Chapter 7: A Little Taste

I sat at my desk and quickly flipped through all three resumes while waiting for the first candidate to come in. I know I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but it was strange to me that I was interviewing for a personal assistant when I’d just been one of the many drones on the analytics floor of Marduke just a few days ago. I wondered if Gerald had any idea what was going on, or that I’d even bought the company. I was sure the rumor mill was running at full speed, and he was probably getting his fair share of questions since we’d been neighbors for most of my time working here. The thought of him getting hammered with inquiries was amusing, since he spent most of his time clueless about the goings on around him. He was a good guy. Maybe I’d arrange to give him a bonus just for the hell of it.

Under the resumes was a memo from someone named Michelle with some notes on the changes that had been implemented since I’d fired Gina yesterday. It was a neat, bulleted list of items that addressed the power vacuum from Gina’s expulsion, upper management concerns, and several other things I hadn’t considered in my hasty desire to acquire a company just to piss a couple of people off.

My phone interrupted that train of thought, vibrating an inch across the dark wood surface of the desk as it lit up. Another text from my mother. I caught enough of the preview to get the gist of the message. She wanted me to call her.

Before I could even answer the text or look back at Michelle’s report, the door opened, and in strode Vikram. He’d been with Helen and me when we arrived at the Dunbar building yesterday. YPV had loaned him to me for the next few days to help with the acquisition and restructuring. According to Michelle’s report, he had already met with the higher-ups at Marduke. He addressed any of their concerns and coordinated with them and middle management until Natalie could take on her new role. In only a handful of business hours, he’d managed to assuage the concerns of the executives, set up a temporary command structure to fill the gap left by Gina, and find a replacement for Natalie’s old position. Having spent most of my time in the lower levels of large corporations, I’d seen the amount of work a typical person could get done in the same amount of time, and was astounded by what Vikram had been able to accomplish. It truly was impressive what a person could do when properly compensated and given enough resources.

The young man had a coffee with him as he entered and sat it on my desk. “I hear you’re looking for a personal assistant? I’m here for the interview.”

“Um...”

Helen had primed me to interview the hot women right outside my door, so I was completely thrown off by what Vikram said. I hesitated in grabbing the cup of coffee as I tried to formulate some sort of response.

He grinned, “I’m just messing with you, man. I’m pretty happy where I am.”

I snickered and took a sip of coffee, relieved that he hadn’t been serious. “Good one.”

“I’d never in a million years think you would hire me when you have candidates like those out there.” He glanced through the open door and looked back at me, “Can I give you a bit of advice? Even if you’re caught flat-footed, try not to look like you are. You’ve got to be a bit more assertive if you’re going to survive in this world. A bit more dominant. Otherwise, people are going to walk all over you. If you thought I was actually serious, you should have told me to fuck off and pointed out the ladies sitting out there. At the very least, just blow me off by telling me to submit my resume then have me leave.”

He was right. My friends weren’t all going to be people like Dillon or some of the other guys. I wasn’t going to be solely working with people like Gerald and Natalie and the people in my circle weren’t going to be just like sweet Mrs. Lucas from across the hall. I was going to be rubbing elbows with savvy people who had infinite resources and the desire to fleece me the moment opportunity struck. I was going to be fighting off absolute snakes for the rest of my life. Helen had more-or-less told me the same thing, but it was different hearing it from someone who wasn’t trying to seduce me at the same time. Coming from Vikram, it rang a bit more sincere.

Vikram’s advice got me thinking ... why had I felt so powerful and confident with Bobbi last night, yet so awkward with everyone else? What was it about Bobbi specifically that gave me the gumption to literally kick her out of bed when she didn’t follow my exact directions? Was it the amount of anger and resentment over the way she had treated me and other decent people she worked with? Was it that simple? And even if it was, how the hell was I supposed to harness and weaponize it?

