by Claire Angel
I’m her boss. I loved the sound of that. The floor manager excused himself before Emma could silently walk away as well I quickly grabbed her wrist. “Ms. Pierce, would you like to accompany me to dinner tonight?” I asked her.
She shrugged her wrist out of my hold and said “I have some work to do,” stuttering. Usually, stammering would get on my nerves, but for some reason, I found it cute, especially when I’m the cause of it. “After your shift maybe? “We can go grab a bite, my treat,” I offered, but she still looked disinterested.
She plays hard to get, and that’s what excites me.
“I have to get back to work,” Emma timidly said and quickly walked away before I could say anything else. I’m not giving up especially when I’ve just been reunited with my kitten. It’s not every day where you get to run in with a woman you once met at a club, and not mention she captured your full attention.
The day went by slowly, and I looked over a few papers and reviews of the company while sneaking glances towards Emma. The way she looked serious while working turns me on but I’ve also noticed that she seemed utterly miserable. She looked like she was ready to slit her throat during one of the calls which I think is a rude caller. In other words, she looked unhappy.
I bet my presence can change that quickly.
After making some dumb excuse to the floor manager, I managed to walk towards Emma’s cubicle. She was staring at her computer screen as she talked on the phone, her voice didn’t stutter, and all I could say was that she had a fantastic voice. I wonder if she’ll ever talk to me so nicely.
While she was on the phone, I couldn’t help but entered the small space of her cubicle and stood right behind her. She seemed too grossed with her call and computer that she didn’t even notice me, my hands itched to touch her once more. To feel the curves of her body, to bury my hand in her soft silky brown hair, and most of all to press my aching lips against hers.
Unconsciously, my hands hovered over her hair, gathered up in a neat ponytail. My hands then started playing with the tips of her hair which made her notice me. She tried leaning forward to escape my playing hands, but my hands followed.
Now that I know who you are and where you work, there’s no way escaping me my little kitten.
Once she put the phone down, she turned around in her chair and asked: “What do you want?” Her stuttering was still there.
“You!” is all I said to her in a kind of harsh voice. It is true though; I did want her.
I’ll try everything just to make her want me even if I have to annoy the hell out of her by teasing her. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?” she timidly asked as she avoided eye contact like usual.
Why my kitten, I just can’t leave you alone not after you’ve bewitched me with that body of yours and pierced my very soul with one stare.
Chapter 3
Emma
It’s been a month now since we’ve met our new boss and every single day Mr. Storm would visit our branch. Out of all the branches and businesses that he owns, he prefers to make this office to be his main (where I work), it doesn’t make any sense. He’s been doing nothing but getting on my nerves.
My stuttering disappeared now when I’m around Mr. Storm instead I either talk timidly or angrily. He would find ways to make physical or skin contact, leaving me incredibly annoyed. He enjoys playing with the tips of my hair while I work which is so distracting.
When I would walk down the hallway, he would purposely brush up against my shoulder. When I’m on a break, he would also take his break and find ways to talk to me. Although he was a pain in the ass, I still respected Mr. Storm as my boss. When he’s not annoying me, he’s on a project, and when he’s working, he becomes an entirely different person. He’s smart, hardworking, and wise even though he wasn’t that much older than me.
Each day, Mr. Storm would invite me to get dinner, and like always my answer was the same, no. He just doesn’t give up.
Even when he’s annoying the hell out of me my work life has become less dull than it was, doesn’t mean I particularly love my job because of it but it somehow turned out to be much more tolerable than before.
Going to work today I expected to see Mr. Storm hanging out with other employees near my cubicle, but for some reason, he wasn’t today. I thought of it as nothing at first but as the day progressed I haven’t seen my bothersome boss anywhere. He wasn’t there during my breaks nor was he behind me playing with my hair while I worked, and for some odd reason, I feel tingles on my head when I’m working it’s like I can feel him playing with my hair even when he’s not.
Days pass by, and Mr. Storm wasn’t anywhere to be seen. I figured it didn't trouble me at first, yet now it was distressing me. I was annoyed that he wasn’t there I couldn’t understand it at all. I couldn’t focus on work because of it and when I finally snapped I walked over towards the cubicle next to me. She was my coworker who always hung out with Mr. Storm in the morning and let me just add that she had a massive crush on Mr. Storm.
“Hey, have you seen Mr. Storm lately?” I asked her casually. She looked at me with falling eyelids and asked “Why? You’re after Mr. Storm too?” I instantly blushed at her accusation and said: “No, I’m just wondering why our boss disappeared all of a sudden.” It wasn’t a lie though.
She sighed and said “Mr. Storm is taking some time off apparently. Why? I don’t know, but people are saying that he’s with other women traveling around and stuff. Luck them.” I wouldn’t consider them lucky.
Anger started brewing within me at the very thought of Mr. Storm slacking off. Not because he’s my boss but because he was that perverted stranger and all he did was tease me during work so what right did he have to slack off?
“Oh, Ms. Pierce great timing! Can you do me a favor?” my floor manager asked as he came up to me with a large envelope in his hands. I nodded and waited for his favor. He handed over the envelope and said “Can you deliver this to Mr. Storm? I know you’re not the right person to ask but our secretary is in an important meeting, and these papers need to be signed by Mr. Storm as quick as possible.”
