10: The coffee dilemma
"How dare you thrash me like that Karma?" Amy lifts up Karma's shirt slightly to come into contact with her abs, "how dare you?"
Karma shrieks when she feels Amy's warm touch rubbing on her stomach, "You were ruining my life. I couldn't let you."
Amy lightly chuckles on the side of Karma's neck, pressing her body against Karma's back even more, "What about you? I didn't humiliate you like that when you ruined my life."
"When did I ever do that?" Karma's breathing pace quickens. "When did I ever ruin your life?"
Amy turns Karma around, pressing her chest against Karma's chest. They were so close that their faces were almost touching, dangerously too close. Amy's respiration brush against Karma's quivering lips.
Amy runs her tongue over her lips; moisten as if getting ready to kiss Karma any seconds now. "Are you sure you want to be my assistant?" she whispers.
"Why are you asking?" Karma whispers back.
Amy smiles devilishly as she claps her arms further around Karma' waist and pull her in closer to her. Karma whimpers.
"You will be around me every day until sunsets and at times, late at night inside of this office. You will see me every wakening day and breathe me twenty-four/seven. Are you sure about that?" Amy cocks her head to the side and leans forward; now the small edge of their wavering lips merely touching each other.
"So? It comes with the territory; that's my job to stand beside you." Karma answers.
Amy bites her lips, "We have history Karma. Things may happen. And if they do, I'm not holding back." She breathes.
"Rest assured that you don't faze me in the least bit." Karma lies.
Amy smirks, lifting one side of her lips, "Oh yeah?" she moans breathily as she unclasps her arms around Karma's waist to run her hands up and down Karma's back slowly. A few seconds later, she tentatively lifts the back of her shirt and places the warm palm of her hands on her back, making contact with Karma's skin. All the while, Amy takes into account Karma's low whimpering and shaking body pressed against hers. Her eyes look down at Karma's lips, "Baby, your body says otherwise," she whispers as she continues running her hands on Karma's back, "your lips are quivering and I haven't even kissed you." Amy leans her head forward then pull back just as quick when Karma leaned forward to grab her lips.
Karma scowls at herself for letting Amy touch her like this. What the fuck is she doing? But it's not like she can move either even if she wanted to.
Amy got her under a spell.
"Your breath is shaky and uneven." Amy whispers as she feels Karma's chest elevation against her own chest, "you're trembling," she says as she descends one of her hands further down Karma's back, "you're shaking Karma…" Amy reaches Karma's rear and tightly squeezes it, Karma loudly moans as she closes her eyes and moistening her lips, "your skin grew warm and flustered…" Amy inhales and then exhales the air around Karma, feeling the heat rising up quickly inside of her too but she restrains herself. "Tomorrow, nine am; don't be late; or I give you the boot." She pulls away from Karma and walks back to her desk.
Karma stands a few seconds more against the door with her eyes still close and lips very much still apart, waiting for someone else's lips. What the fuck! She got me all hot! Karma was still breathless. That's some serious sexual harassment shit going on right now.
Before she could leave her office, Amy tells her as she maliciously smirks at Karma, "You know what? Come to think of it, I think I'll enjoy being your boss Karma Ashcroft so," she takes two big yellow binders off her desk and walks over to Karma and hands them to her, "I want you to review this project plan on how to increase profits in the next quarter of this year for the Conglomerate as a whole and the yearly report of this company's financial revenue along with last year's financial crash for the investment meeting at the end of this week, on Thursday. And do a whole research on the inflation and deflation of the financial market and the real estate market within the city of Dallas. I want the project plan and yearly report, on my desk, first thing tomorrow morning and the research by early Thursday morning as soon as you come to work. And if they are not on time, consider yourself fired. You have exactly two days. I'm strict on punctuality Ashcroft.
Karma's face fall, "This is insane. I'm going to need a lot longer than this to finish everything properly." She worriedly looks down at the two thick binders in her hands.
