by Simply BWWM
“At the end of my tenure, no matter how or when it ends, you will provide me with an exemplary and very professional reference,” Brianna continued.
“I will be happy to,” Ethan said. He raised a hand to gesture for her to stop talking for a moment. “If you’ll let me read through this list you provided, I think that will save us some time—unless there’s something you haven’t included here?” Brianna shook her head. Ethan looked over the list, taking his time. It wasn’t too substantial, and everything Brianna had included made sense.
But he had been right: she wasn’t about to just submit to him completely, in spite of his leverage over her. She hadn’t tried to get more money out of him, and she hadn’t tried to argue for any kind of additional compensation—he’d been willing to shell out for an apartment closer to the office, but that hadn’t come up, and he supposed she wanted to live in Brooklyn, far enough away to have some space from her work.
“Is there anything you want to take issue with?” Ethan shook his head.
“Not at all,” he told her. He unclipped the card and slid it back in Brianna’s direction. “You should hold onto this—you’re the authorized user and you’ll continue to be, as long as the arrangement continues. We’ll evaluate in a month and decide what we both want to do.” He closed the file folder and opened a drawer in his desk, putting the folder inside it.
“Okay,” Brianna said, nodding. “I guess I should go back to my desk?” Ethan smiled and shook his head slowly.
“I’d like to see if you’ve made good use of your spending capabilities, before I dismiss you to your desk,” he said. He gave her a meaningful look. “What kind of purchases did you make yesterday?”
Chapter6
Brianna had expected the demand; she’d decided—about an hour after Ethan had left her alone in his apartment—to go through with his offer, and had made an appointment at a salon that one of her friends from Florida had told her about, along with looking at the inventories of a few of the stores not far from Ethan’s apartment. She’d taken his advice and stuck with big-name stores, going to Nordstrom and Saks for the lingerie he’d requested in his “dress code guidelines.”
She hadn’t entirely understood the guidelines that Ethan had expected from her, in terms of how she dressed for her new job—not at first, at least. But as Brianna had gone from one store to another, armed with an image of the list of approved undergarment types, and tried different things on, it had become obvious to her: he had not only wanted her to be sexually available to him during the work hours, but he must have liked the idea of her being secretly wearing something titillating underneath her normal clothes.
His dress code guidelines had also had some specifications about her outerwear—but he’d been far less specific on that topic, merely stating that she should only wear pants or leggings during her monthly cycle, unless it was particularly cold out, and recommending dresses or skirts and blouses as the best options to go with the undergarments he required of her.
Although Brianna had gone on more than one splurge-trip to Victoria’s Secret and Frederick’s of Hollywood in her life, she’d been astonished at the sheer magnitude of cost for the things that Ethan wanted her to wear—but then, she’d reasoned as she handed the card over to be charged, she had been shopping at high-end stores for the items.
“Obviously I’m not wearing everything today,” Brianna said, rising to her feet. “But there are a few things.” She slowly—slowly—lifted the hem of her skirt up, until it revealed the lace-trimmed tops of her stockings, along with the straps of her garter belt. Ethan murmured wordlessly in approval, and Brianna let her skirt fall back into place. Her heart beat faster in her chest as she began to unbutton her cardigan.
She’d managed to buy a few of the more specialized items that Ethan had requested, but for her first day in her new position, she’d gone simple with a matched bra and panty set in cream-colored lace. The combination had been a little chilly as she’d walked out of her apartment building to meet with her driver, waiting for her at the curb, but she had to admit that the combination left her feeling sexy and more than a little confident in a way she simply didn’t in her usual underwear.
She unbuttoned just enough of the cardigan buttons to reveal the lace cups of the bra, leaning forward slightly to tease Ethan. From the look on his face, he approved of that choice as well. “Let me tell you: these underthings are not going to be useful when full winter comes in,” Brianna said tartly.
