by Sam Crescent
What’s your favorite color? Blue.
What’s your favorite dog? Cocker Spaniel (they’re so cute).
Where do you like to visit for fun? The beach.
Where do you see yourself in five years? I don’t even know where I’ll be in a month, let alone five years.
He watched as she wrote everything down, and then finally, she stopped, and came toward his office. He watched as she held her hand up, and nibbled her lip before she finally knocked. He was finding the lip biting exceedingly erotic.
“Yes, Sophia.”
“Mr. Brown—”
“Alfie.”
Her mouth opened, and she frowned. “Sorry?”
“My name is Alfie, Sophia. Please use it.”
“Oh, but you’re the boss.”
“Yes, and last time I checked I can be called what I liked. I’d like you to call me Alfie. Just try it.”
She sighed, and then said his name.
He had been waiting so long to hear his name on her lips, and she didn’t disappoint. His cock hardened, and as he stared at her full-figured perfection, he wanted nothing more than to bend her over the desk, and shove his cock so deep inside her pussy. Even if she allowed that, which right now, she really wouldn’t, she was a virgin. He already had plans in place to take what was his, and one day soon, it would be his.
“Alfie, sir,” even better for him, “some of these questions are ridiculous.”
“Why are they?”
“Why do you need to know my favorite color? Or what I like to do on long weekends?”
He sat back in his chair, and smiled. “You don’t think they’re relevant?”
“No.”
“Well, you see, Sophia, I do. I’m a software creator at heart, and I deal with security. Every now and again, I like to run checks on my own personal software to make sure it’s secure, and no one can hack into my personal information.”
“This is your personal information?”
“Every person who works for me, relies on me. I pay them a brilliant salary, and they are loyal. I wouldn’t be a good boss if I didn’t make sure their details were secure. I throw in some random questions like the ones you answered to make it fun, to make it interesting.”
Her cheeks bloomed a shade of red. “Oh, great, now I feel stupid.”
“Actually, you passed another of my tests with flying colors.”
“Tests?” she asked.
“That’s right. You answered those questions, also being vague, but you questioned it. Thank you. You value your security, and for that I look forward to seeing what else you can come up with.”
The crestfallen expression turned into a smile. “Great, now, what do you want me to do?”
He typed on his keyboard, shutting everything down. “Now, we go for a walk, and I show you the ropes of my company.” Stepping around the desk, he moved up toward her, inhaling her scent. Fuck, she smelled amazing. He needed to get his cock under control otherwise he was going to look like a fucking idiot.
“Shall we?”
She turned and made her way toward the door. He placed a hand at her back, as he guided her, talking at the same time. His staff looked up, and smiled at him when he passed. This was not unusual for them to see him paying careful attention to an employee. He believed in guidance, and helping others, how he was when he was growing up.
He talked about how he started up the company, and he took her right down toward the basement where no one ever visited.
“This is where it all started,” he said, opening up a door, and inviting her through it. Pulling away the blanket to keep the computer covered, he showed her the really old computer. It weighed a lot, and was so damn big and chunky.
“This is where this entire company started?”
“Yep. I was a sneaky little shit. Always hacking into stuff, and yeah, my parents had trouble getting me off this thing.”
Sophia stepped up toward the computer. “You always knew you wanted to work with computers? With software?”
“Nope. I thought I was going to be some kind of lab rat, finding the next amazing chemical, or you know, dealing with the global warming crises. As it happens, I’m good at science, but I’m great at computers. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing half the time. One day I woke up, a rich man, responsible for an entire company, and lots of people. Kind of threw me a bit.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I promised your counselor at college. He was worried about you, and I don’t think you need to be worried at all. You’re perfectly fine, and just take your time. I’m here if you need me.”
****
“How was your first day?” Freya asked, collapsing down beside her on their sofa.
“Good.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It was kind of shocking really. I expected to hate it. How was your day?” Sophia asked, taking a sip of her soda. They were waiting for their Chinese takeout to arrive. Neither of them felt like cooking.
“Mine was fine. What about you? What did you do today?”
“Alfie took me around his company—”
“Whoa, wait, wait, wait, your boss took you on a tour of the company? Who the hell is Alfie?”
“That’s my boss’s name. You’re being a little dense tonight. Alfie took me around his company. Didn’t you get that?” Sophia smiled, seeing her friend turn a shade of pink. It was so cute.
“Whatever. It has been a long day.”
“So tell me about your long day?” Sophia asked. “Mine was … uneventful.”
It wasn’t. She had found it enjoyable, and Alfie was a lot of fun. He interacted with his staff, and when she went to grab coffee, there was always someone who was nice, and willing. His employees had nothing but nice things to say about him, which was refreshing.
She always assumed that business guys were assholes.
Alfie was nice, and she really did like his name. It was different, charming, sweet. He’d been really nice, and she liked that even though he owned a billion-dollar company, he had a sense of what she was going through.