"Tut-tut-tut! If I was you, I'd talk less and get to work immediately." Amy smirks and then saunters along to her desk, "See you tomorrow."
Karma angrily turns on her heels and then clasps the handle and walks out while slamming the door shut. "That…" she stops. She might say something that she will regret. She hears Shane talking with the secretary.
He was sitting on the edge of the secretary's desk, talking about beauty tips when Karma stomped out, "I don't think you need to add so much blush girl, you already have this pretty skin tone and they are flushed on their own too. Why are you a simple secretary? You should be a model."
The girl giggles like a fool at Shane's compliment and dismisses Shane flatteringly, "Oh stop it!"
"No, I'm serious." Shane insists as he grins at the girl genuinely, "I know someone who woks at a model agency…"
"Shane," Karma interrupts, "Let's go!"
Shane looks up at Karma and then looks back down at the secretary, "I'm sorry but I'm going to have to go."
The secretary nods and then let Shane go.
"How did it go?" Shane asks.
"I think I may have made the biggest mistake of my life." Karma admits.
"And what is that?"
"Getting my job back from my ex-fiancée." Karma grits her teeth in a thin line, "Let's go home. I don't think I'll be sleeping at all tonight."
Shane raises an eyebrow then shrugs.
Back at Shane ad Pablo's Apartment
Yup! She didn't sleep at all.
She stayed up all night, reviewing and correcting false facts and researching the correct ones by calling and talking with various people all night from diverse financial firms around the city. She reviews both binders at the same time seeing that they would somehow correlate in facts and information. She had had to call and confirm the research along with the factual presumptions of the next four months of the financial market. And by the time it was two o'clock in the morning, she was only halfway through both folders and typing the few resourceful information for the research on the financial and real estate market that she had been able muster. She occasionally wears glasses when she has to stay up in cases like these. Back in Paris, it was just as stressful but not to that extent.
Karma looks at the clock watching the hours run through and sighing regretfully. She has about seven hours left before she sees that wretched woman and places everything on her desk as soon as she gets there. How in the name of all that is Holy did she find herself as being the assistant of the girl that broke the broken pieces of her broken heart? And now, she's losing sleep over that woman – literally losing sleep over that woman and it is not for romantic reasons.
The next morning
She had miraculously finished at about eight o'clock. She rushed to the bathroom, takes a quick shower, brush her hair up into a messy bun, and wears a gray pencil skirt with a black sleeveless silk shirt tucked inside the seams of the skirt; she then wears black high heeled pointed shoes and then throws a formal jacket. She rushes out of the apartment and takes the early bus to the RG Holdings building which took about half an hour because of the constant stops at each stopping points. Luckily, she doesn't live too far away from the company since the firm is also close in the area.
She looks at the watch on her wrist and it was five minutes away from striking nine o'clock. She speeds through the front desk and repetitively hits the button for the elevator. Usually it comes quick but this time it was the longest minute of her life. She quickly gets in and presses it the button to the last floor and it goes up quick. She looks at her wrist again, two minute shy of being nine on the dot.
She leaves the elevator, grabs her card that the secretary had kept and quickly swipes it under the identifier. All the while Amy's annoying voice resonates in her head, "I'm strict on punctuality Ashcroft."
The fainting click sound lets her know that it is open and she immediately pulls down the handle and rushes in and scurries to Amy's desk as the clock strikes nine on the dot and she drops the binders on the desk.
She made it. And Amy's nowhere to be seen.
She looks around but the desk is empty and she's pretty sure that the office is also empty. But then, she hears a flushing sound coming from the corner of the office near the small living room area. Amy walks out right after as she unbuttons her white formal jacket where underneath she wore a horizontally striped shirt. She was wearing white trousers rolled up above her ankles and some white oxfords. She looks fine as usual, as always and Karma doesn't even understand why she notices. Her hair was impeccably pulled back in a horse ponytail so that her face shaped is perfectly grasped. Karma feels herself staring too hard so she looks away, her cheeks growing red.