“If necessary, we can examine that issue then,” Ethan said. “They do make very nice thigh-high socks.” He raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly. Brianna rolled her eyes and re-buttoned her top.
“Is there anything else you need, Mr. Hale?” Ethan tsked.
“When you’re alone in this office with me, you will call me Ethan,” he said. “Of course, outside—with Cassidy and Jennifer—you will use the normal protocol, and if I call you into here with others in the room, the same holds true.”
“You’ve put a lot of thought into this, Ethan,” Brianna said. He shrugged.
“I’ve wanted to do something like this for about six months. When I met you the other night, I decided you would be the perfect person to fill the position I had in mind.” He looked her up and down, and Brianna had the unmistakable impression that he was picturing just the underwear on her and nothing else.
“If there’s nothing else for now, I guess I should get to my desk,” Brianna said, taking a quick, deep breath to regain her composure.
“Nothing else for the moment,” Ethan said, giving her legs a lingering, meaningful look. “I’ll page you when I have something for you.” Brianna nodded and walked towards the door, trying to work her mind around what had happened to her already, in the past twenty-four hours.
Ethan’s setup had actually been fairly ingenious: she would be reviewing graphic design and other projects for him, as well as making recommendations for client billing and other details, as her official duties; that would, of course, open up plenty of opportunities for “meetings” with him, which Brianna knew would give them opportunities to have sex. She had no idea how often Ethan expected her to be available to him sexually, but Brianna had to think that he wouldn’t have “hired” her for the position if he didn’t intend to make it a near-daily occurrence.
Part of her unofficial work for Ethan would include lunch dates, and after-hours trysts—which was why she’d insisted on not being held for overtime more than a few times a week. They would also, according to the paperwork he’d given her, go on trips together—with cover provided for her. They would leave the office separately and meet up at other locations.
To Brianna it sounded like Ethan wanted a girlfriend without having to put in the effort to have a non-business relationship, and the thought filled her with a mixture of pity, curiosity, and mild contempt. He was good-looking, and had managed to ask her out on a dinner date the first time they’d met—was he so terrible in the long term that it was easier for him to just have an employee-girlfriend?
Brianna left Ethan’s office and resisted the self-conscious urge to adjust her stockings. There was definitely a learning curve to some of the lingerie he’d requested she buy for the job—she still wasn’t sure she understood how to go about using the bathroom without getting hopelessly tangled in the straps on her garter belt. But she knew she would learn, and she had to admit that in spite of that small amount of awkwardness, she was intrigued by the effect.
Cassidy—Brianna’s new colleague—was a brown-haired, blue-eyed woman who Brianna thought was maybe two years younger than she was, with a slim build and waifish style. She’d given Brianna a distrustful look when she probably thought that Brianna hadn’t been paying attention, just before Ethan had told her to let Brianna into his office. Clearly there was something there; but what that was, Brianna decided she had plenty of time to figure out later. For the time being, she had to adjust to her new position—and everything it included.
Her new d
esk was set up off to the side of the reception area in front of Ethan’s office. Cassidy had a big, open desk that faced the elevator, and clearly was in charge of the comings and goings into Ethan’s inner sanctum. There was another assistant as well, Jennifer, who apparently did some other kind of niche work for Ethan, though Brianna had no idea what that was.
She and the other two women worked a slightly different schedule—and Brianna had read in her “orientation packet” that had been part of the paperwork Ethan had given her that she herself would be expected to come into the office fifteen to twenty minutes earlier than either of her new colleagues, for a before-work briefing.
More likely, a before-work de-briefing, Brianna thought as she took her seat. Her desk had a small tag with her name on it, and a partial wall that gave her some privacy from those coming and going from Ethan’s presence, but not from her two coworkers. Brianna settled in her chair—noticing absently that it was nicer than the one she’d occupied downstairs—and turned on her computer. That, at least, was the same one she’d had before, though as it booted up she saw that the programs on it were not all the same. Ethan had worked fast to change her whole situation in the company.
