Burning Desire

by Ami Snow

  THE END

  Her Captivating Encounter

  BDSM ROMANCE

  By: Amanda Bolton

  Her Captivating Encounter

  Chapter One

  Sitting in the waiting room, Angel shifted nervously. If she could land this job than her problems would all but disappear. She blew out a breath and the ends of her new trimmed bangs tickled her nose. Not many people got offered an interview to work for Grayson Lockwood. He was the shit in the reality world. She wasn’t even sure how it happened, but after a long day of looking for a job back home she went home to a message saying she had an interview.

  There was no asking. It went a little something like this, “Hello, Miss James. You’re invited to an interview to be my secretary, be at my Kansas City Office promptly at ten a.m. Please come prepared for an interview and testing if you pass the initial screening. Thank you, Grayson Lockwood.” His voice made her shiver. It was deep and demanding, and she felt strange flutters in her gut. There was no phone number to call, and it wasn’t listed on her caller I.D. There was no use in trying to call. No one in their right mind would have passed up this opportunity. Hence the reason she sat in a small room with 15 other women waiting to see who would be the next secretary to the hottest and richest man in the U.S.

  She’d already passed the first task apparently, since the numbers had dwindled to half. Now each one of the women left were getting one on one time with Grayson Lockwood himself. He would be conducting an interview. That was the part that made her nervous. She’d had several interviews since she graduated, but none of them led to anything obviously. Angel was beginning to wonder if she was looking in the wrong places.

  “Angel James,” a deep voice said.

  She stood with wide eyes and walked to the door that was held open for her. She gripped the door pulling it open so she could squeeze through. She wasn’t as tiny as any of the women in the waiting room. She was curvy and short, yet men still looked at her like she was dainty and fragile. She grew up with four older brothers, and they certainly taught her how to take care of herself. She had to learn to be faster and sneakier than them. They were all tall and big boys. She learned early on how to hold her own.

  The door clicked shut, and then she was following a man that was nearly a foot taller than her. He wore black dress pants that fit his backside nicely. Angel wasn’t one to check men out. None had every really appealed to her, and she was okay with that. She wasn’t in a rush to be tied down, but this man, Mr. Lockwood, was definitely attractive. She basically had to run awkwardly on her heels to keep up because he did not slow his pace while leading her around a strange maze that led to—he shoved the door open—a huge office.

  “Make yourself comfortable Miss James, it’s Miss correct?”

  “Yes, sir,” she replied and squeezed around him to sit in the chair on the opposite side of his desk.

  He sat in his chair, upright and his features were tense. He looked tired, and if she were going to be honest, that did nothing to make him less attractive.

  “I’ve been at this all day and so far no one has met my standards. It’s quite frustrating. Do you think you’ll be the one to get the answers right so I can send everyone home? I certainly doubt it, but I can be hopeful.” His tone was resigned and he followed by rubbing his temples.

  His doubt made her sit up straighter. Damn straight she would be the one. She needed this job. Her mother’s care depended on her getting a job, and Angel would prefer not to have more than one. “I’m the one,” she said. She didn’t bat her lashes or lick her lips like most women would try to do. Most of them probably tried to seduce him. Angel had no such thing in mind. She wanted his employment nothing more. It was that simple for her. She was young, but she was determined and graduated at the top of her class.

  He smirked, and for a second his eyes scanned her body before snapping back up to her eyes. “And what makes you think so? I’ve got a list of demands a mile high, or so my last secretary stated. I’m mean and I’m tough. I don’t like excuses, and I expect the best.”

  Angel narrowed her eyes feeling the challenge blooming. “Mr. Lockwood, I grew up with four older brothers who didn’t care one bit that I was their baby sister. I’ve never had it easy. I push myself to be the best because I had to in order to get any recognition in my house. I work my tail off to make sure I succeed at everything I do, and I’m okay with mean, and I don’t do excuses. There isn’t ‘can’t’ in my vocabulary. My brothers would kick my ass frankly.”