Get a hold of yourself woman! You hate the wench! She stutters as she points at the binders on Amy's desk, "Her-here are the reports." She still doesn't look at Amy who stood next to her desk and looks at where Karma pointed at.
She then lifts up her arms to display her Cartier gold watch, "You are late. And you don't have my coffee."
"What do you mean I'm late? I got here exactly at nine o'clock."
"But you did not get my coffee. Therefore you are not here yet." Amy crosses her arms on her chest.
"I'm right here."
"Without my coffee." Amy repeats.
"You did not ask for coffee."
"Am I supposed to? That's something you should have known on your own. Or better yet, asked me yesterday when I gave you instructions for you to be there at nine o'clock on the dot. And since you are missing an essential item besides the reports, you have failed your first assignment from me. You don't have my coffee, so you're late. And you know why you're late, because right now, you are on your way getting me a coffee therefore, the time that you will get here is going to be about half an hour from the time that you were supposed to be there in the first place. So go get my fucking coffee!"
Lord, I ask you; give me patience so that I don't slap this… "What kind of coffee do you drink?"
"That's something you should have asked yesterday." Amy walks around the desk and sits down on her chair and leans back, "I guess you are going to make several trips down to the cafeteria until you get me the right coffee." She then reaches for one of the binders on the desk and opens it to verify Karma's reviews.
Amy glances up from the binder as Karma turns around and walks away from the desk and unbuttons her jacket. Her eyes headily slides down as Karma slides the jacket down her shoulders and it swiftly falls down her slightly muscular arms until they fell on Karma's perfectly round, uplifted rear. How Amy had missed kissing her ass…Stop it you prick! You hate the wretch! Amy looks back down at the report in front of her. God, the way her ass looks in that pencil skirt…Gosh, stop it! Ugh! This is going to be difficult for me. Amy coughs and then focuses her attention back down in the binder in front of her.
A couple of minutes later, Karma had made about four trips and keep getting the wrong coffee. After the fifth trip, Karma walk back in with a foam medium cup of coffee in her hands and places it on next to the previous four that Amy had barely touched on the desk in front of her. Amy quickly glimpses above the binder, "It's not it."
Karma has to go down a few floors again to reach the cafeteria. And even if she took the elevator, she had to walk through long hallways, "Alright. I'll just go back and guess which coffee that I should bring to you – again like I'm some type of mind reader. It's not like you used to drink coffee that much back then." Karma says as she starts walking out of the office.
"People change over time." Amy turns the page of the binder.
Karma inwardly groans and then walks out of Amy's office.
Amy laughs loudly as soon as she walks out and then she focuses her attention back in the binder. She'll have to admit that Karma did a great job reviewing the reports and checking to see the credibility of the facts and financial predictions of the real estate market. She's not bad but how does she make her feel like crap though? Amy keeps sifting through the yearly financial report of the company and then engages with the project plan. She drops the first binder down on the desk to grab the other one. It took her a while preparing this project plan and it was time consuming too, so she hopes Karma had given it great attention.
She smiles.
Karma did pay attention to it. Amy then turns a few pages through and then finds some major corrections that fueled her with anger.
Her smile stopped.
She thought that Karma thought that it was great. She jumps when she hears footsteps at the door and the fainting click sound of the identifier. She places the binder down on the desk and starts whistling nonchalantly.
Her secretary walks in, Amy relaxes.
"Ms. Raudenfeld, I came to bring you these papers for you to sign." She walks around the desk and looks over Amy's shoulders as Amy looks over the documents and carefully scans what she has to sign. They were just permission to move some shipments overseas. She readily signs them. As Hera, the secretary reaches for the documents, her hand knock over the cups of coffee on Amy's desk and they are instantly spilled on Amy's jacket and shirt.
