most likely right. In the early days, when I first became a junior partner and worked late, my wife would do exactly the same thing.” His smile faded away and he glanced briefly at one of the pictures on top of his bookcase.
Anastasia swallowed a bite of salad. “Is that your wife? She’s very pretty.” She wasn’t, really. She wasn’t ugly either, just rather plain. She saw a shadow flit across his gaze and thought perhaps he wasn’t as unaware of Mrs. Benning’s extracurricular activities as Bryce had thought. She swiftly changed the subject. “I actually have a bit of an ulterior motive, actually.”
“Oh?”
She popped open one of the beers she’d had included in the order and slid it over to him with a sheepish grin. “I was sort of wondering...” She paused, took a deep breath. “It’s only, how everyone says you’re one of the best in the business. Not just here at E, E, and K but anywhere. And I’ve only been working here a few months and this opportunity just fell in m
y lap and I know I’d just hate myself if I wasted it.”
“Miss Nabokov.” His lips twitched. “Are you trying to ask me something?”
She flushed. Anastasia had never been so glad for her fair complexion in her life. “Would you maybe just... let me watch you work? I want to see what you do, how you do it.” She leaned forward, clasping her hands. “Please? I wouldn’t get in the way.”
He chewed a bite of tamale thoughtfully. “You already see a great deal of what I do.”
“I know. I just... want more.” She grinned.
Robert Benning threw back his head and laughed. “Ahh, the energy of the young. I vaguely remember it.”
“You seem pretty energetic to me, sir.” She cocked her head. “I don’t know many men who have the stamina to do what you do.”
He coughed, choking on a bite of rice. “Err, thank you.”
She dropped her gaze, shrugging. “I just meant... you work so hard. It’s really admirable. Most of the guys my age are so frivolous.” She saw his mouth tighten.
“Not everyone thinks the way you do.” Did he mean his wife? Based on the glance he flicked at the photo on the bookcase, she guessed it was.
“I apologize if I said something to upset you.” She began gathering up the food hurriedly, keeping her face turned away. Robert reached out and caught her arm. His hand was warm against her skin, big and hard.
“Anastasia, wait.”
She shivered, looking up at him through her lashes. His thumb stroked the soft skin of her arm. “You didn’t say anything wrong. That’s just a bit of a sensitive topic.”
“Is it your wife? She wishes you wouldn’t work so much?” She chewed her lip. He hadn’t removed his hand yet. She wanted to cover it with hers, but that could be risky. Slow, she thought. His answering smile was humorless.
“You’re a very observant young woman, Miss Nabokov.” He withdrew his hand and pulled his plate back in front of him. His face went cold and hard. “I may be the best in the business, but I had to make some sacrifices to do it.”
“Do you regret it?”
He swallowed a bite of rice and beans. “Sometimes I miss the way things used to be. But honestly? I don’t have to work as hard as I do. I’ve made enough money that I could sit back and rest on my laurels at this point. But I love the work. It... energizes me.” He flashed her a quick grin.
She slid a little on the couch, closer to the chair he sat in. Only the tiniest bit, enough to brush his knee with hers. An accidental touch. “I understand that. My family all thinks I’m insane, moving to the city and wanting to work at a big company like E, E, and K. I’m a small town girl and I guess they figured I’d always be that way. But this is what I want. The fast pace, high pressure, exciting world.” She flushed. “I’m rambling.”
“Not at all. It sounds like maybe you do understand.” His full lips quirked. “That should serve you well.”
“Still, isn’t it... a bit lonely?” She touched her breastbone with her fingers, as if stroking the heart beneath. His gaze dropped to the deep well of her cleavage. He swallowed audibly.
“Sometimes. We all have to decide what sacrifices we’re willing to make.”
Anastasia took a chance. She laid her left hand softly on his knee. “I’d love it if you’d help me figure that out.” She could feel the muscles of his thigh tensing. He cleared his throat and patted her hand.
“You seem like a very smart girl, Anastasia.” His voice was gruff. She had to swallow her smile as he continued. “I’d be happy to show you a few things.”
“Thank you!” She jumped up, bending swiftly over him. Her breasts were right at his eye-level as she brushed a butterfly soft kiss across his cheek. “You have no idea how grateful I am, sir. I’ll do whatever you say, I promise. Just the opportunity is... oh, thank you, Mr. Bennington!” She feathered another kiss against his skin, slightly closer to the corner of his mouth.
