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I was so eager to be distracted from the monotony of waiting that I was the first to spy the bald man as he emerged from the elevators. I noticed that he moved with the grace of an athlete, though age had packed some pounds onto his frame. He reminded me of a former football player gone to seed.
But as I watched him, I quickly realized that he was someone with a lot of power in the company. His presence in the office quickly dispersed all the little gossiping knots of people. Everyone scurried back to their desks, and pretended to work.
He moved quietly from desk to desk, speaking in low tones. His presence was greeted with wide eyes and fearful smiles. I watched, fascinated, wondering who he could be. This couldn't be Mr. Kingsley. I knew what he looked like, or at least I had ten years ago. But clearly this man was someone to be reckoned with.
As the bald man moved from desk to desk, his questions were answered with quick shakes of the head. Whatever he was asking was greeted in the negative, over and over and over again. I saw spots of frustrated color blooming on his cheeks as he made his way up the row towards me.
"Hello there," he said to me by way of greeting. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure."
Startled that he would address me directly, I hopped off of my perch, nearly upsetting the delicate balance of the magazines again. "That's because today is my first day, sir. My name is Nakia James."
He cocked a quizzical eyebrow. "I wasn't aware of any new hires being brought on." His voice was low and threatening. I was instantly on guard.
"No sir, sorry for the confusion, I'm actually an intern."
He looked me up and down. "You're a student?"
"Yes sir, at Forest University. I'm a sophomore design major."
I could see an idea playing across his face. "So that means you are familiar with design concepts?"
"Of course."
"And you know how to work a computer?"
I was confused. "Of course I do, sir."
"And how are you at following directions explicitly?"
"I have a 4.0 GPA sir," I smiled. "Following directions is what I do the best."
"So you're an intern, where is your mentor?"
"In all the of the excitement today, sir, I have not yet met them."
"So you haven't been assigned to a department yet?"
"No, sir."
He nodded and clapped his hands together. "Then I'm assigning you to one now. Follow me." He turned gracefully and indicated that I should follow.
I hesitated. "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."
He strode forward, not looking back at me as he answered, "Dalton Cole, personal assistant to Mr. Kingsley."
Surprise made me stumble. "Mr. Kingsley?"
He didn't answer and I scurried after him. I caught a glimpse of August's wide-open mouth as we crossed the lobby together. "What's going on?" she mouthed at me.
"I have no idea," I whispered back as the elevator dinged open.
As if in answer to my question, Dalton pressed the button for the top floor of the building. The one where Mr. Kingsley's office was located.
The elevator opened in to a glass walled space suspended high above the office floor below. We had a bird's eye view of all of the tops of people's heads as they scurried around like ants. A broad, glass topped desk nearly took up the entire space. And behind that desk stood a man, his broad back to us.
His dark chestnut hair was longer than I had expected, curling slightly above his ears in thick waves that showed the slightest hint of gray forming at the temples. But his arms clasped behind it showed deeply tanned forearms and strong capable hands. He had his legs planted wide apart as he stared down from his perch into the office below him.
Dalton cleared his throat. "Sir, I checked with the managers and each department, and no one has anyone they can spare. Since you've been gone, there's been a self-imposed hiring freeze. Except…" he gestured towards me, "for the intern program."
Zachary Kingsley turned and my breath caught in my throat. And I swore he was the first man I had ever seen.
I've never been into white men before. I've dated, sure, but never let things get too intimate. I had my studies to worry about, and my mom's health to occupy me.
And besides… There was always something holding me back. Maybe it was boredom? Maybe it was dissatisfaction with the immaturity of the guys in college?
Either way, my eyes felt like I was seeing a man for the first time.
Zachary Kingsley was the real deal.
It was the ruggedness of his face that first struck me. His face was all strong bones and sharp angles. It looked like he had been cut from stone. Dark, stormy brows perched above his oceanic blue eyes that managed to be simultaneously deep set and piercing. His high cheekbones forced them upward into a catlike curve. His straight nose led my eye down to the only bit of softness he possessed, his wide, sensuous mouth that seemed at odds with the ruggedness above it. His mouth was appealing. His mouth was kind. It was the kind of mouth that would brush against your skin gently, while his eyes lit you on fire from within.
Holy shit, get it together Nakia. If ever there was a time to fake it, it was now.
Zach
¤ ¤ ¤
"No, not her, anyone but her."
I didn't say that of course. The caramel-skinned goddess who made my heart stop the minute I laid eyes on her would have no idea why I wanted to immediately send her away. I'm not sure I understood myself. All I knew was that looking at her caused me physical pain.
I had never felt desire like this… Not for Dana. Not for any of the women who had flung themselves at me prior to Dana. This was something entirely new. I felt myself break out into goose bumps from the nape of my neck all the way down my back as all of the nerves in my body sent their message directly to my cock. And that message was, "take her."
I needed to get myself together. And the only way to do that was to work. That’s what I needed to focus on, not her sweet young breasts bobbing like ripe melons in front of me as she inhaled nervously.
"You're an intern? Great, that means I won't have to pay you if you fuck things up."
Her face fell for just a moment, and I immediately felt like shit. I wasn't sure why I was being so cruel, other than it helped distract me from the painful throbbing in my groin. I turned away as she tried to compose herself, unwilling to watch it continue to fall as I spoke further. "You belong to me now. I'll need your cell phone number and your address on this piece of paper right here," I dismissively tapped a blank sheet on my desk. "And I need you to start researching the licensing agreements my ex-wife signed without my knowledge. I need to know how fucked we'd be if I terminated the contracts today."
I expected to hear her protest. I expected her to stammer in confusion. After all, she was only a college student. She radiated a fresh eagerness that was just waiting to be crushed by me, Zachary Kingsley, the consummate workaholic asshole.
But instead of protests, I heard a faint scratching sound. I turned to see her bent over the blank piece of paper, writing down the information I had demanded in smooth, bubbly script. As she bent, my eyes were drawn to the deep valley of her cleavage. Her smooth, latte skin was made of softness and curves. As she stood back up, I almost commanded her to bend back over again. I hadn't finished staring yet.
I stared further as she absentmindedly smoothed her hands down her hips and looked me in the eye. "Yes, sir," she said softly. The way she called me 'sir' made my cock grow even harder. "What would you like next?"
"A cup of coffee," I croaked. "And then we get to work."
I saw Dalton, the sly old devil, slip from the doorway with a smile on his face. He had always hated Dana. He knew exactly what he was doing putting this gorgeous girl in front of me.
I needed to give him a raise.
"What did you say your name was?"
She picked my mug off of the desk, my favorite chipped one. "I didn't sir. My name is Nakia James."
I extended my hand and she slip
ped hers into mine. I watched as my hand nearly swallowed it. The touch of her skin was electric, sending painful surges directly to my groin. My eyes lingered on the soft curve of her neck where it met her shoulder. I wanted to bury my face there and inhale deeply.
"Nakia, I need you to go down to the filing room and pulled the accounts for Winxhing, Jioxchin and Nanchun. Do you need me to spell that?"
"No sir," she said, quickly jotting down what I had said. "I'm familiar with the biggest third party licensing companies in the world."