Amy jumps from as she steps back from her desk, "Shit Hera! This can only happen to me, God!" Amy throws her hands up in the air.
Hera apologizes several times, fearing that Amy might throw another angry outburst like she did before and fires her, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Just take it off and I will wash it for you."
Amy looks up at her, "Yes?"
"Yes…yes! I'm truly sorry." Hera slides down Amy's jacket and starts lifting up her shirt above her head, "Take it all off this way…"
Karma walks in on them and gasps, "Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt." Karma says with a small hint of anger in the edgy tone of her voice.
"Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute miss. It's not what you're thinking at all!" Amy feels the sudden need to defend herself.
"No, I'm not thinking anything. Am I supposed to think something?" Karma gestures blatantly towards them both. "All I know is what I see – which is you in a very compromising state with your secretary.
Hera's eyes widen as she lifts up her finger which she moves from side to side, negating the situation, "No, no, no Ms. Ashcroft. That's not like that, please.
Karma approaches Amy's desk, and glares at Amy, "You are so shameless. How can it be possible that you expect respect from your employees when you're the one who disrespects?"
Amy lifts up a finger, "Please get your mind out of the gutter. What happened was, it got stained with coffee and Hera offered to wash it for me, yes?" Amy looks at Hera who nods and hands her jacket and her stained striped shirt. Hera grabs them and then walks out of the office quickly.
"Yes, of course." Karma says sarcastically, "It is games like that my parents started and nine months later, I was born."
"Look, you know what?! I care a damn what you think! Do you have my coffee?" Amy moves the stained document off her desk. She's going to have to make new ones.
"Didn't you have enough coffee?" Karma coughs, she looks down at Amy's bare top. She was just in her black bra. Karma's eyes fall down her stones abs and she finds herself feeling flustered and attracted. How she wants to touch her right now.
"I'll fire you."
"Here's your coffee!" Karma hands her the coffee. Karma prays to God that this time she has the coffee right. On her way to the cafeteria, Karma remembered the coffee that she had ordered the day that Amy proposed to her out of the blue. She was drinking medium ice coffee, with cream and sugar caramel. So, she decided that maybe, just to see, hopefully, maybe…
Amy takes the coffee from her hand and recognizes the usual smell. She takes a sip and it tastes right. How the fuck did Karma manage to get her coffee right? "It's the right one." Amy coughs and then places the cup down on her desk.
Karma blushes instantly and then sighs now that she doesn't have to do the long trips anymore. Because walking on these heels is a pain, "Finally!" she exclaims and grimaces in pain.
Amy notices and keeps herself at bay and not run to Karma and start asking her what's wrong. She was still pissed about the review in her project plan. "So, what did you think about my project plan?"
"It was bad." Karma doesn't hesitate.
Amy whips her head up quick, frowning. "Bad…?"
"Bad."
Amy snorts derisively, "I'm sorry did you just say that my project plan was no good?"
"It is not good for anything. A college freshman from medical major could have written it better and done a better job." Karma shrugs.
I can't believe this woman, "Are you serious right now? You are telling me, your boss, that the project plan is something that was written by a college freshman?"
"Listen; if we present this to the meeting with the investor on Thursday, tomorrow, I believe that the least that will happen is him actually changing business deals."
Amy laughs as she quickly wipes her nose, "Is that so?"
Karma hums in affirmations.
"Well, alright then. If my project plan was so bad, then I expect you to come up with yours, on my desk, first thing tomorrow morning."
"What? Are you crazy? That's not…umm…" Karma coughs, her eyes straying down her bare top again and stare at Amy's breasts, "do you always work without a shirt?" she asks as she closes her eyes, "You're not going to put one on?"
Amy looks down at her body and then shrugs, "No, I'm just waiting for the previous one to be cleaned."
"Are you taking revenge on me?" Karma crosses her arms above her chest.