The idea of going to wherever Mr. Storm was made me feel uncomfortable. I didn’t like meeting him out of work because it would only remind me of that one night at the club. It appears most of my problems have something to do with Mr. Storm. I sighed and said, “Can’t you ask someone else?” This time it was the floor manager’s turn to sigh as he said: “I wish I could Ms. Pierce but it seems like you’re the only female on this floor that seems not to want to get into Mr. Storm’s pants.”
Without a choice, I accepted my floor manager’s request and was now on my way towards Mr. Storm’s house. Out of all the places he could’ve been he just had to be at home, just the thought of being in his home made me uncomfortable.
Standing in front of his door didn’t help my raging nerves. My stomach churned uncomfortably as I stood there for what seemed to be minutes now. I couldn’t find the strength to press the doorbell, I just stood there like a complete idiot, but I think I would be more of an idiot if I entered this home.
I took a deep breath and decided to get this over with, I rang the doorbell and quickly shut my eyes expecting that Mr. Storm would open the door and smirk at me like always. But minutes go by and no one was answering, I rang the doorbell again, but it seemed like no one was home. I silently cheered that no one was back, but as I twisted the doorknob the door opened, he didn’t lock the door. I don’t know whether he did it on purpose or not? Either way, it’s dangerous for a billionaire to leave his door unlocked even if there was security downstairs.
I silently entered his penthouse to see it completely clean, not what I expected. It also seemed to be empty like no one was there but the further I walked in the more I heard a soft snore. His penthouse looked pretty expensive; it must cost more than what he earns in a year.
I entered a darker room and noticed a figure sleeping in a large bed. Half of me wished it was some random girl instead
of Mr. Storm. Instead of waking the figure up I decided just to leave the envelopes on the nightstand. Before I could move, a hand shot out from underneath the blanket and held on tightly to my wrist which caught me off guard making me shriek in surprise.
“Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?” a husky voice asked.
“I must be in the wrong house,” I stuttered in fear, but I made sure that this was the right address. Immediately a head poked out from underneath the blankets, and it was none other than Mr. Storm. “Oh, kitten. Have you missed me?” he asked with a sleepy smirk on his face.
It was hard not to acknowledge how incredibly handsome he was with bedhead and a sleepy look on his face.
“I’m just here to drop off the envelopes,” My voice was still stuttering. Mr. Storm chuckled and said “It’s been a while since you’ve stuttered in front of me. Don’t tell me after all the progress we’ve made we’re back to square one?”
“What progress?” I asked him in confusion. “Mr. Storm—” but before I could continue he cut me off by saying exasperatedly “Stop calling me that! You can call me Elijah, and I’ll call you Emma. Okay?” I wasn’t comfortable with calling him by his first name, but he was my boss.
“Elijah, I’m just here to deliver this envelope,” I gestured towards the large envelope sitting on the night table. “Now, that I’m done with my task I should be heading back to the office, unlike someone who’s slacking off,” I growled glaring at him. I turned around to walk away, but Elijah quickly did one of his absolute favorite things, he grabbed my wrist.
What I didn’t expect was for Elijah to suddenly pull me down on the bed with me on top of him. My cheeks burned up in embarrassment from our current position; I could feel every crease of his muscles against my body. His face was extremely close to mine. He then whispered, “You may not have missed me, kitten, but I have missed you so much.” His body was unexpectedly hot. Upon closer inspection, Elijah looked like he was utterly exhausted, he also had dark circles around his eyes, and he looked a bit pale.
“What are you doing Elijah? This is inappropriate,” I tried to get out of there, But his arms were wrapped around my waist, and his hands rested on the lower part of my back right above my butt tightly. I’ve come to realize that I was slowly getting used to him touching me frequently. He chuckled and said “Apparently, everything I do is inappropriate to you. What can I do to make you accept me?” For the first time he sounded desperate, he wasn’t himself that’s for sure.
I placed my hand on Elijah’s forehead to discover that he was burning up badly. “Gosh! Elijah, you’re burning up!” I told him. He chuckled and said “I like it when you say my name,” his hold on me tightened.
Suddenly I felt guilty for accusing him that he was slacking off.
“Was this the reason why you couldn’t come to the office? Did you even call the doctor?” I asked.
“Called the doctor a few days ago. He gave me medicine and told me to rest up,” he said groggily.
“Don’t you have any family members to take care of you? Or could at least hire a nurse?” I asked him.
“You can be my nurse,” he said happily as his eyes stared at me with happiness.
I sighed and said “Elijah, I don’t know how to take care of a sick person. When I get sick, my older sisters take care of me.”
“Just you being here is enough,” he said softly as he nuzzled my neck. I could tell that my face was probably still red from embarrassment. “How about family members?” I asked once again. Then he managed to mumble “They didn’t come.” Before I even knew it, he was fast asleep.