“Did Ethan assign you any projects yet?” Brianna looked up from her computer to see Cassidy looking at her, hands folded on the desk.
“Actually, yeah,” she said, nodding. “I have a few projects to review and some pitches to go over before they go to him for approval.” It was a strange sort of position to occupy—being high enough to be a buffer between Ethan and the lower levels in the office, while not being herself a project manager or a decision maker in the formal sense. It was, she thought, mostly a way to justify her employment.
“Sounds like he brought you on just in time,” Cassidy said with a tight smile. Brianna shrugged.
“It’s an interesting job and a change of pace from my last position,” she said politely. Then—before Cassidy could make any more comments—the elevator chimed, and another woman came into the reception area, making a beeline for the third desk. She was petite and blonde, and Brianna thought she was maybe a little older than Ethan, but Jennifer definitely had personal style, and a confidence that made Brianna instantly respect her.
“Oh! You must be the new grunt,” Jennifer said, smiling at her with much more warmth than Cassidy had thus far. “Ethan mentioned yesterday that he’d recruited a new set of eyes and ears to take over some of the tasks specific to this company.”
“Yeah—I’m going to be going through stuff for the design and Creative Department,” Brianna confirmed.
“From what he said, you should be fine up here,” Jennifer said. She turned away then and started getting to work, and Brianna noticed that Cassidy suddenly decided to be incredibly busy with whatever her normal tasks were.
She delved into her own work, putting the thought of what her real job as Ethan’s assistant was going to be for the time being. Brianna found herself actually enjoying it, evaluating and analyzing projects that needed Ethan’s approval before they could be finalized.
Her email notification chimed and she clicked over to her inbox, to see she’d gotten a message from Ethan. Meeting, my office, 11:30. I’ll be having lunch delivered in. Send me a text message with what you want from Apna Masala. He’d included a link to the website, and Brianna wondered just how he’d planned to get her in the mood—and she was certain that was his goal. After perusing the menu online for a few moments, she chose chicken korma, a mango lassi, and a chai, and sent a message to Ethan with those selections listed.
Before she knew it, a pop-up on her screen flashed, notifying her that her meeting with Ethan would be starting in five minutes. Brianna shook her head in mild disbelief, glancing up to look at Cassidy and Jennifer, who were still occupied with their own tasks. She felt strangely self-conscious as she gathered up her notepad and pen and purse, to give at least a little legitimacy to her meeting with Ethan. She slipped her phone into her purse and rose from her seat.
“Lunch meeting? I’m jealous,” Jennifer said, as Brianna started towards Ethan’s office door. Brianna shrugged.
“My stomach is already growling,” she said confidentially.
“He always buys lunch for lunch meetings—did he ask you for your order?” Brianna nodded.
“Indian! So at least I’ll eat well as we talk through all the projects,” Brianna said cheerfully.
“My first lunch meeting with him, he ordered in from a steakhouse,” Cassidy contributed, a note of pride in her voice. Brianna shrugged again.
“It’s free food—I’d be okay if it was hot dogs from one of those cart guys,” she said. “Better get in there!” She tapped lightly on Ethan’s door and heard it unlock for her. Her heart beat faster in her chest, anticipating something; she wasn’t sure what. Something along the lines of Ethan waiting just on the other side, to pounce on her—though Brianna didn’t suspect that he was that type of man at all. Of course, she wouldn’t have said that she could necessarily identify that type of man with total confidence.
She opened the door and stepped through it, letting it close and then lock behind her. “Food should be here in ten minutes or so,” Ethan said, rising from his desk and gesturing for Brianna to accompany him to the little, cozy seating area off to the side of his office. “While we wait, let’s have something to drink and talk about your new job.”
Brianna sat down on the couch and felt the straps on her garter belt moving. It was strange to be so aware of her underwear—but it was also strangely thrilling. “It seems kind of unprofessional to drink in the middle of the workday,” Brianna said lightly. Ethan chuckled.
