Brother's Best Friend's Package

by Cassandra Bloom

  My face turned red at the realization. “Oh… um… sorry, I don’t know how I missed that…” I stammered, hoping this man didn’t think I had asked him for directions just because he was attractive.

  He nodded before disappearing down the hallway, leaving behind an air of mystery. Who was that man? Why hadn’t he said anything? These questions buzzed around in my mind until I heard the sound of a door opening behind me.

  I turned around to face an older woman with blotched skin and glasses that were much too big for her face. Even as she stood there, they slid down her nose. “Ah! You must be Miss Warren. Please, come in.” She pushed back the door, revealing an extraordinarily neat room. “I thought you had gotten lost.”

  Quickly, I shook my head. “No, I’m sorry I took so long, there was a bit of a queue for the elevator.” I lied, hoping she would believe me.

  “Ah. That happens sometimes.” She nodded, grabbing a colorful pencil from a cup on her desk. “Okay, we just have to get you properly set up in the system and then I’ll show you to your desk.” She started to type, using the end of the pencil to press the keys. “It looks like you already took your company photo and had your ID printed out.”

  It was only then that I realized I still had the plastic card in my hand. “Oh, yes.” I nodded.

  “Good, good. That makes my job a little easier. Now, for some questions.”

  ***

  After what felt like hours, we were finally finished. Mrs. Kilroy clapped her hands and got up in a flurry, her large, colorful skirts turning into a blur. “Come along now. You’ll be working on the 7th floor with all the other IT people. They’re a nice bunch. You should have no problem getting along with them, but if you do encounter anything… troubling… just let me know, and I’ll take care of it.” She smiled, looking back before she opened the door to the stairs. “I don’t like the elevator, I hope you don’t mind.”

  “No, no. It’s not a problem.” I answered, but I soon found myself struggling to keep up with the overly-energetic woman.

  By the time we got to the seventh floor, I was out of breath. I didn’t know if I was just severely out of shape or if this woman had lungs of steel.

  “Alright. This way.”

  Once I made it through the door, I was met with a large room filled with cubicles. People worked away, typing furiously on their keyboards. Lines of code flashed across their screens. Some people were vehemently clicking, threatening to break their mice at any moment. Others were quietly playing minesweeper, hoping no one would notice.

  “Here you are.” Mrs. Kilroy showed me to a small cubicle near the corner. She then stepped to the side. “Freddie, do you mind coming over and meeting your new mentee?”

  Freddie stood to his full height, his head peeking over the wall of his cubicle. “Ah, we’ve already met, actually.” He chuckled. “Helped her with the sign-in process downstairs.”

  “Perfect, then I’ll just let you two get to work.” She smiled once more before she disappeared.

  “Looks like we’re going to be seeing a lot more of each other.” He grinned, seemingly pleased by the idea.

  Chapter 2 (Leo)

  The new intern took me by surprise. When I asked Kilroy to find someone for the summer project, I assumed she would hire another college CS major, looking for a well-paying job. After all, 90% of my IT personnel were male. Those few who weren’t certainly didn’t look like the woman who had stopped to ask me for directions.

  Soft, pearly white skin. A cute button nose. Warm chocolate brown eyes. Luscious brown hair that ran down her back in ringlets. Hair that would be perfect for a wild night in bed. I loved a girl with long hair.

  As I walked away from her, I grinned to myself, my mind already coming up with all the different ways I could make her scream my name. All the different positions I could put her in, testing her flexibility. Oh yes, I could have quite a bit of fun with her.

  While I was on the 5th floor, I stopped by the printing room, grabbing a few documents I needed. Usually, my personal assistant did such tasks, but she had fallen sick and had taken the week off. I assumed she was close to retiring anyway. I mean, the woman was almost 67. Maybe it was time to look for a new assistant…

  A much younger, and sexier one.

  I grabbed my documents and walked out of the room, knowing that soon enough, the beautiful woman I had just met would be as good as mine.

  ***

  The following day, I was in my office, looking over some expense reports when there was a knock on the door. A mischievous smirk appeared on my face. I knew exactly who it was.

  “Come in,” I called out, closing my laptop, my hands folded over it.

  There was a moment of hesitation before I finally heard the doorknob rattle. She peeked in her head as if to make sure it was safe before her whole body appeared in my doorway. She was even more gorgeous than I remembered, or maybe it was her change of attire.

  Yesterday, she had worn something a bit more casual, but today, she wore a tight pencil skirt and a white button-up blouse. Unfortunately, her long hair was pinned in a bun.

  That would have to be addressed.

  She stood there, looking unsure, avoiding eye contact. She moved from foot to foot, tottering her weight back and forth. As she did so, her hips swayed ever so slightly and I could already feel my hormones coming to life. This woman had the sex appeal of a goddess, even if she didn’t seem to realize it.