She heard his slight inhale at the touch of her lips and smiled inwardly. His hand came up to stroke her arm fleetingly. “You’re welcome, Miss Nabokov. Now, go on home.”
“Oh, but--”
“We’ll start tomorrow.” His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as she straightened.
Anastasia grinned down at him. “Thank you again, sir. I’ll leave you to your work.”
***
Robert Benning was as good as his word. He started calling Anastasia into his office to go over market analysis and discuss his client list with her. He regaled her with tales of how he’d landed one business after another. For her part, she wore skirts that showed off her ass and ended well above her knee and blouses that highlighted her cleavage to its best advantage.
At first, he kept his distance. She’d sit on the opposite side of his desk and he’d turn the monitor her way to show her how some fluctuation in commodities had dictated his proposal to so-and-so. But Anastasia watched as her eagerness to learn and appreciation for his input slowly penetrated his normally reserved facade.
A week after he began mentoring her, he called Anastasia into his office to show her a real-time change in the some company’s index rating that would affect his pitch to Mr. Miyamoto. When she made to move to the seat opposite him he motioned her over to his side of the desk.
“Come look, this is happening as we speak.” He pushed his chair back and tapped the computer screen. “See there?”
Anastasia frowned, leaning forward to squint at the crawl of small numbers across the screen. “What am I supposed to be seeing?”
“Watch for it. There!”
She looked where Mr. Benning’s finger was poked into the computer screen, but she more paying more attention to their sudden proximity. “Mmmm,” she murmured noncommittally. She was leaning over his lap. Her hands were braced on the paper littered surface of Mr. Benning’s desk, her right hip pressed into the hard edge because of her angle. Her bare left leg touched the arm of his chair.
He hadn’t pulled back all that far. His chest grazed her left shoulder. Her knees brushed his right thigh. But it was his right had that had the most of her attention, because it was resting on the arm of the chair, mere inches from the back of her thigh. Only a few months ago she’d been in a similar position with Bryce down in Market Analysis and he’d slid his hand up the back of her skirt and fingered her wet pussy.
Anastasia bit her lip, both at the memory and the tantalizing closeness of Robert Benning’s fingers to her now throbbing pussy. “I see,” she said now, shifting her legs fractionally apart. Just enough to draw his attention to them. “They’re not in as good a position to negotiate now. They’ll jump at an offer from Wei-Lan.” She adjusted her weight, pressing her ass back toward the chair the tiniest bit. She felt the cool wood of the chair’s arm brush above her bare knee and stopped.
She swore she could feel the heat from his fingertips. “But, sir, this could change at any moment. By the time you meet with Mr. Miyamoto it might not be the case.” She glanced back over her shoulder, using the excuse to move again slightly. and there it was, the light touch of his fingertips on the back of her thigh, just bare inches below her moist pussy.
“Ahhh,” he swallowed quickly. “Of course. But it’s the second time they’ve taken such a dip in a short period of time. It’s indicative of a problem.”
“Oh.” She turned back to peer at the computer screen. Mr. Benning said nothing more, but she could hear a slight catch in his breathing. Anastasia remained perfectly still. And then she felt it. He shifted this time, his fingers sliding against the soft skin of her thigh. Just a bit, but the touch sent a shiver all through her. She wanted to spread her legs and beg him to touch her. But he was clearly still hesitant. If he wasn’t, he would have shoved his hand up her skirt already.
She spun quickly around, perching herself on the edge of the desk. His fingers brushed her right knee now. Anastasia grinned, crossing her arms beneath her breasts. “So, you just keep watching them until next week?”
“Precisely.” His voic
e was a little gruff. It made Anastasia’s nipples hard and tight.
“This is amazing. You’re so detail-oriented.” She leaned forward slightly and placed her hand on his leg, slightly higher than was entirely proper. Just two inches or so above his knee. Not a blatant come-on, but a subtle communication. “You’re so kind, Mr. Bennington. I appreciate you taking the time to explain these things to me. It’s really giving me a glimpse of what this job actually entails.” She squeezed gently, briefly, and then leaned back.
“Anastasia,” he caught her hand before she could lift it from his leg. His bigger hand pressed hers where it was. She stilled, raising her brows expectantly.
“Yes, sir?”
His ice blue eyes flicked to the closed office door. His Adam’s apple bobbed. “I’m glad you’re getting a real glimpse at what it means to work in the business before you make that final decision. It’s hard work, but it’s worth it, for the right person.”