Dorian (Book 1)

by Carlos Dash

  Emily, meanwhile, just focuses on the food in front of her. And when she isn’t eating, she keeps her lips pursed tightly together. If she wanted to, she could have told them all about my unconventional upbringing. But that would have led to a whole new series of questions—Such as how exactly she was privy to that information.

  That’s a can of worms neither of us wants opened.

  “So, Dorian,” Mr. Reed begin, swallowing down the last of his tiramisu, “Emily’s been off from college for about six weeks now. She’s got another month and a half to go, and I don’t want her just wasting time with those friends of hers. I thought perhaps she could come and work for us.”

  Never before had I been so completely unable to prevent myself from smiling. My eyes dart up to meet Emily’s, and to my utter delight she looks put out.

  “Now that’s an idea,” I say, my instincts roaring their approval, but my common sense sounding the alarms. Emily being inside the Reed and Gideon building all the time, possibly running into me… that’s a dangerous proposition.

  But I want it. I want her to be there. To be near me.

  “Do you have a department in mind?”

  Mr. Reed wipes his mouth with a napkin. “Not really. There are several places I could put her. Sort of like a summer internship. Something for her resume after she graduates.”

  The words just fly out of my mouth. “How about letting her work with me? I could use an assistant.”

  Chapter 35

  I make a conscious effort to avoid looking at Emily. She did a good job of keeping her face stoic upon first seeing me in the house, but there’s no way she’ll be as composed now. What I said must have shaken her. Her mind has to be full of different thoughts and emotions. Perhaps even a little anger aimed towards me.

  “Your assistant?” Mr. Reed says, looking mildly perplexed.

  “That’s right. I won’t give her anything too hard to do. Just some minor errands.”

  “But I thought you said you didn’t want an assistant.”

  “Hmm?”

  “When you first joined the company I offered to hire an assistant for you. You said no. Why the change of heart?”

  Shit. I forgot about that. I said no at that time because I neither needed nor wanted an assistant. The situation has changed with the discovery that Emily is my boss’s daughter.

  “Well, I said that because I didn’t want you to spend any money on an assistant. If your daughter is going to be working there for less than a full year, that means you won’t be paying her, right?” Mr. Reed nods his head. “So why not? I don’t really need the help, but as I said, she could run the occasional errand for me. Better me than some of the other guys in the company. They would just make her do pointless tasks all day long because she’s the boss’s daughter.”

  Mr. Reed exchanges a look with his wife. She doesn’t seem to mind the idea. “I think that could work,” the man says with a smile. “What do you say, Emily? Any objections?”

  I’m sure she has plenty of objections, but I know she won’t voice any of them aloud. That would be yet another thing that would lead to questions she won’t want to answer.

  “No, can’t think of a single thing.”

  And she looks right at me as she says that. Her eyes have taken on a steely appearance. If she could have gotten away with it, she likely would have kicked me under the table to vent her frustration.

  “Then it’s settled,” Mr. Reed says in approval. “And don’t go too easy on her, Dorian. I don’t want to hear about how she’s just sitting in a chair in your office and texting her friends. Find a way to keep her busy.”

  “Oh, I’m sure I’ll be able to think up something to keep her on her toes.” The possibilities are endless. Sex on a desk… I’ve never done that before.

  But is it too dangerous? What if somebody were to walk in on us? It would be bad enough to get caught screwing the boss’s daughter, but to be doing it inside of the boss’s building… that would be enough to get even me in trouble.

  “Then I guess I’ll see you on Monday, Emily,” I say, backing my seat away from the table and getting to my feet.

  “Leaving so soon?” Mrs. Reed says, rising out of her own seat. “Did you not like the food?”

  “Can’t say I blame him,” Susan mutters under her breath, insulting Mrs. Reed’s cooking just like Emily predicted she might.

  “Yes, I better get going. I don’t want to keep you guys any longer.”

  “Stick around, Mr. Alexander,” Emily says indifferently. “We could play charades or something.”

  You damn girl.

  Emily is trying to get a little bit of revenge. She knows that asking someone like me to play charades is like asking a redneck if he wants to watch a soccer match.

  Both I and the redneck would rather be pushed into a volcano.

  “No, that’s alright. I’m not much for games.”

  “What’s the rush? Got a hot date tonight?”

  Now that’s an idea.

  “Actually, yes. I have a date. I’m meeting her for drinks in…” I trail off and check my watch for the time, “about twenty minutes. It is, after all, a Friday night.”

  Emily’s expression shows that she didn’t expect that response. She was trying to mess with me with that rubbish about having a hot date, but I turned it to my advantage, leaving her to wonder if I really do have a date with someone.

  Is she jealous?

  Maybe. It’s hard to tell.

  “Then best of luck,” Mr. Reed says, getting up from his seat and coming over to me to shake my hand. “Wait, that came out wrong. I didn’t mean it as in I hope you get some action tonight. Not that kind of luck.”

  “Dad, please!” Emily looks like she wants to vomit. Hearing a parent say the words “get some action tonight” might be enough to give anyone extreme nausea.