“I know,” I admitted, looking down into my coffee cup. “I had a couple of moments yesterday where I knew exactly what I wanted and I wasn’t letting anyone have an inch of slack, but those were special circumstances. I’ve never really been all that assertive. This is a new muscle I’m flexing.

“I get it,” Vikram said. “Before, you didn’t want to rock the boat. You didn’t want to risk pissing someone off because it could come back to bite you in the ass. You wanted everyone to like you and think that you were a nice guy because on the off-chance that you needed something, it was more likely everyone would have your back. But that’s not the case now, Marcus. You have everything, and you don’t need anything or anyone.”

He turned toward the door then looked back at me and said, “Everyone here is replaceable when you have these kinds of resources, man. Everyone here needs you now. Remember that.”

I chewed on those words as he opened the door to leave. “Hey Vikram?”

He paused halfway through the door and back. “Yeah?”

“Thanks for everything you’ve done so far.” I held up Michelle’s memo and said, “This is impressive as hell.”

“Any time,” he said, then he disappeared through the door, leaving me alone to sip my coffee and consider his words.

A few minutes later, the door opened again and my first interviewee walked into the room. She gave me a wonderful view of the way her pants molded around her substantial ass as she turned to shut the door then made her way over to my desk. Once there, she extended her hand across the wooden surface and gave me a brilliant smile. Her V-neck blouse fell forward to give me a generous view of the slopes of her breasts held in place by a lacy black bra. It was all I could do to not reach down and adjust the hard-on in my pants.

“Mr. Upton, my name is Bella Romano. I wanted to thank you for this opportunity.” She had a very slight accent - Italian maybe? It indicated that English wasn’t her first language, but despite that, she spoke it incredibly well.

I stood and grasped her soft hand in mine, raising my gaze to meet her eyes; I saw one corner of her mouth twitch. I’d been caught staring down her blouse, but judging by her smile and the feel of her thumb caressing the back of my hand as we shook, it was clear she didn’t mind if I looked.

I cleared my throat and tried to gain a measure of composure, “The pleasure is all mine, Bella. Please have a seat.”

We both sat down, and her eyes flickered to her resume on top of my desk. “I’m told you’re looking for an administrator to help you run your day-to-day efforts. As you can see, I’m extremely well-qualified for the position.”

I picked up her resume and glanced over it, not even sure why. I’d already reviewed all three of them and looking again wasn’t going to tell me anything new. I was probably just nervous. I’d never been in the position to hire anyone before, and doing this felt a little like being thrown into the deep end. I knew I had to make the choice for this position myself. I couldn’t just farm the entire process out to Helen. Whoever I picked would work with me more closely than anyone else, so that call was mine to make. It just wasn’t a decision I was comfortable enough to make.

Vikram’s words came to mind - ‘Everyone here is replaceable when you have these kinds of resources, man. You have everything, and you don’t need anything or anyone.’

I also didn’t owe anyone anything.

I inhaled deeply and took a moment to just enjoy the beauty in front of me.

“I’m sure you’re overqualified for this role, Bella,” I said. Then I corrected myself, “Miss Romano.”

“Bella is fine,” she responded.

“Bella,” I repeated. “I don’t think Helen would have let you get this far if your qualifications weren’t impeccable. I think this meeting is just to get to know you better, and to see if we have the kind of chemistry needed to be around each other for so long...”

“Of course.” she smiled and brushed some of her dark brown hair out of her face. The bedroom eyes she threw at me couldn’t have been mistaken for anything other than what they were. “What would you like to know?”

“How did Helen find you?”

She hesitated, her dark grey eyes searching the office, “I ... currently work for her law firm. Helen and I have worked closely together before.”

“I see. And why do you think Helen recommended you? I mean, aside from good credentials, why do you think Helen considers you a potential fit for this position?”

