by Cynthia Dane
He took another drink. He was still young yet. Not old enough to give up, of course, but old enough to realize that he couldn’t keep living like this forever. Ethan Cole did not take pleasure from leaving a trail of broken hearts in his wake. Quite the opposite.
His phone buzzed with a message from Jackson. “Heard you dumped another one. Gonna make it into this morning’s meeting?”
Ethan dropped his phone on the bed. So what if he hadn’t slept? The economy never slept, and neither should he.
16
The only things that could cheer Jasmine up that day was a giant bowl of ice cream, her cat, Ethan Cole’s bed – because it wasn’t as wormy as her own – and a never-ending supply of Netflix queues.
But she didn’t get any of those things that Wednesday morning. Instead what she got was a down Internet network and one angry billionaire asking her to find a Wi-Fi signal somewhere or so help him God. “Even I don’t have a data plan strong enough to receive the massive files I need to get today!” He didn’t only bark at Jasmine. It was a message for the entire office, all of whom had their own chores to do that required the Internet. But Jasmine was the lucky one. Since her role in the office was to do whatever he needed, she was the one sent throughout the building to find someone who could provide some damn Internet.
It didn’t help that she was sore, grumpy, and about to tear out her own uterus. For over twelve hours Jasmine fought the Battle of the Female and wanted to be anywhere but there. She almost called in sick that day, but her pride forced her out of bed, onto the bus, and up to the top floor office of the Jackson-Cole building. Sadly she walked into absolute chaos that day, and nobody had any pity for her.
Some magical technician managed to get the Internet turned back on one hour before lunch. Jasmine went crawling back into the office, relieved to hear the sound of a half-dozen people typing away on their keyboards. Even Ethan sat at his desk, engrossed with his computer as he sent off important business files to members of the board. Jasmine took her leave and went to do her own work. By the time one rolled around, everyone had caught up with work and were back to their old tricks.
Except for Jasmine, because she felt like shit.
“I know what will cheer you up.” Nadia sat in the break room with Jasmine at lunch, her tablet out as she checked her personal email while she ate. She pulled the tablet over, its cover supporting it so Jasmine looked straight into the screen without having to bend her shoulders. “Everyone’s favorite fantastically awful political debate.” Nadia pressed play on the video and watched in delight as one political candidate punched another in the face.
It made Jasmine sore, but not much else. “Now there’s a state with no winner.”
Nadia took her tablet back to flip through some other videos. The muted sounds of music played in the air, but nobody was paying attention as Jasmine pulled out her usual sandwich slathered in mayonnaise and mustard. She took a giant bite, condiments rolling down her chin as nobody cared… least of all Nadia, who stared dreamily at a music video playing on her tablet.
“Do you know him?” She turned the tablet around again, showing off the music video of a young male singer gyrating his hips to a hot Latin beat. Ricky Martin ain’t got nothing on this guy. “I’m a bit obsessed with him lately. His album Midnight Tango is really good. I like to listen to it when I’m working out.”
Jasmine nodded. She was familiar with the young musician. “Ah, yes. Rick Rodriguez. I’m pretty sure I had a sex dream about him once.” After working in the office for over a month, Jasmine and Nadia were at a certain level of friendship. This meant Jasmine could continue with, “I bet he has a big one.”
“A big what?” Ethan entered the break room, making Jasmine choke on her sandwich. The hell is he doing in here? At the start of lunch, Ethan usually packed his things and went to meet some business associates, sometimes for hours on end. Jasmine wasn’t even sure if her boss and lover kept food in the kitchen. He definitely didn’t eat there. If he wanted coffee, he made Jasmine get it for him.
Nadia blushed and hastened to put away her tablet. Jasmine, on the other hand, couldn’t be assed to be embarrassed. “A big dick.”
Gasping, Nadia held her tablet up to her face while Ethan slowly turned at the sink. “What are you two looking at?”
Jasmine couldn’t tell if he sounded like an older brother or father figure right now. He was either genuinely curious, or about to berate them both for talking about such naughty things in the workplace. Or be jealous as hell. Jasmine had yet to see jealous Ethan. She wondered what kind of jealous type he was. “Music videos. You wouldn’t be interested, since I’m pretty sure the last time you enjoyed music Kurt Cobain was still alive.”
“Ha ha, very funny.” Ethan stopped in the doorway. “It would probably kill you to know that I saw Nirvana live, though.” He left at that.
Seriously? What was he, seven?
Nadia leaned across the table. “I can’t believe you talk to the boss like that!”
At first Jasmine wasn’t sure what she had done wrong. Then she remembered that most of the people in the office weren’t sleeping with Ethan. “He and I have an understanding.”
“Still, don’t let HR hear you. Mr. Cole actually got in trouble once with one of his previous assistants.”
“Oh? Do tell.”
Nadia lowered her voice even more. “A few months ago there was a woman… Samantha, I think her name was. I just started when she was leaving. Really incorrigible type. She made a complaint to HR that Mr. Cole sexually harassed her. It was dropped really quickly.”