  “You think having four brothers has prepared you for dealing with me?”

  Now she chuckled. “I’d say I’m more than prepared. I’ve heard about you. Everyone in this field has. We all know that you’re a hard ass, and you don’t just hire randomly. I’d be stupid to mess this up. In reality I think I probably need this job more than the others, but I also believe I deserve it. I’m good at following orders. I’m good at handling things on my own, and I don’t whine if things get a little tough.”

  He nodded and she didn’t miss the small smile that changed his whole appearance. He still looked tough, but he softened a tiny bit. “I like you Miss James.”

  She didn’t blush or act girly by his words. That’s what he was waiting for. He wanted someone unaffected by his charm, and dammit she was that girl. Angel didn’t swoon, and even though she was girly in how she looked, she certainly wasn’t when it came to her personality. She was quiet, friendly, and she liked taking care of people, but that didn’t mean she’d giggle or freak out because someone like Grayson Lockwood complimented her. She wasn’t that desperate for attention.

  Chapter Two

  She didn’t appear to be impressed by me. Not by my charm in the least. It was refreshing. She hadn’t done one damn thing to entice me, yet I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her. She definitely was different than the women who typically applied to work for me—and younger. Her hair was a shocking shade of black, and she was tiny and I’d hate to say it, but she was cute. There was something in her eyes that called to me. She might now have bowed down to me begging, but I could see that she needed this job pretty desperately. I wasn’t sure why—yet, but the fact that she was so strong and didn’t giggle, or lick those luscious lips was a bonus on her part.

  It was when I expected some sort of girly reaction out of her and she didn’t fall for it that made it known. She was right. She was the one. I didn’t need to look further. I could see she would be an asset. Even more so if she was used to dealing with demanding men, because I was. The fact that she grew up as the only girl said something.

  “If I said you were hired right now what would you do?”

  She raised a brow and smirked. “Say thank you?” But it came out as a question.

  I laughed and then froze. I couldn’t be sure how long it had been since I’d heard my own laughter. Things had been tense and I needed a vacation, but hiring my secretary would ease a lot of my tension. “That’s it?”

  She leaned back. “Ah I get it. You are expected me to giggle and jump up and down thanking you by what falling to my knees in front of you—” she paled and froze the moment the words left her lips. Her hand covered her mouth and her eyes stayed wide as if she were waiting for me to flip out.

  I was shocked really and adjusted my tie. Of course I could imagine that and would fuckin’ appreciate that. She was smoking hot, but that wasn’t what I had in mind—that was until she mentioned it. “Uh, not exactly I was just curious. Most of the women tear up at least.”

  She cleared her throat. “Sorry, about that. I guess sometimes I speak before I think. Not one of my finer qualities. Of course I would be thrilled and grateful, but tears and I don’t go together. I hope you understand I take this very seriously, and I really want and need this job, more than you can imagine.”

  I nodded. She didn’t seem like the type of woman to take things lightly. “I believe you and apology accepted. I do believe we’re done Miss James.”

  She frowned and nibble
d her lip nervously. I could tell her now, but I figured I’d let her stew a bit, make her wonder. I wanted to ruffle her feathers some. She wasn’t as confident as she appeared. I sat back and gave her a look that clearly said she was excused and she stood. When she walked away she kept her head high and didn’t look back. I saw her intake of breath as she opened the door and left the room. She didn’t argue, plead, bargain, or try to seduce me. She was damn impressive.

  I waited until nearly five o’clock to call back Miss James. I itched to call her all day, but I wanted to make her wait. Plus I needed to gather myself. The image of her bent over my desk had made a constant appearance in my imagination, and I couldn’t go there. She didn’t seem like the type of woman to fuck her boss, and that’s all it could ever be. I didn’t have anything left to give. Been there done that, and if I ever did it again it would be too soon.

  I dialed her number.

  “Hello?” a man asked.

  “I’m calling for Angel James.”

  “Who the hell is this?”

