Bound to You

Chapter four

"You did not", Sophia laughs and almost spills the red wine in her glass in her laughing manoeuvre. 

"Oh my God, I'm telling you, Soph, if they haven't fired me by the end of the week, it's because they're keeping me there as their own, personal clown". I sip my wine, letting the dry, red liquor fill my mouth and warm my throat. Sophia grabs a bite of pasta. She made us both dinner in our new apartment to celebrate having our last box unpacked.

"Okay okay okay, but what are you going to do about Mr. Hottie", she says, her mouth still full of food. I laugh.

"It's Mr. Smith". She waves me off. "And I don't know, I just have to stay professional because he is my superior, and I worked my ass off to get this job". I take a deep breath. I cannot have another glass of wine, I can feel my cheeks getting warm already. Despite being English, and therefore practically born with a pint of beer in the hand, I am terrible at keeping my alcohol.

"Alright, alright..", she puts her glass down and starts thinking. "Okay, I have an idea", she bursts out. "How about I take Mr. Hottie-from-work, and then you can get yourself a Mr. Foxyyyy". She does a weird roar at me and claws her nails. I laugh at her. My God, she's wonderful.

I am sitting at my desk, changing shoes. The elevator was becoming so problematic that I decided to wear my trainers, take the stairs, and change to proper shoes once I got to my desk. The Friday atmosphere is kicking in throughout the office, with people having much more energy than usual. 

"Evans", I hear on the telecom phone. It's Mr. Smith, calling Audrey from his office. There's a silence. I zip up my shoe and sit up straight. "Evans", he says again, more impatient. I look over at her desk, but, to my big surprise, she's not there. I react fast, grabbing my block and pen, rushing around the desk and run to the door. I grab the handle and swing the door open, a bit more violently than I intended. Mr Smith turns and looks at me, looking rather surprised at my presence.

"I'm sorry Mr. Smith, Ms. Evans is not in yet. Is there anything I can do for you?". I enter the room. He looks at me, his intense eye contact making every part of my body dysfunctional. I clench the pen in my hand, trying to control myself.

"I see". He pauses, gathering his thoughts. "Please, move the Law Enterprise meeting from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., and tell Margaret to meet me at lunch, we need to discuss the new software system. Also, call Human Resources and tell them they must fix the filing system, it is an absolute mess. The printer paper order needs to get picked up from Hewlett-Packard before 09 a.m., and Richard needs to get picked up from the airport at 5 p.m., preferably by Blacklane". He talks calmly, while I scribble at my paper as fast as possible. Law Enterprise 10-11, Maggie something? Or something with paper?  He's going too fast, but I need to keep my calm in order to get everything. I finish and look up at him to see if there's anything else he needs. "Oh, and tell Evans that if she cannot be here on time, she cannot maintain her job". My eyes go big. What?

"Sir", I start. "It's only two minutes past 8. Surely you can't fire her just because of that?". His whole expression changes and he squints his eyes at me. My blood rushes to my cheeks. Maybe I was being too direct? But there is no way she can lose her job being only two minutes late. He examines me, the silence getting louder. His eyes are staring into my soul, reading every mistake and experience of my entire life. With every passing second, my confidence shrinks. Then he chuckles. Oh my God, I'm going to lose my job now. 

"Olivia, was it?", he says. I nod slowly. "Tell me, Olivia, how many days have you worked here?". He tilts his head. I can feel my pulse rising. This is so demeaning.

"5 days, sir", I say, regretting everything. He gets up from his chair and starts walking towards me.

"I've been the owner of this company for 5 years now". He nears me and stops. "On my first day, I was interviewing for a position in a completely different branch - however, Mr. Patricks, the previous owner, happened to meet me in the elevator on my way up, and we began conversing. One thing led to another, and before I knew it he was offering me the job. His own job". He takes yet another step towards me, being too close to me. He meets my eyes. My heart is pounding and I can almost feel his breath on me. "Had I been only two minutes late, as you said it, I would have missed him, and not been here today, in one of the biggest law firms in England". He lowers his voice. "Life does not wait for you, and neither will I. Do you understand me?". He looks down at me, his brown eyes shifting between my left- and right eye. I feel very small and hot, wanting nothing more than to run out of this office. 

"Y- yes", I stutter, with the smallest voice. He squints.

"Yes, what?", he says. My stomach turns. Flashbacks from the dungeon and Mr. Fox start rushing back. Why is he so hot? I feel very confused, being both scared and extremely turned on.

"Yes, sir", I say, not wanting to test him. To my surprise, his eyes flicker to my mouth for a split second, before he turns his heel and walks back to his desk. I, for the first time since I entered this room, breathe out in relief. What is up with men and dominance and wanting me to call them Sir?! 

He looks up at me as if confused as to why I'm still standing here. "That will be all", he says, sits down and starts typing on his computer, as if he just had the most boring, normal conversation ever.

I reach behind me for the door, not really wanting to take my eyes off him, and, as soon as my hand finds the cold lever, pull it and rush out. I get to my desk and stare into the room. My thoughts and pulse are rushing through my body. Fuck, I cannot have a crush on my superior. I know my underwear is wet, and I have to wear it for the rest of the day. I smack myself in the face, snap out of it and immediately start doing everything on my list. I really can't screw this up.