by Alex Grayson
Ten minutes later, I have several things jotted down that Mr. Knight wants me to take care of today. It’s basic stuff that shouldn’t take me long. That’s one thing I like about working here; it’s challenging, especially for me because prior to this job, the only other job I’d had was working in my family’s hardware store. Eventually, I had to quit because my mom got sick, and I had to stay at home and care for her. Dad passed away from an unexplained aneurism five years ago, so it was just me and my mom. She died a year and a half ago from cancer. It hit me hard and for months after, I wanted nothing to do with life.
Working for Mr. Knight, though, has so far been pretty easy. He’s not overly demanding and seems to treat his employees fairly. He knew from the get-go I had no experience and didn’t seem surprised about it, something else I found strange, and had the woman I was replacing stay a couple extra weeks to train me. He’s been patient and understanding when I needed it, something you don’t find every day, especially in this type of work and lifestyle.
Thinking we are done, I get up from my seat to leave, but his voice stops me.
“I need you to make sure both our schedules are free three weeks from today, from Friday to that following Monday. Furthermore, book the privacy wing at the Ritz-Carlton in Dallas. Call Phil and tell him to put a flight on the roster, leaving out at nine that Friday morning. Make sure you pack for warmer weather. I’m sure you’re aware of how hot it can get in Texas.”
I watch him while he talks, and each word that comes out of his mouth catches me off guard. He’s no longer talking, but I’m still standing there like an idiot, staring at him.
“Poppy, did you get—”
“You want me to go with you?” I blurt out.
I’ve never been on business trips with him; he’s never asked. He’s been on plenty, sometimes weeks at a time, but always called me at the office to give instructions on what he needed done. Those times he seemed off, tired, and worn-out. Even over the phone I could hear the stress in his voice. And when he returned after those trips, it took several days for the stress and tiredness to leave his face.
However, the last couple months he’s been in the office more. Actually, now that I think about it, it’s been months since he’s been out of the office on one of his trips for more than a day.
“Yes. Is that a problem?” He again raises a brow at me.
“No, no problem. It’s just… you’ve never asked me to come on business trips with you before.”
“Well, I am now, and will continue to do so in the future.” He drops the pen on his desk and steeples his fingers again. “There’s been a lot of things I haven’t asked of you, Poppy, because I know this is all new for you. It’s time you take on the full roll of my personal assistant, and that includes coming with me on trips. The meeting I have set up in Dallas is important, so I’ll need you there with me to help keep things on my end straight and iron out the small details for me.”
Nerves take over at the thought of being with him for four days straight. It’s already tough enough having to deal with flutters in my stomach every time I come into contact with him, but now I’ll be with him all day, for four whole days. Can my stomach handle that many flaps from the butterflies that will likely overtake it? Eventually, it’ll make me sick, right?
But then I think about the trip to Texas. I’ve never been there, but I’ve always wanted to go. I wonder if there will be time to explore. The thought of seeing a real life cowboy has my lips tipping up into a smile. My thoughts are immature, I know, but to hell if I care. Cowboys are hot, and I’d love to hear that southern drawl of theirs say words like darlin’. I’ve always been a sucker for western movies.
My eyes flicker back to Mr. Knight to see him watching me as a goofy grin forms on my face, making my fantasies of sexy cowboys turn to tattooed CEOs with unruly dark hair and glasses.
“I take it you’re agreeable to going with me?” he asks.
“Do I have a choice?”
“No.”
His blunt answer doesn’t surprise me. Mr. Knight may be easy to work for, but he’s also the typical businessman when it comes to getting what he wants.
“I’ve never been to Texas. I know this is business, and I won’t be able to sightsee, but I’ve always wanted to go.”
“I shouldn’t need you with me the entire time. You should be able to fit in some time to explore a bit.”
My eyes snap to his to see he’s serious. Exhilaration has my smile turning bigger.
“Really?”
