AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Aaron
Amy was late for her first shift as my TA. She was late, and I was waiting.
I sat at my desk in my office, a large room with a working fireplace in the corner, and walls lined with books, except for the one wall taken up with a huge bay window with a built-in window seat.
I gave up any pretence of working, and watched the clock, as I wondered what the hell could make her late on her first day. She had ended up agreeing easily enough once she’d had time to consider the pay, and I was grateful. I seriously doubted my ability to get her to accept without letting my mask slip.
Work for me, because I’m obsessed with you, and the thought that you’re tired and struggling keeps me up at night.Right, that would have gone over great.
A knock sounded at the door and sent me sitting straighter in my chair. Relief and anticipation filled me.
She was here.
“Come in,” I called, flexing my hands and tried to hide my goddamn excitement. I was finally getting Amy alone, behind a closed door, and I couldn’t fucking wait. I was a ghoul, ready to feast on her innocent flesh, and I’d almost stopped feeling bad about it.
“Sorry,” she said, as she slipped in the door. She looked flushed and breathless, like she’d been hurrying.
“Close the door,” I told her firmly. She swallowed, the long column of her neck bobbed with the movement, and shut the door, leaning against it afterward. I leaned back in my chair, grateful that the dark wood hid the hard-on that sprang to life at the sight of her. She unwound her scarf from her neck and took her jacket off. She was wearing a white, plain t-shirt that showed her midriff when she raised her arms to hang her jacket on the coat stand. The band of skin seared its image into my brain.
“I’m so sorry, I couldn’t get a bus, and I had to just kind of run here,” she was saying, her words all a worried tumble. She no doubt worried that if she did a poor job, or pissed me off, she’d be fired. There was no chance of that. I’d finally found a legitimate way of giving her money. There was no way I was firing her for anything.
“Come here,” I said, pointing to the chair on the other side of the desk. She complied, sitting down on top of her hands and biting her lip as she looked at me. That looked utterly destroyed me. “You know my opinion on lateness, don’t you?”
“Yes, that’s why I apologised,” she said immediately.
“Do you think that’s a good look on your first day?” I prompted. She flushed more. I was being an asshole, I knew it, but then, that’s just who I was. Power plays, punishment and rules were all games to me. I wanted to play with Amy, but to really play, she’d have to know the game, and she wasn’t there yet. She was still my student, for fuck’s sake. I was skating dangerously close to forbidden territory.
“No, but I feel like I should remind you I didn’t ask for this job. You pressed it on me,” she said, raising her head to fix me with a look. I laughed. I couldn’t help it. There was something so irresistibly pleasing about her indomitable spirit. The sound ripped from my chest, like a rusty key turning in a lock. Man, it had been a good long while since I’d laughed. She looked just as startled at the sound as I was.
“So, what you’re saying is I wanted you, so I’ll just have to deal with your tardiness and excuses?” I offered, when I’d gotten myself back under iron-clad control. She shrugged, a soft smile playing around her lips. The tension had passed. “Very well. Miss Mackintosh. Let’s get to work, and prove I made a good choice in my assistant,” I told her, moving things briskly along. Being around Amy like this felt too good. Just the sight of her smile, and her teasing in that lilting voice, made my chest feel warm and soft inside, like a melting glacier. I imagined myself as a cartoon wolf frozen in ice, and slowly melting away in the light of Amy’s smile. It was fucking ridiculous and yet absolutely undeniable.
“Ok, great. I noticed that the assignments from last week haven’t been logged into the system yet, and also, the handouts from yesterday had a muddled order,” she said. Another involuntary laugh left me as I took her in.
“Are you pulling me up for sloppy admin?” I wondered. She shrugged.
“If the shoe fits and besides, isn’t that why I’m here?” she asked. No.
I nodded and held a hand out to the stack of papers on the edge of the desk.
“Well, in that case, Miss Mackintosh, work away on what you think needs done. I won’t micromanage you,” I told her.
“Really?” she asked brightly. I shook my head.
“I trust your judgement.”
* * *
