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Dexter
Ileave Holly to read through the contract and retreat to my den to get some actual work done. When she turned me down, it hurt my ego, but when I had time to think, I admire her spunk. She has gone way higher in my estimation and if anything, I want her even more, but the game has now changed and I am no longer interested in dominating her. For some reason, she doesn’t fit the profile of a submissive, but she does interest me in another way.
When she said ‘no’ it was a declaration of war because now the game has changed and it has become even more important to me to claim this woman as mine and then get on with my life. The challenge has been set and I’m up for it, so God help the delectable Miss. Bryant, because I always get what I want and she will be begging me to change my mind and offer her the position in my bed.
For the next hour, I throw myself into my work. It always calms me and brings me back from the edge, and it always has. I love what I do and somehow interfering in other people’s lives and reporting on news, distracts me from the mess I have made of my life so far.
Thinking about the mess I’ve made of Holly’s life so far fills me with regret because she doesn’t deserve what’s happening right now. The trouble is, this is out of control and none of us count in the grand scheme of things. I reassure myself that we must do whatever it takes to protect our organization, even though somebody may be tearing it apart from the inside out.
Thinking back on the time I learned of it, I wonder that it didn’t drive me crazy. Sometimes I think how lucky I was to fall into this life, other times I feel like the unluckiest bastard alive. I wonder what Travis Peters would do now in my position? He was an insufferable bastard who mentored me, much like I offered Holly, but I never understood the real reason behind his offer. When he died, the baton was handed to me and I almost screwed it up. I forgot the golden rule of journalism and have spent the past five years paying for it.
Will I make that mistake again with Holly? That’s the part scaring me the most, because when she discovers what we’ve done, she may never talk to me again. In fact, she may do something we both regret, and I’m not sure I’m ready for that.
The door opens and this time she doesn’t even knock and strides into my office as if she owns it. She has changed from the simple sun dress into a business suit that makes my mouth water. The short sexy skirt that dusts the skin just above the knees is tempting to the extreme. Her tight fitted shirt strains to contain breasts that have their own identity that dance before my eyes and the smart jacket completes a look that means business and yet distracts any red-blooded male into thinking depraved thoughts and desiring the woman who apparently couldn’t give a shit.
Her long dark hair has been pulled into a severe pony tail that only intensifies her features as the make-up she has used defines her perfect face. Those dark brown eyes flash as she drops the contract down on my desk and says abruptly, “I have signed your contract because I want to learn. I want to be the best, Mr. Prince, and I am counting on you to honor your promise. I will work hard, listen and be the best apprentice you ever had.”
“That’s not difficult.”
“What isn’t?”
“Being the best apprentice I’ve ever had because darlin’, you’re the only apprentice I’ve ever, um, had, and so the bar is set very low. It’s up to you to raise it to a level the next person can’t reach. Do you think you’re up to that?”
“Of course.”
“Then we start now.”
She looks excited and I see the fire in her eyes and I love seeing it burn a little brighter when I say casually, “Coffee, now.”
For a moment she looks uncertain, as if she misheard me and I snap, “I said coffee, Holly, don’t you understand the most basic of requests?”
“But I thought…” She seems genuinely confused and I smirk. “You’re an apprentice, Holly, not some super executive. You start at the bottom and prove your worth, and that begins with making me coffee. I like it strong black and the water at boiling point. Maisy will show you how, and I expect to see it here on the dot of seven every morning and then at two-hourly intervals throughout the day. I also expect you to have a list of my appointments, meetings and any documents needed made ready for me that Helen, my assistant, sends over the night before. Once we leave and begin working at Media Corp, you must liaise with her because she is your new best friend and between you make sure my machine is well-oiled and running smoothly.”
“Is that it?”
“I think so - for now.”
“But I thought…”
“I know what you thought, Holly. You thought you had a one-way ticket to the top. You thought you had a chance to start where most people spend a lifetime aiming for. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you’ve just signed your life away to me and you have to earn this opportunity in a far more demanding way than most. So get the coffee, shut your mouth and do what the hell I tell you and then maybe we can get on with our extremely busy day.”
For a moment I think she’s going to stab me with my letter opener but instead she just throws me a disgusted look and storms from my office without a backward glance, leaving me grinning like a fucking idiot. Just imagining the pleasure it will give me breaking her down is giving me a little light relief because one thing’s for sure, Holly Bryant will be mine in every way possible by the end of this extremely interesting experiment.