“I see.”
“So be careful. For many reasons, I guess.”
Jasmine almost couldn’t contain herself. If only Nadia had any idea what was really going on in Ethan’s office most afternoons. Blowjobs. So many freaking blowjobs. To his credit, Ethan had wised up and started offering Jasmine more reciprocation than she was used to getting. When her PMS was exploding on Monday, she got it so good in Ethan’s chair that she nearly blacked out. Then she went into his bathroom crying because hormones sucked. He thought he had done something wrong. Ethan knocked on that bathroom door for a good half hour before Jasmine finally told him what the problem was. Aunt Flo hurt my feelings. After that, Ethan asked her no more questions about her cycle.
Nadia finished her lunch first, packing her things and putting the leftovers in the fridge for the next day. After washing her hands, she told Jasmine she was going to run some errands for the rest of her lunch break. Now without her crutch, Nadia was able to hobble quickly, and in a few more minutes Jasmine was alone in the break room.
She wasn’t surprised when Ethan poked his head back into the room.
“Well aren’t you beautiful today?” He poured himself some coffee at the counter. “Having a pleasant day, Miss Bliss?”
When they were at work, and outside of his office, she was always Miss Bliss. The way he said it wasn’t anywhere near as endearing as the way he said her first name. He makes me like my name. Not so much the last name. “If by pleasant you mean everything went to hell this morning and I have been pounding up and down stairs until my legs bleed, then yes, it’s been a pleasant day.”
Coffee cup left on the counter, Ethan sidled up to Jasmine’s chair, wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and bent down to whisper into her ear. “My schedule is pretty clear this afternoon. We could…”
“Scooter.”
Ethan snatched his arm away and stood up straight. “Excuse me?”
Jasmine hunkered down over the table, her muscles taut, but her body wanting anything but a man’s touch right now. “You heard me. Not happening today.”
She wasn’t sure how he would react. This was her first time in the weeks that she started working for him that she outright rebuffed any sexual advances. But today she just couldn’t stand the thought. She wanted to be alone, with her thoughts, and with her body doing what it did naturally while she tried not to thi
nk about it.
So she pulled out the word that was in their contract. A word she picked because she had been looking out the window and saw a man on a scooter ride by. “Sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah, I bet you are. Besides, I’m on my lunch break right now. I really don’t want to be bothered by anybody.”
“Very well.” Ethan apologized, his voice low as if he were afraid someone would overhear him. I bet you don’t apologize very often, huh? When he was done, Ethan picked up his cup of coffee and went back into his office.
Jasmine glanced at the clock, wondering what she should do for the next 15 minutes. She also wondered if she would be called into Ethan’s office at some point during the afternoon. For work, of course. She had made it clear that nothing else was happening that day but it might be awkward if she were in there and saw him still flustered like that. He probably doesn’t get rebuffed very often. Jasmine sipped her own coffee and thought of that Valentine’s Day weekend. The one where she felt some kind of emotional connection to the man who paid her to be there.
Days had passed since then. Days that were slowly turning into weeks. It was March now, and Jasmine still hadn’t sorted out her feelings. Granted, there hadn’t been much time for more feelings to blossom. Work was the same. She did her job as it was written down on paper, then sometimes in the afternoon Ethan called her into his office for things a normal assistant didn’t do. Nine times out of ten it was to service him somehow. But sometimes he would want to go straight to the main action. In his chair, against the desk, or even on the leather couch on the side of the room. Jasmine wouldn’t pretend that she didn’t enjoy it. It was easy to just enjoy it for what it was at work. It was the night and weekend shit that messed with her.
They had gone on two more dates since then. Ethan even actually took her to the opera one night. He took her into a private booth overlooking the theater, and since she had never been to the opera before, and didn’t understand what was going on, he told her everything that he could about the story, the actors, and even the building itself. He talked to her as if she were a friend, a real lover. He even held her hand that night after he was done explaining everything and they simply sat and enjoyed the show. Even afterward, when Jasmine thought they would go back to his penthouse for sex, he instead suggested that they go backstage and meet some of the company. All of the performers knew him and thanked him for his patronage. It was then that Jasmine discovered that Ethan Cole had long been a primary donor. He was on a first name basis with everyone, and most of the flowers on their dressers had his name on them.
Finally they went back to his place. But he didn’t tie her up, gag her, or call her names. They simply had sex, the kind that people tended to have in what Jasmine perceived to be average relationships. It confused her even more, since the basis of their relationship was on the kink. Why would he want to have regular sex with her? Wasn’t she supposed to be a sub? Really, I shouldn’t be complaining. But she was complaining because she was confused, and afraid that her heart was being toyed with.
Those were the sort of thoughts she had when her hormones were in overdrive. What did Ethan really want with her? What was his endgame? When Jasmine got involved with him, she had imagined all sorts of sordid things going on. So far the kinkiest they got was some light bondage and role-play. Hormones really did make one think crazy things.