  “Please, sit down.” At the prompt, she immediately crossed the room and sat in the chair in front of me.

  Obedient. Good.

  The corners of my lips twitched ever so slightly. I waited for her to settle herself before I leaned forward.

  “Hello, my name is Leonel Jacobsen, CEO of this company.”

  She nodded in the cutest, timid manner. I wondered, for a moment, what must be going through her mind. Was she nervous to be sitting in my office? Was she embarrassed about yesterday? Or, was she secretly aroused, her panties getting soaked under that sexy skirt of hers? I knew the last scenario was unlikely, but a man could dream, couldn’t he? Besides, it would only be a matter of time before I had her in the palm of my hand.

  “I like to personally meet each one of my employees. I don’t want them to feel like that this is a company where the CEO is detached from internal affairs. In fact, I encourage my employees to develop a personal relationship with me, if they want to, of course.” I smiled at her, flashing a set of pearly white teeth. “I hope that in the future, you and I can get to know each other very well.” I noticed she was fidgeting in her seat as I dropped the subtle hints.

  Her fingers twitched, pulling and prodding at the leather upholstery.

  I got up and walked around my desk, approaching her. She looked at me with great big doe eyes. “There’s really no need to be nervous. I’ve taken a look at your resume and I have no doubt that you’ll do great here.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, pulling her into my chest. As I did, I caught the scent of her cherry blossom shampoo. It was subtle scent, but definitely an intoxicating one. I tightened my hold, feeling like I never wanted to let her go.

  She looked up at me, her eyes locking with mine. She seemed uncertain, almost as if she didn’t know what she was supposed to do in that moment, but at the same time, I noticed something of an excitement deep within her irises. Lust maybe?

  It was a thought.

  I let her go and she seemed to deflate back into her seat. “So, do you have any questions for me?” I leaned against the edge of my desk, towering above her. She lowered her eyes in an almost submissive manner.

  “Um…” She struggled for words, wringing her fingers together in her lap. “I… I don’t think so…” She stammered.

  “In that case, would you mind doing something for me? I know you’ve gone through basic training with Mrs. Kilroy, but I like to test my employees before they start on any major project. Call it quality control if you’d like.”

  Elaine instantly looked flustered, her
face turning red with nervousness.

  “Don’t worry, I’m sure a woman such as yourself will have no problem completing the task.”

  She nodded but kept quiet.

  “Please, sit in my chair. You’ll be using my laptop.”

  I waited for her to get up and approach me. I pulled out my chair for her, acting like a perfect gentleman, but at the same time, as I guided her into her new seat, I didn’t miss my opportunity to cup her ass, squeezing it ever so slightly.

  A soft mewl escaped her lips, but she still didn’t say a word. Had she just moaned or was it simply a sound of surprise, I wondered.

  With this thought in mind, I leaned over until my chest was pressed against her back. I wore a thin shirt so I had no doubt she could feel the full extent of my body against hers. Was my muscular torso turning her on like it had so many others?

  She shivered, goosebumps running up her arms.

  Whatever she was feeling, I was definitely getting a reaction out of her.

  With my lips nearly touching the side of her neck, I opened my laptop and signed in. I then pulled up a simple program, which, however, was full of bugs planted by some of my best IT professionals. It would be difficult for anyone to make the code fully operational.

  Her eyes were already scanning the screen, her fingers jittery as if she was just dying to attack the problem.

  “Alright, do you think you could take a look at this for me? You have thirty minutes. The faster you solve it, the more you get paid this summer.” I whispered, my tone soft and husky, almost like I was whispering sweet nothings in her ear.

  Again, she shivered. “Do… do you just want me to debug this?”

  “Do whatever you have to do to make the code work,” I explained, dragging my hands away from my laptop until they gently touched hers.

  Her fingers twitched, but she didn’t pull away. “O-Okay…” Her voice wavered and she took a deep breath.

  I finally stepped away, giving her the space to work. While she was typing, her eyes focused on the screen, I walked to the back of the room.

  Once I was next to the coat rack, I cleared my throat, getting her attention. I took the opportunity to shrug off my suit jacket, hanging it up. I then undid my cufflinks and rolled up my sleeves, showing off my muscular forearms. I could see out of the corner of my eye that she was watching me, almost as if enthralled by my physique.

  I rolled up my other sleeve nice and slow before loosening up my tie and throwing it on the coat rack as well. With her eyes still on me, I undid the topmost button of my shirt before I lifted my eyes to meet hers.

  She quickly realized I had caught her staring and immediately went back to work.

  I grinned to myself, knowing that deep down, this woman was just as interested in me as I was in her.

  This was going to be a very interesting summer indeed.

