"Mr Grey? Your teleconference with Cairo is waiting."
Ros' professional voice broke the spell. He leaned back from his newest prey, a smirk playing about his lips. Smoothing down his tie, he gave his second-in-command a curt nod and stood. To the backdrop of her retreating back and concealed, wildly rolling eyes, he stared down at a deer-in-the-headlights Anastasia. God, she had a nice fucking mouth. Ripping his thoughts away from all the things he'd like to do with said mouth, he cleared his throat.
"Miss Steele. It was a pleasure meeting you."
Recognising her cue, she sprang to her feet. Sprang too fast. She stumbled. His hands shot out to steady her. The moment he laid his touch on her an exhilaration burned him. An electrical current. A red fire of shame swept across her cheeks as she murmured her thanks, embarrassment engulfing her. She may as well bow out now and take to writing a book about how not to impress your boss on your first day.
"And you, Mr Grey," she murmured, dripping with her mortification.
He regarded her amusedly.
"Do you always blush this much? Or do you have a blood pressure issue?"
She gaped at him. Plump, pink lips dropping open to reveal even, white teeth. She blushed even more furiously. His amusement grew. As the temperature in her cheeks reached boiling point, she managed to find the spark of indignation at being treated as a comedy-show she wasn't invited to. The grinning humour, at her expense, that he wasn't even bothering to hide tipped her over the edge.
"Do you always derive pleasure from making your employees uncomfortable? Or is this a me issue?"
Her sudden switch from blushing violet to sass and wit only served to amuse him further. A well-defined brow was arched as his Dom screamed around his cage, rattling the bars of polite society that kept him concealed. She was more than she seemed, this Miss Steele. She swung from mild-mannered and almost meek to strong-willed and smart-mouthed like a pendulum under the right provocation. His eyes trailed over her defined cheek bones, her petite frame and thought of all the provocation he could offer.
She was currently swinging back to mild-mannered Anastasia, clearly horrified by what she'd just said.
"I'm making you uncomfortable?" he asked softly, "How so?"
She opened her mouth tentatively, but she was to her mercy, interrupted.
"Mr Grey," Ros boomed, "Cairo are going to disconnect in sixty seconds if you do not take your part in your office now. We have waited and pandered for three months to get this sit down. Please, you have to take that call right this minute or your entire development plan will be dead in the water."
Ana was far from gay, but she could have kissed the stylish and stealthy woman then and there.
Christian however, let out a small sigh and spoke through gritted teeth.
"I'm coming. Wait in my office for me."
The sound track of her exasperated heels clattered down the hallway once more as Ana let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding. He considered her once more, tilting his head to the side like a wolf selecting a kill. There was something about this one. An invisible pull. He wanted her. He could have taken there and then with half the chance and her inclination. But she was difficult to read, this Miss Steele. She didn't simper like most women around him. She didn't trill and titter. She didn't gaze at him with that stupid fucking glassy eyed look. She had a strange combination of demureness and sassiness in her. In fact, she gave as good as she got.
Albeit with a blush.
That fucking blush.
"Saved by the bell, Miss Steele," he murmured, "For now."
She stared at him, transfixed by this man with the unusual eyes and the cryptic tongue. Only six years her senior, he vibrated with a worldly knowledge that she conspicuously lacked. His public face, extravagant wealth and inherent confidence made her feel small, awkward. Well, more awkward than usual. That would be bad enough on its own. But his strange smirks, his coy words…they were making things a hell of a lot harder. Harder to ignore the mounting pressure that was building within her. The rollercoaster that was spinning in her stomach. Never one to notice men before, she found the pangs of longing alien, strange. She spoke quietly, her eyes dropping to the floor.
"I should let you get back to work. Thank you for your time, Mr Grey."
He grinned, enjoying yet another little private joke.
"Let me? Are you giving me your permission to return to the running of my own company, Miss Steele?"
She blanched, turning to stark white from fire engine red in a split second.
"What?" she blurted, "No, Mr Grey, that's not what I…I mean…what I was saying-"
"I would like to have a meal with you, Miss Steele."
"I was just trying to say that I've taken up enough of your time and…uhm, what?"
Imagining her splayed in his playroom, his words were laden with a lust she couldn't possibly understand.
"A meal. Food. Dinner. Whatever you like to call it. I'd like you to join me."
Her mouth swung open like a jack-in-the-box. She looked around the room for vantage spots concealing hidden cameras. The flush returned to her face full-force as she stood uncertainly, feeling increasingly wrongfooted. People like her didn't get asked to dinner with people like him. The ugly duckling tale only ended well in fantasy land. She felt her pupils dilate as she looked at him, looking at her with an odd expression splayed across his face. He was beautiful, but he was terrifying. There was something about him that scared her, that warned her off. She swallowed.
He felt his phone shiver in his pocket, knowing Ros was tearing her hair out.
"I see you need some time to consider," he mused, "And I do need to tend to business."
He drank her in for another moment, relishing her squirming shock. It was like a drug, her discomfort.
"I'll be in contact, Miss Steele. Until then," he stepped closer to her, purposely invading her personal space, breathing her in. "Don't ever turn up late to a meeting with me again. I dislike tardiness in any shape or form. Causes nothing but trouble for all concerned. Don't you agree?"
He crossed the room and lingered in the doorway for a moment, glancing back at her with those weirdly captivating eyes before sweeping from the room with commanding strides, her wide eyes following him every step of the way. His parting comment ringing in her ears as something inside her bubbled to the surface, spilling over with a small gasp pushing past her teeth.
"You wouldn't want to get into trouble with the boss now, would you?"
….
TBC
…
