Love Me Or Lose Me

by Rita Sawyer

Though she tried not to, Patsy couldn’t help but compare herself to them. It was her opinion that as his assistant, she should look and act professional at all times. She wore her long wavy brown hair plied into a thick braid and dark business suits, which she tried to soften by wearing pastel blouses. No one knew she defied her professional image by wearing colorful lingerie under her staid suits.

  Still, even if she stripped down to nothing, she was no competition to those women. The only thing she could do was start searching for another job. She got to her feet, gathered the files in her arm and walked into Dexter’s office. Patsy dropped the stack onto his desk, smiling as they landed in a messy pile. It was such a contrast to the rest of the immaculate workspace. Normally she took pride in the way she kept things organized for him, but those days had come to an end. Resisting the urge to straighten the files, she walked out of the office. She hadn’t meant to slam the door, but the loud resounding echo made her feel better, even though no one else was around to hear it.

  Over the past few weeks she always seemed to be alone, which should have made working for him easier, but it didn’t. All the bright holiday decorations she’d hung around the office did nothing to brighten her mood. The clients who had come in seemed to like the cheeriness, but if Dexter noticed, he hadn’t let on. Maybe he just figured it was part of her job title to handle these things. He could at least say thank you. As she walked back to her desk, she mentally listed all of his egotistical qualities. Grudgingly, she had to admit that the fact he was smart and had a body hot enough to melt butter overrode most of them.

  She let out a groan as she dropped into her chair. Feeling a little rebellious, she slid off her functional, plain, black low-heeled pumps. It gave her the opportunity to flex her feet and admire her bright pink toenails. Not caring if any clients came in, she leaned back in her chair and propped her feet up on her desk. Then it struck her that if someone did see her like this, they might complain. Maybe he’d fire her, saving her from having to quit. She’d rather wait until after the New Year started to start sending out her resume. Job hunting around the holidays sucked, and Christmas time was the worst.

  Maybe she could ask Santa for a new job? She hummed along with the music coming from the radio tucked under her desk. While she was asking Santa for unrealistic gifts, maybe she would ask for the one thing she really wanted this year. She wanted one night to see if Dexter would live up to her fantasies. One night to show him what he’d been missing for the past two years. That would surely make this a Christmas to remember.

  ~* * *~

  Dexter stepped off the elevator and froze. Patsy sat at her desk, leaning back in her chair, eyes closed, smiling, oblivious to his presence. Her bare feet were on her desk, crossed at the ankles. The black skirt, one of the many he was used to seeing her wear, hiked up just high enough to give him a peek at the lacy top of her stockings. Apprehension had him inching back toward the elevator. Coming to his senses, he stopped and stood there, staring at her.

  “Fuck Me!” He bit down hard, missing the gum he was chewing on. Damn it, he thought as the metallic tang hit his tongue letting him know he drew blood.

  The day she’d walked into his office and had introduced herself as his assistant he’d instantly known he was in trouble. Did she really think she could hide behind those shapeless business suits she wore? All they did was make him wonder about the hints of curves he saw every now and then. And she had to realize when a guy saw all that hair pulled into a thick braid it made him want to see it down. Dexter could recount plenty of dreams he’d had where he wrapped it around his fingers while he devoured those plump, pink lips. How could any woman be so clueless? At one time, he actually thought it was an act—that she thought if she played hard to get, he’d be all over her. It wouldn’t have been the first time a woman had used that ploy on him. He was too smart to fall for that and wanted her to know it, so he started having a few of his clients come into the office, instead of meeting them at the club where they worked. It hadn’t made a difference, and that’s when he realized her haughtiness wasn’t an act. She really wasn’t interested in him, other than professionally.

  He wasn’t lucky enough to feel the same way. The more he was around her, the stronger his attraction grew. He’d taken to staying out of the office as much as possible in the past few weeks. Finding her like this, though, made him think he’d made a mistake trying to ignore the desire burning inside of him. Maybe it was time for him to face the fact that it wasn’t going to go away. He needed to deal with it.

  Dexter walked through the open door right up to her desk. “Ms. Shadwell, in my office. Now!”

  Not waiting for a response, he walked away. The second he stepped in his office, he noticed the files strewn about on his desk. Seemed to him like his efficient little assistant was being a bit careless in her duties. He dropped his briefcase to the floor and walked over to the window. After a succinct knock, Patsy let herself into his office. His back was to her, but he could see her reflection in the window. She was staring at his desk.

  “Patsy, please sit down.” He watched as she lowered herself into a chair, then walked around her and took his seat behind the desk.

  “I think you and I need to have a talk." She nodded, and he continued. “Things have been a little tense around here.”

  “You’re right, sir. I was going to wait until after the holidays to do this, but I think it’s only fair to warn you that I’m going to start looking for alternative employment.”

  “WHAT? Why would you do that?” She was thinking about leaving him! Was he really that horrendous of a boss that she’d quit?

  “I just think it’s the best thing for me to do, but I’ll stay on until you find a replacement.” She wasn’t even looking at him, she was staring at her lap.

  “NO!” He stabbed his finger on his desk, even though he really wanted to slam his hand down and bring the whole conversation to an end. “You signed a contract and you’ll adhere to the terms. Maybe in that time you’ll change¾”

  “Mr. Chapman,” she lurched to her feet cutting him off, “I understand this may have come as a shock, but I won’t be changing my mind. My contract is up on Marchfirst. If you insist, I’ll finish it out.”

  “I insist.” It came out harsher than he meant, but his anger was too close to the surface to conceal.

  “Fine.” With that one word she walked out on him.

  Dexter sat there staring at the door, wondering what the hell had just happened. Instantly making the decision he wasn’t going to give up that easily, he went out to apologize and maybe offer to take her to dinner. He found the outer office empty and ran for the elevator just in time to see the doors close with her on the other side. It was the first time since they started working together that she’d left without saying goodbye. Upset or not, he didn’t like it one little bit.