  Chapter 3 (Elaine)

  When I left Leonel’s office, I was sweating bullets. I had only been in there for about fifteen minutes, but it honestly felt like an eternity. I couldn’t be certain, but it seemed like he was toying with me. The way he leaned against me, whispering in my ear, or when he grabbed my ass. Surely, he was getting very personal.

  And, what about the light striptease he did in the back of the room?

  He was obviously trying to get me to look at him and it worked. But, what was I supposed to do? It wasn’t like I could look away. He’s the most attractive guy I had ever seen. Besides… when he rolled up his sleeves, I almost lost it.

  Even after leaving his office, I could feel the burning in my belly, my primal lust trying to take over the rational side of my mind. I knew it was an exercise in futility to try and pursue my boss. It would never work out. He’s probably just playing with me because he gets some sick power kick out of it or something.

  “Hey, how was your meeting with Mr. Jacobsen?” Freddie asked once I returned to my cubicle. He was leaning back in his computer chair, twirling a pen between his fingers.

  “I’m… not sure.”

  “Did he have you debug some mess of a code?” He asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Don’t worry if you didn’t get it. Most people in here don’t.”

  I shook my head. “No… that wasn’t the problem.”

  “Wait…” Freddie leaned forward. “You actually managed to debug the whole thing?”

  “Yeah. I mean, it wasn’t all that hard. There were a few parsing issues and those arrays were god-awful, but other than that, it really wasn’t that bad.”

  Freddie stared at me like I had three heads. “How long did it take you?” He asked.

  “Um…” I tried to think back to what Leonel had said, but my mind was still in a jumble. The image of his body was the only thing I could picture. I blinked before I remembered the question. “Little over ten minutes, I think.”

  Freddie’s mouth hung agape. “Ten minutes? You’re pulling my leg.”

  “Seriously. Why, is that bad?”

  “Bad… I finished the same thing in 28 minutes. The record is 17. Well… it was…”

  My eyes widened. “Oh…”

  He chuckled. “I hardly think you need a mentor if you’re some coding prodigy.” He teased, poking me with his pen.

  I forced a laugh, but then felt strange all of a sudden. “Maybe I should get to work.”

  “Sure, sure. Your first assignment is on your desk. It just came in. It’s due Friday.”

  I nodded. Soon, I was settled in my cubicle, getting started on the tracking software for the newest Fly Tech drones. It was a bit buggy, causing issues with the GPS signaling, the accuracy of map coordinates, and overall flight path recognition.

  I was getting into a good rhythm when I heard footsteps behind me. I swiveled in my chair, coming face to face with Mr. Jacobsen.

  At once, my heart started to beat a little harder. My palms itched with perspiration. “S-Sir…” I stammered, surprised to see him.

  “Elaine.” He smiled. “I need you to do this new assignment. Due tomorrow. Do you think you can do that for me?” He plopped down a thick folder on my desk.

  “Yes, sir…” With that, Leonel disappeared.

  ***

  That wasn’t the only time the CEO showed up in my cubicle and demanded I finish something in an unreasonable amount of time. It was like he was trying to push me to my limits, giving me harder assignments each time, until I was developing software all by myself when realistically, I should have been working with a whole team of developers.

  “Hey, Elaine, do you want to grab lunch with me? It’s Friday, so there’s free pizza in the breakroom, but if we don’t hurry, the only thing left will be cheese.”

  I wondered, for a moment, what was so wrong with cheese pizza before I noticed all the work I still needed to finish by the end of the day. “Um… I don’t think I can.”

  “Oh, come on, this will be the third time this week that you skip out on lunch.”

  Before I could say anything, he had already marched over to my desk. He grabbed me by the arm, hoisting me out of my seat.

  With no other choice, I followed him to the break room. It was only when I sat down with two slices of pepperoni in front of me that I realized how hungry and tired I really was.

  “Mr. Jacobsen is working you pretty hard, huh? Usually, the interns have it easy. They go on coffee runs, debug some code here and there, but generally, they have more than enough free time to lounge around in the game room. Have you even tried out the ping pong table?”

  “We have a ping pong table?” I asked in confusion.

  “Of course. As well as a billiards table, darts, and all the newest consoles. We hold a Street Brawler tournament every Friday afternoon. I can probably get you a spot if you didn’t already sign up.” He said enthusiastically.

  “No thanks,” I said politely.

  Our conversation died down as I ate my pizza in silence. It was actually pretty good and I was about to note the brand when Freddie let out a sigh. />
  “What’s wrong?”

  “Oh, nothing.” He was looking at his phone. “The world is just so messed up, you know? So many people dying every day.” I glanced over. He had some news app pulled up, a headline flashing across the screen.

  113 dead in the catastrophic fire: Firefighters struggle to combat the flames!