“Mine? Ugh, I’ve been put in place of a major new advertisement. I’ve got to put my ideas together, and Jared said that my work will be part of the portfolio.”
“Wow, that is a big deal.”
“I know. I just … it’s my first day, and Jared, he’s going to make me look bad in front of the other interns.”
Sophia frowned. She hadn’t been placed with the other interns at all. In fact, she hadn’t even seen the other interns.
“What? What is it?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Tell me. You’ve got that freaky look on your face, and you know I don’t like that look,” Freya said.
“Did you see the other interns today?”
This time Freya frowned. “No, I didn’t.”
“Neither did I. Don’t you think that’s kind of weird?”
Silence fell between them. Nothing bad was happening. There was no way that Mr. Coleman would put her in any danger, right?
No, Alfie was nice. Everyone loved him, and she had dealt with that employment form.
“You’ve watched way too many horror films. It was our first day. We’ll be with the other interns in no time, and then we will be wishing we kept our mouths shut. You know that.”
The doorbell rang, and any craziness going through Sophia’s head disappeared. Alfie was a nice man. He didn’t give her the creeps, nor did he worry her.
Yes, he was a good looking guy, but that didn’t matter to her. It never had.
The scents of ginger, garlic, and spice filled the air, making her mouth water. Freya came back with several cartons, and Sophia didn’t wait. Grabbing her chopsticks, she opened the first carton to find the wantons. She was starving.
“So, how is Jared?” Sophia asked.
Freya sat back, slurping up her noodles. “I’m not going to lie. He’s hot, and he is so used to getting everything he wants. It is
just insane. Honestly.”
Sophia giggled. “You do know there is more to life than a guy’s looks.”
“Of course I know that, but come on, babe. You have to admit some guys are just hot, and they all have that super alpha look going about them.” Freya sighed. “I like it when he looks at me.”
“Jared?”
“Yeah. He looks at me as if he sees me, and not just a dumb girl either. He actually seems me, and the potential I have. My art means everything to me, and even though I always imagined myself sitting on a beach painting, I like to think my work could have some meaning.”
“In advertising?”
“It could work though. Jared does a lot of charity work that I think I would be good at.”
Sophia heard the slight catch in Freya’s voice every time she said Jared’s name. Clearly her friend had feelings for the guy, but she wasn’t about to point that out. Freya didn’t like to commit. During their years in high school and college, she dated a lot, and out of the two of them, Freya had lost her virginity first.
She still held hers as she never wanted to get close to anyone, or to trust anyone with her body.
Being a larger woman, she was used to boys and men saying that she was pretty for a fat girl. That was so humiliating.
Did they expect women to actually like that insult disguised as a compliment?
“Do you think you’ll last the month?” Freya asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.
“Yeah, I do. I enjoyed the tour he took me on, and everything I learned. He’s really smart. Kind of scary smart, but he’s nice. What about with you and Jared? He’s your father’s friend, right?”
Freya sighed. “Yes, and even though he’s doing this as a favor to my dad, I’m going to prove them both wrong. I’m going to completely nail this job, and they’re both going to be gobsmacked by how good I am.”
Sophia held her hand up for Freya to high five her. “We can do this. We can rock the corporate world.”
“Yep, and at the end of the day we can both sit here, eat Chinese food, and cry if we’re total failures.”
“I don’t think that is ever going to happen.” Sophia nudged her friend, trying to offer her comfort.
She looked forward to the next day of work, even if it was in an office, and it was nice to have some focus, some direction.
Chapter Five
Three days Sophia had been close, and for three days something had gone wrong taking him away from his office, which only served to piss him the fuck off. There had been some kind of systems failure that required him to fix it. No one else knew how, and he was fine with that. Of course, he was out of the office, and Sophia was right next to him.
Finally, Thursday lunch came, and he entered his office to find Sophia … not there. Gritting his teeth he moved toward his PA, who was typing something up.
“Where’s Sophia?” he asked.
“She went to lunch with the rest of the interns.”
“Why?”
“Because she was an intern, and when she came in on Tuesday asked about them. She’s an intern herself, sir.”
This wasn’t what he wanted. “Thank you.”
He turned toward the elevator as it pinged, and there was Sophia.
“Hello, Alfie,” she said. The smile on her face pushed all of his anger to one side. She was smiling. She was happy, and that made him so.
“I had brought us lunch, but Lara here told me you’d already gone.”
“Yes, I did. There was something I wanted to ask you.”
“I’m going to be eating my lunch. I can answer all of your questions there.”
This was not progressing the way he wanted, and it was starting to wear thin. Business was getting in the way, not to mention that he didn’t want to push her too far for fear of her rushing off. Sophia was a skittish little thing. Everything he had learned and seen had told him that.
Entering his office, he waited for her to pass, and admired the curve of her ass. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on her, and to finally make her his.
One step at a time.
Just take it easy.
