A ripple of disappointment ran through her body.
“But I’m going to give you an assignment,” he finished.
She cocked her head at him. “Like homework?” Before he could get angry, she tagged on a sir.
“Yes, exactly like homework,” he smiled. “I want you to go home tonight and write an essay on how you plan to serve my interests.”
“I don’t understand, sir.”
“Figure it out.” He checked his watch. “You’re dismissed.” And then he went back behind his desk and sat down.
Nicole picked up her purse and stood, wobbling for a second. Her face was burning with shame at his casual and abrupt dismissal of her, as if she were a second grader and he the teacher. How dare he? How dare he try and humiliate her this way? She was an intern and he was making her into something dirty and pathetic.
She was growing more furious by the second. Of course, deep in the back of her mind, Nicole knew the real reason she was upset. She was hurt that he was sending her away—she wanted more time with him. She wanted more of everything.
Instead of admitting that to herself or him, she had a tantrum. “This is bullshit,” she said.
Red looked up from his papers. “What did you just say?”
“You heard me.” She glared at him. A sheen of sweat covered her body.
He smirked, as if disgusted by her presence. “You’re free to go, Miss Masters.” Now he was becoming even more formal. Her heart pounded in her chest and her stomach tightened.
“I know I’m free to go.”
“Did you forget where the door was?”
“I just want you to know that I’m not going to stand for this.” She tossed her hair and adjusted her purse strap as his gaze met hers.
“Stand for what?”
“The way you’re treating me. It’s harassment. I don’t need this job that badly, I can get another one.”
His smile widened, as if he expected this very reaction from her and welcomed it. “Oh, you’re very sure of yourself,” he said, leaning back and appraising her.
“Sure enough,” she lied.
“Well, don’t be.” He put a hand on the receiver of his phone. “I can pick up this phone and make a series of calls that will guarantee you never work in this industry again. It would take me all of about ten minutes to end your career entirely.”
The comment chilled her, as did the deadly serious look in his eyes.
“Why would you do that to me? I’m not important enough for you to waste your time on.”
“Because I can.”
The tears burned in her eyes. “I haven’t done anything to you. I don’t understand why you’re being so mean.”
He sighed. For the first time, he looked troubled. “I didn’t want to hire you.”
“You didn’t?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll leave immediately. Thank you…for…the opportunity.” She turned and started to walk out of the room. Actually, it was more like a sprint to get away from her shame and embarrassment and defeat.
But before she could exit, he was behind her. One of his hands gripped her shoulder and stopped her. “Wait,” he said. His breath was hot on her neck.
His hand felt warm and strong on her shoulder and he kept it there as she stood, still facing the door. Tears were streaming down her face and she didn’t want him to see her this way. “If you didn’t want to hire me, then why? Why did you?”
“You don’t understand,” he whispered. “The moment I first laid eyes on you I knew. I knew that I had to have you.”
A thrill ran up her legs and directly pulsated into her most private places. “Don’t lie to me,” she moaned.
“It’s not a lie.”
“Then why are you so cruel to me?”
“I’ve already answered that question.” He stepped closer to her. She could feel his body heat radiating against her buttocks and back and neck. He was like a furnace. She wanted more than anything for him to hold her tightly, to push himself up against her, force her towards the wall. His hands to cup her breasts from behind. His warm lips to kiss her exposed neck.
Neither of them spoke for a long time.
“I can’t control this,” he said.
His hand stroked her hair lightly, sending chills up and down her spine. And then he pulled her hair. As her head tilted back, he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to her ear. “Do you understand now?”
Nicole moaned. She didn’t really, but in another way she did. Her body understood him in a way that her intellect could not. Her pussy was soaking wet, throbbing. She’d never felt this in her life. This want, this need, this aching. Every fiber of her wanted his hands to touch her bare skin. He could throw her to the floor and enter her right here, right now.
“Please,” she moaned. “I…I want you.”
He tugged more insistently on her hair. “It’s not so simple,” he warned.