Amusement lights his eyes at my undisguised excitement, causing the flutters in my stomach to multiply.
“Yes.” He smiles quickly before wiping it from his face. “Now, I really need those reports from you.”
My lips tip back down and I get back to business. “Yes… of course, Mr. Knight. I’ll get them to you right away.”
“That would be great, Poppy.”
He slides his glasses back on and drops his eyes back down to the laptop he pulled toward him while we were talking, dismissing me. I leave his office, quietly closing the door behind me.
A look over to my left shows Liv watching me. I give her a small smile and she returns it. She knows how Mr. Knight affects me.
I throw the notepad and pen on my desk and take a seat. I get right to work on the reports Mr. Knight needs. Once I’ve found them and make the changes he requested, I email them over. For good measure, I buzz him to let him know I sent them. Next, I call and make the necessary arrangements for our trip to Texas, then lastly, I call and schedule two appointments for him. I notice one is with Mr. Maverick, the man I spoke with at Maverick Holdings. He’s due to come in Friday of next week.
My eyes flicker over to the flowers still sitting on my desk, and think about the ones I have on my end table at home. Do they need to be replaced yet? They are the ones I got last week. It generally takes longer than a week for flowers to wilt and die. If the ones at home are still fresh, I either give them to Liv or someone else in the office. They are too gorgeous to just toss away, and if I kept them, all my counters would be filled with them. At least if I give them away, someone else will enjoy them as well.
I decide to take them home with me and put them on my nightstand. Liv was right, they do smell sweet. It’ll be nice to wake up to the flowery smell.
Before I know it, it’s lunchtime. I knock and peek my head into Mr. Knight’s office and ask if he wants me to pick anything up from the deli down the street that Liv and I frequent often for lunch.
“Pastrami on rye, with their special spicy mustard,” he mutters, keeping his eyes focused on the computer in front of him. I pull the door closed and meet Liv at the elevator.
“So, how did it go with Mr. Dreamy?” Liv asks before taking a bite of her BLT.
She dubbed Mr. Knight with the name after I told her of a dream I had of him several weeks after I started working for him. We were in his office, and I was sitting on his desk with my legs spread wide while he went to town on my pussy. I woke from the dream shivering and on the verge of a climax-induced meltdown. I told her about the dream the next day at lunch.
“Fine. The usual jitteriness.” I take a sip of my lemonade and set it back down on the table. “I’m going with him to Texas in three weeks.”
“Say what?” she shrieks, making me wince.
“Damn. Tone it down, will ya?”
She drops her sandwich and leans across the table.
“Why are you going to Texas with him?”
I roll my eyes at her eagerness. The girl is crazy. For some reason, she has this notion I should try to seduce our boss. That is not happening. For many reasons. Number one being he is our boss.
“Geez, Liv, it’s just a business trip. He needs me with him for some big deal he’s working on. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“But it could be something more if you want it to be,” she puts in excitedly, her eyes dancing mischievously.
“First, he’s our boss. There’s no way
I can afford to screw this job up. Second, I’m not his type.” She tries to object, but I hold my hand in her face, which she swipes away. “Third, he’s shown no interest in me. Fourth, he’s our boss.” I stress the last, just so she really gets what I’m saying.
“But Pop, just think how good it can be. Can you imagine what he could do with those hands? And his tongue? Not to mention other certain parts of his body?”
She’s practically bouncing in her seat as she talks. I have imagined what he could do, but that’s all it will ever be—fantasies. Even if I was interested in pursuing something with him, he’s so far out my league, you couldn’t even see me with a pair of high-tech binoculars.
