IN BED WITH THE BOSS

Scott didn’t respond to her greeting. Instead, his eyes narrowed. “My office… now, Miss Sanchez” he said, then without waiting for a response, he turned around and headed for his office.

The concrete vacated by his expensive shoes seemed to smolder as Vivian looked down at it. She followed him, but her heart was beating very fast. She had no idea what she had done, but she had a feeling that whatever it was, it wasn’t good. He looked so pissed and the thought of what he was going to say to her scared her so much. She had not had this job for long and she was already screwing things up… oh God.

He had left his office door half open, and when she knocked, he ordered her in with a voice that made her want to flee. She shut the door behind her when she got inside the office and stood, waiting for him to speak. Scott stood behind his desk and glared at her through angry, tired eyes.

Slowly, the glittering half closed eyes traced her face, from her upturned nose to her generous mouth. His gaze inched over her face, down her neck to rest on the curves covered by her shirt, then skid to the short skirt. The languorous appraisal traveled with microscopic care upward again until it met her confused stare.

Vivian shifted her weight and looped her thumbs in her skirt to keep her hands steady. With much care as his, her eyes swept the arrogantly tilted head, the expensively cut suit, down to the custom-made shoes. Then, without a flicker, she met his eyes

“Sit down,” he barked.

Vivian did as she was told and shifted in her chair, her fingers immediately started aching from gripping the arms. Her heart thumped somewhere in the region of her throat. She had to hold her own, she thought, or she might as well run out of his office and say goodbye to her job. Her tongue swept over her soft lips and his eyes followed the movement.

Anger showed in every line of his tanned skin, and Vivian tried her best not to be intimidated, but it was so hard. A muscle tightened in his jaw as he towered over her. The tension crackling between them was almost audible. Vivian’s chin lifted, and she met the blaze of his black eyes with narrowed ones. When she stared blankly at him, he spoke slowly, distinctly.

“I missed a meeting last Friday with a very important client. He just called me this morning and he’s not happy about it” he began, “Care to tell me why I didn’t get a reminder from you when that’s your job as my assistant?”

“I… I wasn’t aware of it,” Vivian stammered. “There were so many emails and I must have missed it.”

“You what?” Scott asked. He still spoke slowly, but there was something dangerous about the way he sounded and the way he looked at her. “You are my assistant, Miss Sanchez. You had all the time in the world since I was absent. What were you doing?”

“I was busy with other tasks” Vivian blurted out, “And I had to rearrange your calendar too as I didn’t know when you would return to the office.”

Daniel tensed. His fist tightened at his thighs as though he would have liked to wrap them around her neck.

“And yet you missed the most important meeting that should have been on the calendar.” He said. “You should have called me”

Vivian almost mentioned that it would have still been useless if she had called because he hadn’t picked any of her calls during his absence, but she knew that it would be a bad move. He was so angry already, and the last thing she wanted to do was to fuel that anger, so she tried another approach.

“I’m very sorry, Mr McCall” she said softly, while trying her best to keep eye contact with him. “I will make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

“You are damn right it won’t happen again” Scott thundered. “And while we’re at it, it would be great too if you keep whatever extra curricular activities you have with other staff members out of the office. I do not want unnecessary distractions. You can flirt on your own time. Got it?”

He watched her eyes widen, and the color rise to her cheeks. He knew that he was way out of line… knew that he was overreacting but he couldn’t bring himself to stop. He had spent the past two weeks with his mother and sister, taking care of Sara and wondering if and when she would get better, and he was angry. Angry at Bruce Bennet… Angry at himself because he blamed himself and he couldn’t do much to help, and for some reason, seeing Vivian with another man just made things worse. He didn’t know why, but he hated the way Michael had stared at her and held her, and he had felt like walking up to them and ripping them away from each other.

“I wasn’t flirting with anyone” Vivian gasped as she felt the blood drain from her cheeks. “I was just….”

“I don’t care what you were doing, Miss Sanchez,” he snapped. “It’s none of my business. Just… keep it out of the office premises, will you? You may leave”

The way he dismissed her was so cruel. Now it was her turn to get angry, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to yell at her boss. Her head went up; her jaw jutted forward. She jumped to her feet. The ponytail whipping about her neck. “I’ll be in my office if you need me, Mr McCall, and once again, I’m really sorry.” she said as she fought to keep her voice steady. With that, she marched out of his office, telling herself over and over again not to burst into tears. This was part of the job and she had to be tough. The earlier she got used to it, the better for her.

——

When Vivian finished her work for the day, she dreaded going to Scott’s office to tell him that she was leaving, but she was also worried that he might need something or that she had forgotten something again, and the last thing she wanted was for him to yell at her for the second time that day.

Straightening her clothes and grabbing her handbag, she tried to push her thoughts away and headed for his office. She knocked the first time and got no reply. When she did the second time, she heard a low “Come in” from within.

Vivian slowly opened the door and peeked into the office. Scott wasn’t sitting behind his desk as usual. Instead, she saw him lying on the couch on the left side of his office. His suit jacket was gone and his shirt wasn’t tucked in. He held his tie in one hand, and his other hand lay across his face. He looked so worn out and for a moment, Vivian wondered if he had really invited her. Did he really want her in here? She thought of closing the door and leaving, but for some reason she couldn’t just leave him lying there. He looked like he needed some help, so she quietly stepped in and closed the door behind her.

He didn’t move, and for a second, she just stood there watching him. Realizing how creepy it was, she moved closer. “Mr McCall” she said, keeping her voice as low as possible. She almost reached out to touch him, but stopped herself immediately.

“Hmmmm” he responded without taking his hand off his face.

“I just wanted to let you know that I was leaving.”

“Alright. Good night, Miss Sanchez.” He replied in a muffled voice.

This was her cue to leave, but her feet seemed rooted on the spot. “Are… are you alright, Mr McCall” she asked. “You don’t look like you are.”

“I’m fine,” he said. “You can go home”

Vivian looked around the room. His desk was a mess. There was files scattered around the top. His laptop was still on and open, and his suit jacket was draped on his chair headrest. Ignoring his statement, she gently dropped her bag on one of chairs, headed to his desk and began to clear it up, careful not to mix up any files so she didn’t get in trouble.

By the time she was through and looked up again, he was in a sitting position, watching her work. “I thought I said you could leave,” he said.

“I know.. I just… I thought you needed some help. Are you sure you are alright, Mr McCall? No offense, but you don’t look alright.”

Scott winced. The concern in her voice even after he had been unnecessarily mean to her that morning made him feel so guilty and he didn’t like it. What was it about this woman that made him so….. He didn’t even know how to describe the way he felt.