I managed to wiggle myself out of his arms and then I walked around his penthouse admiring the fancy decoration but what I also noticed where the lack of pictures. This place might seem nice and elegant, and all but there was nothing homely about it. It was like he didn’t live here. What I did notice was a bright red door at the back of his room. Being curious, I walked towards it with my heart beating fast. I’ve heard stories of wealthy men with red doors in their homes I just didn’t expect Elijah to be one of them but how could I not? He was a pervert after all.
I swallowed the big lump in my throat as I opened the door expecting to see whips, chains, and possibly other things that I couldn’t quite understand. What was in front of me was something I didn’t expect. It was an art studio with sketches of different people taped on the wall. Some of them were drawings of naked women. Did he draw them?
My hands touched every single drawing to make sure that those were indeed sketches rather than a printout. What caught my attention was a sketch that was laid on a desk almost like it was his latest drawing because what caught my attention was the person on the paper was none other than me.
Chapter 4
Elijah
I expected to wake up to an empty house like I always do. Yes, there was nobody else inside my home but me. But there were signs of another person being here beside me. A wet towel sat on my head, a glass of water and my medicines within my reach, and there was a small note on my night table.
‘Make sure you get this done asap! We need the documents. P. S, please take more care of yourself.’
It was short and simple, yet it had a deeper meaning to me. I exactly knew who the small note was from, and just thinking about her made my heart throb weirdly. Thanks to her I’m all better. I sat up in my bed about to start my day and get back to work when suddenly something caught my immediate attention. My red door was slightly ajar, and I knew for a fact that I always close that door.
My eyes widen in the realization that my kitten could’ve walked right in. I walked towards my red room to find everything still in place which made me sigh in relief. Maybe I didn’t close the door properly due to my sickness. After getting ready and signing the documents, I was able to leave my home and head towards work. Before I got to work, I made sure to buy something for my kitten to show her how thankful I am that she took care of me.
It felt weird having someone to care for me. It wasn’t in Emma’s job description, and I bet any woman would’ve taken advantage of me, but Emma was the complete opposite. When I expect the worst from people, Emma would prove me wrong and show me that not everyone’s was terrible.
Arriving at work was refreshing like everything was back to normal. In those days when I was sick, I daydreamed about my kitten and me, but I mostly dreamed of annoying her. It was the only way to communicate with her; if it has nothing to do with work, then she would ignore me completely. The only times she would acknowledge me was when I was teasing her. I don’t mind since she has this reaction that I only want to see more.
Her reactions were something I haven’t seen before in anyone.
“Mr. Storm! It’s good to see you again,” one of my employees greeted me. Once my employee said my name it grabbed everyone’s attention. I was on the floor where Emma worked; luckily, no one finds it suspicious that I hang out here all the time. Everyone started crowding around me either greeting me a good morning or asking where I have been these past few days. Usually, I would simply entertain them by replying or telling them a story but this time I only wanted to see one person. My eyes drifted over towards her cubicle to find her working which wasn’t a surprise she would always ignore me when I arrive at work.
Another thing I learned about Emma was that she was a completely different person when she was at work. The club where I met Emma was one of the few clubs I owned, and the manager of the club who is a close friend of mine told me that he saw her there with other girls. Apparently, she was a regular customer at the club.
If I’d known that I would meet someone like her, then I would’ve gone to that club sooner. I smirked seeing how busy Emma was.
Ignoring those around me I started making my way towards her cubicle with the gift I have for her in my hands. Once I stood right behind her, I played with the tips of her hair which sent a shiver of satisfaction through my body. In the past few days of being away from work, I’ve longed
to play with Emma’s silky hair. Once she felt my hand playing with her hair, she immediately jumped out of her chair and spun around to look at me.
“Oh, you scared me, Elijah.”
Two things surprised me within that one sentence. First, she didn’t stutter at all; I could hear her clear as day. Second, she still called me by my first name which threw me off guard. I expected to see her shy away from me as she has always done, but this didn’t disappoint me at all. In fact, it excited me.
“My apologies… Emma,” I said as I held both of my hands up telling her that I meant no harm. “Here, I got a gift for you,” I handed over the gift.
“What for?” she asked this time her voice sounded timid.
“For taking care of me. I know you didn’t have to, but you did, and I’m grateful for that.” I told her which instantly made her blush. She grabbed the box from my hand and said: “It was the right thing to do so you didn’t have to get me a gift.”
“I would’ve asked you out for dinner, but I already know your answer. Instead, I bought you a gift,” I honestly told her. I got her a simple necklace with small flower pendant on it. “Thank you… it’s beautiful.” Now she was back to stuttering.
She took the necklace out of the box and started putting it on. She turned towards me and asked, “How does it look?” It made me feel strange to see her wearing something that I got for her, but not odd in a wrong way.
It was a pleasant kind of strange.
“It looks even more beautiful on you,” I told her which made her cheeks turn red. I clutched my head and shut my eyes trying to get this beautiful creature out of my sight for a while before I lose control. What’s wrong with me?
The more I looked at Emma wearing that necklace, the more my heart raced weirdly, makes my stomach feel funny, and also makes my mind go crazy. Without previous scenario for as long as I can remember I finally found someone who looks extremely cute.