Out of the two friends, Sophia was the one who hadn’t shown any desire to be with a man. He was getting tired of knowing everything about her, and not being able to do anything about it.
He took control. That was what he did, and yet when it came to Sophia, he felt like she was slipping through his fingers, and it had been a matter of four days. To him, it had been so much longer than that. He’d been watching her for a long time, needing her, waiting, planning, and now she was finally here.
Closing the door, he made his way behind his desk as she lowered herself into her seat. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and he preferred it when she left it down. He had imagined many times running his fingers through her brown locks, wrapping the length around his fist as he fucked her hard. When he finally took that cherry, he was going to make her so addicted to his touch, that she couldn’t move without thinking of him inside her.
His cock thickened, and he forced a smile to his lips.
“How are you finding it?” he asked.
“The work you set me has been interesting.”
Before he left to deal with his problem, he had handed her six files of some of his bestsellers, and company dealings. He wanted her to see every single department so that she knew what she was dealing with. In time, he intended for her writing to be the passion she wanted to do. He also imagined her writing in the office right next door to him. The publishing company he had purchased was currently giving him a crash course on how to make a profit within the industry.
Was it a bit crazy to buy a company to give his woman her dream? Yes, but he was willing to do everything he could to make her happy.
“Good. Has there been anything you felt that we’ve been slacking on?” he asked.
“I don’t think software is really my area of expertise.”
“Have you read all six files I sent you?” The final file was about his latest acquisition. “With the way technology is advancing, I decided to purchase a company, a publishing company, with books and stuff.” This was not the way to sound very grown up, and he gritted his teeth.
Her eyes grew wide, and she smiled. “You’ve gotten a publishing company? Like, for real?”
“Yes. I thought your expertise would be suited there. Mr. Coleman told me you had innovative ideas, and I’ve seen some of your projects.”
Her smile grew even wider.
“Do you love literature?” he asked.
“Yes, of course I do.”
“Excellent. Then you have nothing to worry about. I look forward to what you think of my latest venture.” He wanted her to be by his side in his business, helping him make decisions.
“I look forward to it.” She stood, about to leave.
“Was there anything else?”
She paused, and rubbed her hands together, shaking her head. “No, there’s nothing. It was just something silly, but it’s fine now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Totally sure. Did you resolve what you needed?” she asked.
“Yes, I did.”
“I will leave you to your lunch.”
She left, and as he ate his sandwich he watched her return to her office. There was no way he could look away as she flipped open the file, and found exactly what she was looking for. At the moment it was Brown Enterprise Publishing. In time, he intended for her name to be at the top of the firm. Sitting back in his chair, he watched her read through the paperwork, seeing the excitement grow with every passing second.
Plan one was complete, and now he had an excuse to be with her for the next steps. He already had a hotel booked for next week, and their flight arranged. In no time at all, he would have what he wanted.
****
Over the next week and a half, Sophia worked closely with Alfie, showing him certain points with regards to his new publishing company. She couldn’t believe how excited she was. T
he only other time she felt this way was when she was writing her own stories.
“You think romance is a big market?”
“Hell yeah, I also think the e-world is a big place as well. There are a lot of men, women, and even kids buying books there. You really need to hit that target there.” She moved toward his white board, and wrote out some of the statistics. It was nine o’clock, and she had been working on this presentation for the past couple of days. According to Alfie, he had asked several of the interns to create ideas that mixed software with publishing.
She knew he’d been seeing several of the other interns, but she wanted to bring traditional publishing into the new era, and set up their own company for distributing books. For the first time in her life she wanted to impress the man sitting behind the desk.
Every night after Freya had gone to bed, Sophia had been doing a great deal of research on the man Alfie Brown, and she loved what she had found out about him. He was a man that intrigued her, and she admired him. Also, she respected him.
She’d also gotten in touch with Mr. Coleman and asked his opinion of the man sitting opposite her.
“I have to say, Sophia, this is amazing,” Alfie said, standing up, and rounding the desk. He didn’t stop there, and stepped up close to her. The scent of his cologne was appealing. She didn’t know what he wore, but it was nice, and it suited him. “You’ve been the only intern to show the most passion about this project.”
“I love books of all kinds. I think they are important in our lives, and between the two of us, I kind of like writing.” She covered her cheeks, embarrassed that she had let him know that little piece of information.
“You write books?”
“I’m not very good at it. Writing has been the one passion I had growing up. The thing is, I know it’s not always a good way of earning money.” She shrugged. “My parents didn’t want me to waste my potential, and I seemed to have a good business head, or at least that’s what my professors tell me. Also, I’m hard working, and now I am rambling again.” She hated it when she got embarrassed. Whenever that happened, she didn’t know when to stop or to shut up.
He chuckled. “I think you’re doing fine, more than fine. Right, my mind is made up. You were the last one to present to me, so I have an idea. How do you feel about coming with me to the company this weekend? We leave tomorrow and it would be for an entire weekend.”