  Mr. Reed puts his hands up like he’s getting robbed at gunpoint. “Alright. Alright. Relax. Bye, Dorian. I hope we didn’t traumatize you too much tonight.”

  “Not at all. It was a delightful evening. Thank you for the wonderful food, Mrs. Reed. It’s been so long since I had someone make a home-cooked meal for me.”

  “The pleasure was all mine,” Emily’s mother says cheerfully. “Come over whenever you want. My own daughter doesn’t appreciate my cooking, so it’s nice to hear that my husband hasn’t just been flattering me all these years by saying it’s delicious.”

  Emily starts grumbling something to herself. I can’t quite hear her, but I have my guesses about what was said. Nothing pleasant, that’s for sure.

  “I might just take you up on that, ma’am,” I reply, then turning my attention onto Mrs. Reed’s sister. “Goodnight. It was nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise,” the woman says, eye-fucking me without any shame.

  I can’t get out of that house quickly enough.

  Mr. Reed escorts me to the door, claps me on the back, and then I’m free once again.

  Never a dull moment when Emily is around.

  Chapter 36

  By the time I get home, despite expecting to feel tired from the first dinner party I’ve been to in over a decade, I’m pretty amped up. There’s no point telling myself that it’s for a reason I have yet to discover.

  It’s because of Emily. No doubt about it.

  I take off my jacket and flop down onto the couch. I stare at the black screen of the television and make no move to turn it on. What would be the point? It’s not like I can concentrate on anything.

  “What has this girl done to me?”

  There’s no one there to answer. Just the silence. The silence I never used to mind before. Now it just seems to be pressing in on me from all sides. To the point where I have to quickly get up and start pacing around. Meeting Emily again is bringing about a relapse.

  “Women,” I say, shaking my head.

  But there will be plenty of time to deal with that later on. I’ve made it so that Emily will be around me quite a bit before her bre
ak from college is over.

  An assistant… ha. I’m the last person in the world who would want an assistant under normal circumstances.

  But these aren’t normal circumstances. I have to get to the root of the influence the girl has on me. I’ve been with plenty of beautiful girls before, yet this is a first-time occurrence.

  I go into one of my bathrooms, splash some water onto my face, and look at my reflection in the mirror.

  “What’s wrong with you?” I say to myself.

  Obviously there’s no response.

  After that, there’s nothing left to do but once again stare at the ceiling until I fall asleep. All thoughts of going out and visiting that bar have left my mind. I don’t want to spend the night with anyone.

  Some peace and quiet is what I need. It’s what I crave.

  Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself.

  On Sunday, I begin to feel a bubbling sensation inside of me. It’s a delicate mix between anticipation and excitement. Not something I’ve ever felt before in regards to seeing another human being. And make no mistake about it, Emily is the reason I’m feeling this way. It certainly isn’t because of my secretary, Teresa.

  I suddenly begin to wonder what I’ll say to her when I see her on Monday.

  Emily, that is. Not Teresa.

  I consider messing with her a bit more by actually making her go and get me coffee. Or maybe I’ll just apologize and tell her that the only reason I suggested she be my assistant is because I wanted to see more of her.

  Will such candor even work in defusing her anger? Will she appreciate what a big deal it is to get someone like me on the hook? Someone who has pretty much never given a damn about anyone else in his entire adult life.

  Chapter 37

  On Monday, I find myself thoroughly unable to follow my normal schedule. That’s why I’m there outside the office building forty-five minutes earlier than usual. I park in my spot and go in through the doors. The only person on the ground floor that early in the morning is the main security guard, a large man who looks like he’s part rhino. He’s sitting behind his massive desk and reading a book. He hears the sound of my shoes against the floor and looks up.

  “Mr. Alexander, what are you doing here so early?”

  I offer the man a small smile and say, “I wish I knew, Vince.”

  He looks baffled, but not as baffled as I feel.

  What am I doing here so early? Good question. Very good question.

  My desire to see Emily must have gotten the better of me, causing me to feel restless. That restlessness, in turn, propelled me to wake up earlier, get ready faster, and arrive here far before I need to.

  I take the elevator up to my floor and walk towards my office. Even Teresa hasn’t come in yet.

  I enter my office and move towards the windows. I chose between the five and decide which will allow me the best view of the outside world. Then I just stand there and look outside. I can’t see anything of the parking lot, so I have no idea who has just arrived and who is still missing on the scene.

  Unless I’m much mistaken, Emily will be coming in with her father, and his is one of the few cars I’ve familiarized myself with. A black Lexus.

  I lose myself in just peering outside out the window, but when someone knocks on the door to my office—which I’ve left slightly ajar—I quickly turn around, hoping to see Emily. But it isn’t her. Just Teresa, who’s looking at me with a peculiar expression. “You’re here early.”

  “Yeah, I suppose I am.”

  “What’s the occasion?”

  “No occasion. Just woke up earlier than usual and decided that as long as I’m up, I might as well come here.” I lean one arm against the window, trying to look casual.