  “She applied for a job today,” I replied not liking the attitude. Then I heard a female voice muffled and then a scratchy sound.

  “Hello?”

  “Miss James, this is Grayson Lockwood.”

  I heard a thump and a muffled ‘ouch’ and knew she had hit whoever answered the phone. I chuckled.

  “Oh gosh, I’m so sorry about my brother he’s kind of a jerk.”

  “That’s quite all right I assume you have it under control?”

  “Oh yeah, he better hide.”

  I was pretty surprised by the venom in her tone. I couldn’t hold back my laugh back. It was strange she made me laugh more than most people in months, yet I’d only met her in the afternoon. “I was calling to inform you that you’re hired.” I waited for a squeal, anything to show she’d heard me.

  “Miss James?”

  “A—are you for real?”

  “Yes.”

  “Thank you so much, you won’t regret it.”

  I heard a sniff but that couldn’t be right, she already said tears weren’t her thing. “I should hope not. Be at the office tomorrow at eight a.m.”

  “You got it.”

  I didn’t know what else to say, I didn’t really want to hang up, but there wasn’t anything else to talk about. “See you in the morning Miss James.”

  “Yep, good night, Mr. Lockwood.”

  The line went dead and I felt strangeness. My heart skipped a beat and I realized I was excited. I don’t know how long it had been since I’d been excited about something. Every day I lived life and spent days and most nights working. When I wasn’t working I tended to be wrapped up with some nameless woman who I’d easily forget the next day. I had a feeling that wouldn’t be good enough to ease my discomfort tonight. Something told me only a small plus sized beauty would ease my newly found tension. I shook my head because that wouldn’t do, not at all.

  Chapter Three

  Angel paced her room. It was three hours too early to be up, yet she couldn’t sleep. She’d already picked out her outfit so she wouldn’t be scrambling when it was time to be getting ready. Driving to her new job would be a bitch of a commute, but once she got settled she’d get an apartment or something. The twins lived at home while her mom was away. Neither of them was capable of taking care of her. The other two were off doing their own thing. Mom refused to make everyone scramble home to be there for her.

  She hoped she’d be able to start paying off the bills fast. The sooner the better actually. Hell Angel didn’t ask how much she’d be making because she knew it was top dollar. She’d probably be the best paid secretary in the United States. She shoved her hair from in front of her face and sighed when strands slid right back in her eye. She hated the first few days of a cut. It never stayed where she wanted it too. Growling in frustration, she stormed into the bathroom and grabbed a bobby pin to hold the bangs in place before making her way to the spare room.

  Her mother had a large house and the spare room was sort of ‘the everything room’ which included a workout room. Angel wasn’t a small woman by any means, but she was in shape. Exercise was a part of her daily routine, as well as eating right. She wanted to do everything she could to avoid being sick like her mother. She jumped on the bike and let her mind go. It wasn’t until her brother came in rubbing his eyes that she realized she’d gone too long and that she needed to go.

  Angel was on the road 30 minutes later driving to her new job. The nerves had all but vanished, but that would change. She knew when she was confronted with her new boss her heart would pound rapidly in her chest. He did funny things to her, and she didn’t like it. At a quarter after seven she parked her car and took a deep breath. “You can do this Angel,” she whispered.

  She climbed out of her car and adjusted her skirt and pulled out the matching jacket. Throwing her shoulders back she plastered on her confident face. She’d clipped back her bangs and put a thin layer of makeup on to cover the dark circles from lack of sleep and stress. She went to push the door opened and it was locked. Figured being early meant no one would be there. Just as she was about to go to her car a lock clicked and Grayson opened the door.

  “You’re early.”

  “Yes, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t late.”

  “I like it, come on in.”

  She nodded and went inside and he shut and locked the door behind her.

  “I usually like to have the morning to myself before the office chatter starts. Makes it hard to concentrate once everyone is here.”

  “I won’t be a bother then, just tell me what you need me to do this morning and I’m good to go.”