Just as she expected, Ethan called her in around 2 o’clock to take some notes during one of his teleconferences. He was already on the phone when she came in, so they didn’t have to speak beyond her being told what to take note of. Ethan was already in super business mode, meaning that he was fixated on the conversation and not what Jasmine was doing. Just as well. She only cared about doing her job that day. The moment the conference was over, she took her leave and went to type the notes up on her computer. By the time she had everything properly formatted and printed out for Ethan’s viewing pleasure, it was five, and Jasmine got out of there before anyone could tell her otherwise.
Usually she had to hang around until Ethan was finished with his work and said that she could go. After all, they were contracted for ten hours a day. Eight of those hours were consumed with work. The idea was that Ethan could have an extra two hours of her during their private time if he still wanted. Very rarely did he ask for anything. But Jasmine would wait anyway, especially since he was usually quick to dismiss her. That day, however, there was no waiting around. She picked up her purse, said goodbye to Nadia, and went to catch the next bus home.
Her place was still a sty, but at least she had some good food to eat for dinner now. Blackbeard also saw an increase in his food, making him a fatter, more engorged version of himself. Jasmine ate her dinner in front of the TV, watching her favorite primetime show and wishing that she had more ibuprofen to stuff down her stomach.
She was not expecting a phone call from Ethan around seven. She stared at her ringing phone, seeing his name flashing on the screen, and not holding back Blackbeard when he jumped up onto the arm of the couch to hiss at the phone and bat at it with his paw.
“What?” She asked right into the phone the moment she answered it. Jasmine had to turn down the volume on the TV so she could hear Ethan’s voice on the other end of the line. “Sorry I didn’t check in with you when I left. It’s a Scooter day, so I just left.”
“I wasn’t thinking of that.” Ethan’s voice was calm and collected, and that could only mean one thing: he was either going to berate her about something, or he was going to ask her out. “I was calling to check in with you and make sure you are all right. You seemed off today.”
Really? They were going to do this? “I’m fine. If there was something actually wrong, I would’ve brought it up.”
“You sure?”
“Honestly, it’s none of your business.”
That put an end to that for a while. Ethan remained silent on the other end of the phone while Jasmine patted her cat on the haunches. Did I offend him? She couldn’t say if she cared one way or the other. “I’m sorry. But it was unlike you today, so I wanted to make sure there wasn’t something wrong.”
Jasmine took a deep breath. “I shouldn’t have snapped. I appreciate you calling me.”
“Think you’ll be feeling better tomorrow?”
“Maybe.”
“Good. I have an important board meeting Friday morning. I’ll be counting on you to make sure everyone is comfortable.” He paused for a second. “In the normal way, of course.”
Oh my God. Jasmine couldn’t believe he actually clarified that. She had seen the board members before. Old men, and one old woman, all of whom would probably be just as interested in gangbanging her as they would be hacking up one of Blackbeard’s hairballs. “I’m guessing you want me to be my usual peppy self Friday.”
“Do what you can please.” After giving her a few more details, Ethan hung up. Jasmine stared at her phone before closing and tossing it to the side of her couch. Heaven forbid the little lady not be her cheery self. Ethan had never asked more than was necessary. The only time he got on her case about not smiling enough was when the board members came around. At first it unnerved her, but then she gradually learned that it wasn’t about her personally, but the image of the company. When the board members congregated, they expected Ethan’s employees to be outstanding. This left little room for someone like Jasmine, who apparently frowned a lot.
I’ll give them something peppy. Jasmine got up and went to her closet. Inside it, after a couple more trips to Ethan’s penthouse, were two costumes she had taken right from underneath his nose. At first she had joked about the cheerleader’s outfit and the nurse’s uniform, but finally decided to take them home in case any crazy Halloween party showed up. Now she fingered the cheerleader’s outfit, taking it off the hanger as the lights of her bedroom played with the gold sequins.
Blackbeard stood in the doorway and meowed. Jasmine went over to him and dangled the cheerleader’s outfit in front of
his face. “What do you think, huh? Should Mommy put this on and really show those board members a good time?” No matter the outcome, Jasmine was sure to win – whether in the pocket, or in the bedroom.
The cat snuffed and waddled over to its food bowl. Good enough for Jasmine.
17
She didn’t really want to go through with it. In fact, Jasmine looked for ways to get out of what she had planned to do. Reasons that it would be a bad idea, and she would regret it forever.
The first sign that she should give up on her plan came Tuesday morning when she walked into the office and saw a vase full of flowers on her desk. They were pink, an innocuous color that could have meant anything. They were also signed only “For My Flower,” just in case anyone else in the office door peeked. Enough for Jasmine to confirm that they came from Ethan, but not enough for others to deduce it was from him.
Of course they asked. She said that it must be a wrong delivery, and took them into the break room where hopefully someone would come rightfully claim them. Nobody did. Because they really were for her, and they really were from Ethan.