  Teresa blinks at me. “No occasion, huh? It wouldn’t have anything to do with the boss’s daughter coming to work here?”

  “Huh? Oh, I almost forgot about that. Mr. Reed came up with the idea when I had dinner with him and his family. Is she here?” I really try to keep the enthusiasm out of my voice as I say the last part. I don’t know how good of a job I did.

  Teresa of course doesn’t let on whether or not she’s convinced. The woman’s poker face is a work of art. “She’s here. In fact, she’s right next to me, listening to every word.”

  And then Teresa does something that succeeds in making me flinch, but not out of fear. Out of shock.

  She smiles. Before this moment, I wasn’t sure she was even capable of doing that without damaging her frozen cheekbones.

  And the implications of the smile… like she knows that I’m here early because of Emily.

  And speaking of Emily, the girl’s head appears at the threshold to the door, brown hair tied back in a tight ponytail. And her hairstyle isn’t the only thing that’s different about her. Just from looking at the very top of what she’s wearing, I can tell that it’s some sort of business suit. Not an item of clothing I would have expected her to own. Maybe she bought it over the weekend to look more professional.

  Nevertheless, she still looks gorgeous, but in a different way than before. Her entire aura seems to be that of someone who is older and more mature than the girl I spent the night a month ago.

  “Good morning, Ms. Reed.” I almost call her Emily. I’m able to catch my tongue at the last possible moment. “You can come in and sit down in one of these empty chairs.” I gesture for her to come forward, and she does, allowing me to see the rest of her outfit.

  Definitely a business suit that fits her well. Not too tight or inappropriate, but very flattering. And the high heels—The perfect length. Nothing cartoonish that would make it difficult for her to walk around.

  “Close the door behind you, Teresa.”

  My secretary raises a singular eyebrow at me. “You sure that’s a good idea?”

  She has a point there. It might not look right if people see my office door closed, knowing that I’m in here all alone with Mr. Reed’s daughter. After all, two attractive people who are both single…. It wouldn’t be that hard to believe that we’re doing something amorous under the cover of privacy.

  Then again, I have things I need to say to the girl. Things that can’t be overheard by anyone, including Teresa herself.

  One side has to win out over the other. I can’t have it both ways.

  “Yes, I’m sure. Close the door.”

  Chapter 38

  And just like that Emily and I are alone again. It’s only the two of us inside of this closed room. Anything could happen.

  This isn’t like when we were together in Mr. Reed’s home. We weren’t truly alone there. There was a sense that a member of Emily’s family could walk in on us at any moment.

  This is a different ballgame. We now have something close to actual privacy.

  I turn to look at Emily’s face. Our eyes meet. Those amazing brown orbs. I want to get a closer look at them. I want her face mere inches away from my own. Right now we’re about six or seven yards apart, and that’s far too much of a distance for my taste.

  Sure, you could say that being so intimately close to her would just tempt me, so the distance is for the best.

  My answer to that would be to tell you that you’re slagging behind, buddy. I’m way beyond that point already. Staying a couple of yards away from her isn’t going to do anything for me. It would be like staring directly at the sun, but flashing a hand in front of your eyes every ten seconds or so in the hopes of warding off blindness.

  Pointless.

  We’re looking at each other and waiting for the other to speak first. I decide to break the silence.

  “You look different,” I say, pointing at the business suit.

  “Bad different?” she asks with a slight frown.

  “Not bad. Just… different,” I confirm. “I never expected to see you in something like that.”

  Emily moves forward and for a moment I think she’s coming towards me. She isn’t. She goes to my desk and takes a looks at everything there. “What
, did you think I would show up in a t-shirt and jeans?”

  “Why not? My first day on the job, your father showed me to my office while wearing a Gilligan’s Island t-shirt.”

  Emily chuckles. “Yeah, he drives my mother crazy with stuff like that. She keeps insisting that it looks unprofessional of him not to wear a suit.”

  I refrain from telling her that her mother is right.

  “Listen, there’s something I want to ask you.”

  Emily shows incredible mastery of her high heels as she quickly turns on the spot, a look of curiosity on her face. “Oh?”

  I look down at my own polished shoes for a moment before beginning to move around the room. “That morning after we slept together… where did you run off to?”

  Emily stiffens. Her lips press together and she seems to be considering whether or not to tell me the truth. A few seconds later, she finally accepts my earlier offer and takes a seat. I don’t want to address her while hovering above her, so I return to my chair. I sit down across the desk from her and wait for an explanation.

  “I didn’t think you would want to see me there after we… you know,” the girl says, her voice a little quieter than I’m used to. She doesn’t look away, though. She’s meeting my gaze full on.

  I owe her an explanation as well.

  “You’re wrong.”

  “Excuse me.”

  “You’re wrong about me not wanting you there. That’s completely incorrect.”

  “Really?” Emily crosses her arms in front of her chest. “You certainly didn’t seem to appreciate my presence in your home that night. You told me to shut my trap and—”

  “I never said that. Don’t make things up.”

  The girl glares at me with anger etched upon her delicate features. “So now you’re accusing me of being a liar?”