“Liv, stop. It’s not happening,” I tell her firmly. She pouts at me, and I can’t help but laugh at the pathetic look. I count my blessings every day that I met Liv. She came along when I needed someone the most. Still grieving the loss of my mom and finding out my fiancé, Grant, was cheating on me, I was on a serious downward spiral. On top of that, I found out my parents’ business was actually in the hole, and I wouldn’t be able to keep it. The last straw was losing my childhood home. That’s what had me so desperate to find a job. Luckily, with finding my position at Silver Technologies, I was able to at least keep the wolves away from my home. The business, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do anything about. I hated seeing it go. It broke my heart. My parents practically built that hardware store from the ground up, but there was no way I was letting the bank take my home. So I made a choice and kept the house instead of the hardware store.
To get Liv off the subject of her ridiculous hopes of me and Mr. Knight hooking up, I change the subject.
“Have you figured out where Tony is taking you this weekend?”
“Hell no,” she mumbles through a bite of her sandwich. “He’s not giving anything up, no matter how I try to convince him to tell me. He’s locked up tight. I even let him come in my mouth, and you know I gag at the taste of jiz.”
I choke on my food, sputtering out a cough that turns to a laugh after I take a swallow of my drink.
“Jesus, can you use your filter while we’re out please?” I look around and see a couple people looking at us in disgust.
“No,” she responds unashamedly. That’s another thing I love about Liv; she comes as she is. If you don’t like her, then she doesn’t have time for you.
“I’m dying to know. I think he’s going to ask me this weekend. I can just feel it. He’s been real secretive lately and all over me.”
I reach across the small table between us and bring her in for a hug. Pulling back, we both have big grins on our faces.
“Okay, so I’m going to go ahead and say it because I want to be the first… I’m so happy for you both!”
“Thanks, Pop. It seems like I’ve been waiting forever for this.”
Liv and Tony have been dating for two years. She claims as soon as she saw him, she knew right away that he was “the one.” The way they both look at each other, you can plainly see they are head over heels in love. And I know for a fact that Tony is asking her this weekend to marry him. He called me a month ago, asking for my opinion on a ring. It’s a simple ring, but holds sentimental value because it’s belonged to his family for generations. I don’t know the details of him popping the question, just that it’s this weekend. It’s been killing me, having this information and not being able to tell her. But I want it to be perfect. And for Liv, I’ll continue the torture.
“So, how did your date go with what’s his face?” Liv asks.
I don’t know why she never uses the guy’s names from the dates I go on. It was her idea for me to join the dating site in the first place. I always give her the details: the guy’s name, where we’ll be at, and what time I’m meeting him. I message her when I leave the house and when I get back. It’s a safety measure we both agreed I should take since I’m going out with strangers. I think it may be because she’s becoming frustrated I haven’t found the right guy.
I throw my napkin on the table and roll my eyes. “Another dud.”
“What was wrong with this one? Did he have some weird sexual fetish? Or maybe a whole baseball team worth of children he doesn’t care for?”
“Nope,” I tell her. “He was married.”
“Fucking prick,” she says around a mouthful of food, not really acting surprised. To be honest, neither was I. My online dating luck sucks ass.
“His wife actually showed up at the restaurant and reamed his ass before she turned on me.”
Her eyes go wide. “Please tell me you let her have it? I’m all for her being upset, but shit, you didn’t know.”
“I ignored her and walked out, right before I dumped my wine in his lap.” That gets a choked laugh out of Liv, and I high five the hand she holds up for me. Our laugh dies down and I continue. “But that’s not the worst part. The asshole had the nerve to follow me home to try and explain.”
“What the hell? Are you serious?” Liv hisses, leaning across the table, her food forgotten.
“Yep. He was practically begging me to give him another chance.” I curl my lip up in disgust at the memory.
“Not just a prick, then. A two-timing-asshole-bastard-triple prick.”
I laugh at her assessment. You gotta love Liv.
“I think I’m about done with this whole online dating thing. I have one more date coming up. After that, no more. Obviously, it’s not working out for me.”
“Yeah, I get it.” She frowns, and I know it’s because she was hoping I would find someone that could make me happy. “It’s just weird how your luck with it’s been so terrible. I’ve heard of several people finding dates that turned out really well for them.”
I shrug, baffled myself, but not really caring anymore.
