Repetition Compulsion

17.

Sera forced her head out of the gutter so she could think clearly, even if it was just for a minute or two. By her mere observation of that one meeting, as well as Abimbola's general attitude towards his work and his employees, Sera could tell that he did not get to the top by accident. He had obviously worked his way there.

"You were on fire back there", Sera smiled as they headed back downstairs to Abimbola's office. "Where did you learn to speak with such confidence and conviction?"

He flashed her a smile, which she didn't see because she was convinced that if she looked at him in that moment, he would be able to see through her and smell the lust radiating from her body. 

"I only had to learn one thing: You have to fake it till you make it, Ms. Seme."

Sera looked away so he couldn't see her smiling at his sudden use of casual dialect. Somehow he didn't strike her as the type of guy who used a lot of informal language, so hearing him use slang sounded a bit funny.

As they got inside the elevator, he turned his body towards Sera.

"So...what do you say about Friday night?"

Sera gulped.

There it was again. Him asking her out, and so casually on top of that. He had to know what he was doing. 

She fiddled with her hair, whilst looking down at the floor. "You're my boss...wouldn't that be inappropriate?"

She could feel his lips carving into another smile as he took two steps closer to her, leaving no space between them.

"Say that again", he whispered, his warm breath hitting against her skin.

Sera held her breath. "Say what again?", she whispered back, though she had no idea why she herself was whispering.

"Say I'm the boss"

"You're the boss", Sera replied almost immediately.

 She didn't know how he did it, but she found that every time he commanded her to do something, she felt the need to obey him and do it. So, as soon as he had opened his mouth and given the command, she knew she was no longer in control, and that whatever Abimbola told her to do, she would do it.

She closed her eyes, trying to get the blood flowing to her brain again, but no matter what she did, she found that it did not work. Abimbola was now in control of her, and he had her wrapped around his finger.

"Why are your eyes closed, Sera?", he whispered against her ear, and as he did, she felt her panties getting wet again. She could feel the cool liquid seeping through the red lace of her underwear and she knew she was going to have to change them as soon as she could. She didn't think she could make it through the day when her panties were so wet.

"Do I make you nervous, Sera?", he whispered against her neck, once again, and this time Sera had to bite her lip to keep from moaning.

"No", she whispered, but just barely.

"Prove it", he replied, his tongue glazing over the skin on her neck. "Look at me"

She opened her eyes, but just barely. As she did, his hands moved from her waist and up to her neck, where he choked her slightly before moving his body closer to her and holding it against her.

"Please", Sera whispered, because she didn't trust her own voice.

"Please what, Sera?", Abimbola replied, his lips forming into a cocky smile.

"Kiss me!", her mouth threatened to shout. But she managed to keep her composure. She knew she wasn't thinking straight, and that was dangerous. She knew there was a lot on the line, and she couldn't afford to make any hasty decisions. So she took a deep breath in and allowed some air to flow to her head. 

A heavy, lustrous silence filled the air.

Sera was suffering, but Abimbola seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit. He turned his head to the the side, flashed her a crooked smile and said:  "Remind me again, what's inappropriate about going to a work function with your boss?"

"I don't know...I just don't wanna mix business with pleasure, I guess." she reolied, struggling to meet his eyes. 

"Bold of you to assume I have made plans to pleasure you."

Sera choked on her own spit. "I-I just—"

He smiled, obviously amused by Sera's discomfort. "Come on, Sera. You knew I was going to ask you out at some point. I told you this the night I met you."

"Yeah...I know...but that was before I...you know...found out you were married."

Abimbola was clearly taken aback by Sera's statement, and that was quite literally the first time that Sera had ever seen him look so shocked. However, the look of discomfort was temporary, and it was quickly replaced by another blank and nonchalant look.

He slipped a hand in his pocket and looked blankly into space before answering. "I have to admit, even I can see how bad this is making me look. But I can assure you that there is a logical explanation behind all this."

More heavy silence. 

"I'll tell you what? If you come to this function with me and then have dinner with me after, I'll tell you all about it. And then, after my explanation, if you still want nothing to do with me, then I will stop asking you out and we can just know each other on a professional level. Yeah?"

"Are you serious?", Sera asked scanning his face.

"Dead serious.", he replied, an unreadable expression on his face.

Sera bit her lip. She didn't trust herself to be alone with him ever again, but she was curious as to how he would explain his way out of the whole situation, and if it would all make sense to her. But she also knew that she couldn't make a decision right then and there because her mind was still a little bit clouded.

"So you're saying if I go to this function with you...and then have dinner after. Then you will explain to me why you keep pursuing me even though you have a wife? And if I'm not comfortable with your explanation then you will never bother me again?"

He nodded. "I'll never bring it up."

"And what you're also telling me is...this function is not a date?"

"What I'm telling you is that there will be no pleasuring involved...at the function."

"I'm gonna be honest here, sir", Sera replied whilst desperately trying to keep her tone as non-disrespectful as possible. "It sounds as though I'm getting the weaker end of the deal. You used me to cheat on your wife without even making me aware. Now you're trying to make me go on another date with you just so I can get answers? I don't think so. If it's okay with you, I will go to the function with you, but as your intern like you said. We will engage on a professional level. After that, I will go home, and I will only see you again on Monday at the office."

Right then, the elevator door opened and Sera had to force herself to step out and walk away to take a breather. She had no idea where she had gotten the strength to be so assertive, but in a way, she was proud of herself. She knew Nahi would be too, once she told her. Men had taken way too much from her during the course of her life. So It felt good to be able to stand up for herself for once.