"No…" Amy drawls, "No, not at all. What happens is, you act like a superwoman and judge me on a work that I spent days writing and preparing. I think it's time you show off the skills that you got at the small investing firm you worked at in Paris." Amy grabs her arms.
Karma snatches it away from her grip, "Let me go Amy! The most skilled person wouldn't be able to come up with a project plan overnight. It's too much work in too little time. Just like yesterday and you gave me that shitload of work to do. I still am not done with the research."
"I'm sorry, are you looking for a little bit of compassion from me? Who am I again to you?"
Karma snarls, "You're my boss."
"And what are you?"
"I'm your assistant." Karma mumbles in between her gritted teeth.
Amy bends her head down Karma's lips, "What did you say? I don't think I heard you."
"I'm your assistant." Karma says louder.
"Very well, you're so smart." Amy cups Karma's chin briefly, "And you know what I would start doing if I were in your shoes? I'd start right now. And if I don't find that project plan on my desk in twenty four hours, consider yourself fired." Amy points towards Karma's desk.
Karma glares at her and then jogs to her desk and sits down, immediately starts her work.
Amy smiles at herself proudly.
They both go through their work all day, stealing glances every now and then and working together from time to time. Amy tries her best to acquire as much information needed to re-write the project plan and create a better one. She's determined to shut this wench up once and for all and earn her respect. Three hours later, Hera finally came with Amy's shirt and gave it to her and Amy puts it on and now Karma can breathe better. She's been distracted by her halfway nakedness half of the day that they've been together in this huge office. They barely interact after that since both were focus on what was in front of them. Amy was going through a thick binder procedures analysis or something concerning the company's bureaucratic policies while Karma was double tasking on the research and the project plan.
Night falls on them both and the moon and long with the lights, illuminates the entire city of Dallas. Karma did not notice the time running that fast. She reads the clock and it reads nine o'clock already and she hadn't taken a break or eaten and she noticed that Amy hadn't either. She finishes the last touches of the project plan and turns off her monitor and arranges her desk so that she can get ready to leave. She walks up to Amy's desk and drops the green folder in front of her.
Amy was leaned back in her chair, attentively reading though the thick binder. She lifts up her eyes to look at Karma questioningly as she raises an eyebrow.
"Here's your project. Before the deadline." Karma says as she crosses her arms.
"That's not the way to present a project."
"Neither is the way you treat an assistant." Karma shrugs her shoulders, "Go ahead, check it, and give your opinion."
Amy leans forward on her desk and drops the thick binder to take the small, think green folder instead. She keeps her eyes locked within Karma's, "Let's see. Fast is never perfect." She looks down at the project which started with a great introduction. She purses her lips in annoyance as she sifts through the project. It was well-written and the ideas are not too idealistic but realistic enough to convince the investors of the profitable gains and small losses that they might have to endure should they follow through with the project. Amy glances up at Karma in awe, coughs, scratches her chin, and then closes the folder, "It's not bad." It's perfect. Amy wanted to say but she's not about to let her know that. No freaking way!
Karma smiles briefly, "Admit it. I surprised you, right? It seems you don't like surprises." Although you always took me by surprise, back in the day, when we were together.
Amy keeps sifting through the thick binder previously.
"Well, that's the proof of my ability and my talent. Good night, boss. I am tired." Karma says and then starts heading for the door.
Amy stops her, "You are not going anywhere." She says as she reads through one of the paragraphs in the document in the thick binder
Karma turns on her heels, "And why not?"
Amy looks up at her and then backs down. "Everyone already left. So, we're locked in this building until tomorrow morning. So get comfortable." Amy closes the thick binder and then smiles at Karma, "If you want anything to eat and you are hungry, this little room you saw me walking out of this morning, is a little apartment. You will find food. Get ready because it is going to be a long night together." She drawls and she derisively displays her teeth even more, "Welcome to Raudenfeld Group, Holdings."