After we finish lunch, Liv dumps our trash while I put in Mr. Knight’s order. We walk the couple of blocks back to work, talking about this, that, and the other. I spend the rest of the day making sure Mr. Knight has the information he needs for this afternoon’s appointments, fielding calls, confirming upcoming appointments, completing this week’s expense reports, and other menial tasks. By the time five rolls around, I’m exhausted. I’m ready to get home for a nice relaxing soak in the bath, a glass of wine, and maybe an episode or two of Lost.
I let Mr. Knight know I’m heading out and ask if he needs anything before I go. Once I have the all clear, I grab my purse and vase of flowers and walk to the elevator. Once in the car, I call and place an order for Chinese. The drive is short and it’s not long before my food is delivered.
While eating, I put on Lost. I end up watching three episodes. I throw away the takeout containers, then grab my still half-full glass of wine, phone, and earbuds, and make my way to the bathroom that’s connected to my bedroom. Setting the items down on the small shelf next to the tub, I walk back out to the bedroom. I start to undress, but suddenly get a feeling someone is watching me. My head automatically turns to the window. I walk over and pull the sheer curtains to the side, peering out into the darkness. I feel ridiculous being spooked. I have spotlights, so if anyone was out there, they would flash on. Not to mention, it would be difficult for someone to jump the tall privacy fence I have. Even so, I decide to get undressed in the bathroom.
Sinking down in the warm bubbly water, I pop my earbuds in, take a sip of my wine, and pull up the playlist I want. I lay there until I feel myself starting to drift off and the water starts to cool. Quickly finishing my bath, I step out of the tub, dry myself, and forgetting the feeling of being watched earlier, walk out to my bedroom naked. I pull the covers back and slip beneath them. I love feeling the cool silky sheets against my skin. I started sleeping naked when I was nineteen, and if I can help it, I’ll never go back to sleeping with clothes on again.
It’s not long before my mind empties of all thoughts, and I drift off to sleep.
Chapter Three
Asher
I lift my head just in time to see Poppy disappear behind the
door. I run my hands through my hair and blow out a breath. Seeing her at work and holding on to my professionalism is one of the toughest things I’ve ever done. I torture myself through these times because I know when I watch her without her knowledge, the pleasure of that alone is worth it. Don’t get me wrong, I would drop to my knees and beg and plead for the taste and touch of Poppy, and one day I will, but not today. Not until I’ve had my fill of this…this addiction, and am confident she can overcome my invasion of privacy into her life.
This feeling, this need for her is foreign to me. It’s hard to explain because I don’t understand it myself. I’ve never felt this overpowering urge to be near someone, to watch them without them knowing. Normally, I would hate something so uncontrollable—I need control—but when it comes to Poppy, I seem to have no control over my actions. I’ve never, not once, considered ignoring them. The thought alone is unfathomable.
A knock sounds at my door, pulling me from my thoughts of her. I glare at it as I tell the person on the other side to come in.
Eric appears in the doorway. “We still on for later?”
Fuck!
I forgot Eric and I had plans to go over the newest spyware. That means my nightly stalking will be put on hold until later tonight. I grip the edge of my desk to keep myself from throwing something. The number one thing I don’t like is having my plans change when it comes to her. I have a routine, and fuck anyone if they try to deter me from it. At least I know she’s not going on a date tonight. I not only control who she meets from that fucking dating site, but also how often she does.
“Yes,” I tell Eric, barely keeping it from coming out in a hiss.
Silver Technologies specializes in monitoring its client’s networks, implementing security standards, and installing data protection systems so outside forces can’t break in and steal vital information. The security systems we design and use have never been broken into. That’s why we are so well sought-after. Depending on what the client’s budget is, depends on how extensive the service is and the software we provide. Eric has been with me almost since the beginning and has become a close friend. He’s one of my top software designers. Although he’s one of the best, all designs go through me, where I tweak them and make them unhackable.