“It’s also kind of unprofessional to have sex in the middle of the workday,” he pointed out.
“So this is how it’s going to work with us? You set a meeting with me and then let me have a drink and some lunch and we get down to it?” Brianna wasn’t sure how she felt—one way or the other—about that arrangement.
“You’re feeling awkward,” Ethan surmised. “The drink we’re going to have while we wait for the food to get here is to help with that—at least a bit. Make it a more social atmosphere.” He stepped up to the mini-bar a few feet away from her. “What would you like? A glass of wine, or something harder?” Brianna pressed her lips together, considering.
“A glass of wine,” she said. She had been wondering—since Ethan had left her at his apartment the day before—just how their arrangement would play out. How he would manage it. It seemed she was about to find out.
“You got chicken, so I’m assuming you’ll want white?” Ethan opened the mini-fridge and took out a bottle, and Brianna watched as he poured glasses for both of them.
“I guess I’m just not sure how this is going to work,” Brianna admitted as he brought the glasses to the couch and set one down in front of her on the low coffee table before sitting down with his own, a few feet away.
“We’ll chat a bit, drink a little wine...it’s basically like a date, just in the middle of the workday,” Ethan said. He smiled at her slowly, his gaze trailing up from her feet along her legs. “How do you like your new uniform?” Brianna bit her bottom lip and then picked up her glass of wine, taking a big sip of the straw-colored liquid.
“The garter belt takes some getting used to,” she admitted. Ethan chuckled and shifted slightly closer to her on the couch.
“How do you feel in the stockings, though?” He didn’t touch her, but Brianna could almost feel his gaze on her body like a caress, and she had to admit that there was something titillating about drinking wine in Ethan’s office, in high-end lingerie, knowing that the intention was completely to have sex.
“I feel pretty damn hot,” Brianna admitted with a smile. Ethan laughed.
“Let me see the whole thing,” he suggested. Brianna glanced apprehensively at his office door. “The door automatically locks and the delivery guy isn’t here for another ten minutes or so.”
She stood unsteadily and lifted the hem on
her skirt, revealing more of the stockings, up to the tops and the slings from her garter belt. Ethan raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to lift the skirt higher. Brianna considered rebuffing him—but she found she actually, in a way, wanted to show off the matched panties that she’d bought with her new bra, along with the garter belt itself. She raised her skirt to above her hips, showing Ethan everything, and heard his breath catch.
“Very nice,” he murmured, and reached out. His fingertips slid along her stocking-clad leg, up to the spot where her garter straps ended. He stroked her thigh up and down for a moment, with just the one finger, and Brianna felt her heart beating faster, felt herself—strangely—getting turned on from that simple contact.
Heat simmered deep down between her hips and she tried to suppress the awareness that she was actually becoming aroused. “You are a gorgeous woman, Brianna—and very talented. Not only in the way you showed the night before last.” Ethan’s hand dropped away and Brianna let her skirt fall back into place once more, sitting down to relieve her unsteady knees.
“Thank you,” she said. “I was hoping you hadn’t just hired me because I was a great lay.” Ethan shook his head.
“I needed someone who could actually work, too,” he said. “And I’ve looked over what you’ve accomplished this morning. I’m very pleased. He took a sip of his wine and leaned in closer to her. “I’m not going to hurt you, or harm you in any way,” he said, meeting her gaze steadily. “You aren’t a slave. I will never mistreat you.”
“It seems an awful lot like you’re protesting too much at this point,” Brianna said. Ethan half-shrugged.
“You keep looking at me like you expect me to take off my belt and start beating you if you don’t crawl on your knees to me or something,” he said. Brianna’s eyes widened at that mental image. “I want to show you how much you can enjoy our little arrangement, too.” He glanced at the door and then at his watch. “Let me remind you of just how much you enjoyed being with me.”