More hesitation on her part, made me wonder if she came here under the assumption this interview would be a slam dunk. At a glance, her breasts were the most impressive out of all three of the candidates. Honestly, she was so gorgeous that if she turned out to be as interesting as a phone book, I’d be tempted to hire her on the spot. She didn’t need to try hard.

“She didn’t give me any specifics,” Bella played with her hair as she seemed to struggle to find exactly the right words to use. I could tell she felt like she was carefully stepping through what she thought was a minefield. It made me wonder exactly how hard she had to work to get something she wanted, but it also spoke to how she handled pressure - she was clearly cautious almost to the point of appearing unsure of herself. “But she gave me enough information about you that I suspect I would have much to offer.”

Bella sat back in her chair and let the hand playing with her hair fall to the collar of her blouse. She began playing with the top button, tugging at it and giving me a slightly better view of her breasts plunging into the black lace that peeked over the edge of her shirt. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and locked eyes with me.

I swallowed, feeling my control over the situation slipping as my libido threatened to rear its ugly head. “And what did Helen tell you?” I really wish Helen hadn’t riled me up just before interviewing these women.

She cocked her head to the right, exposing the side of her neck as she toyed with the button on her shirt that held her cleavage in check. “She said you would need help with everything. I would be expected to pick up dry-cleaning, make sure all your needs are met, keep your calendar, and coordinate your day-to-day affairs with your other staff. All things which I excel at.”

Then the button she’d been toying with popped free. Bella fell silent, watching me for a long moment with a small smile on her lips, her insecurity completely gone by this point. Finally, she stood up. Her shoulders were thrown back and her bra-clad breasts sat halfway out of her blouse. She placed the blood-red fingernails of one hand on my desk and dragged them across the dark surface as she started to walk down the length of it. Her eyes captivated my gaze as they stayed fixed on me.

Fuck. This escalated quickly.

“She said you were young, newly wealthy, and single ... that you would need help navigating things.” Reaching the end of the desk, she walked around it and approached me as she started unfastening more buttons on her shirt.

“She said that new wealth can be isolating to some people who aren’t accustomed to it. It can make them lonely, and I would be expected to help with that.” Her shirt fell open, and she let it slip from her shoulders and pool around the bend of her elbows as her hands lowered to the clasp of her pants. I thought she was about to start taking those off too, but she simply stood there, modeling for me. Her midsection was soft and rounded like the rest of her. Her breasts were works of art, held high and proud with an abundance of cleavage that I could literally bury my face in. The top half of her black bra was lacy and see-through, while the bottom cups were made of a thick, satin-like material, designed to support her heavy breasts. I could see the tops of her areolas peeking through the sheer lace on each cup but little more than that.

Bella was the ideal ambassador for perfect femininity.

Her hands fell to her sides, and her shirt slipped all the way off her arms, dropping to the floor. “I know what that means, Mr. Upton. I can be your assistant, doing all the things that a powerful man like you doesn’t have time for.” She stepped toward me in a slow, languid fashion. Her eyes never left mine. “And I can take care of you in every way you need.”

Finally reaching me, she raised a hand as if to place it on the side of my face and then hesitated. Her eyes searched me, trying to gauge my reaction - whether her touch would be welcome or not.

As she approached, I sat back in my chair as much as I could without reclining in it and simply stared back at her, struggling to remember to breathe. Every glance she gave me ... every movement of her hands ... all of it was a calculated dance meant to get a sexual reaction from me, and none of it was wasted. She was a temptress who had perfected the art of seduction, and I hoped against all hope that she couldn’t tell I was absolute putty in her hands. In this moment, Bella put every other woman in the world to absolute shame.

With no sign of resistance from me, she slipped her fingers through my hair on the side of my head. Her fingernails grazed across my scalp which sent waves of electricity coursing across my skin. She ran a thumb across my cheekbone, but her gaze dropped to my lips and her pink tongue darted across her own, wetting them. The sight was tantalizing, and I wondered if I had the same look on my face as she did. She looked desperate to kiss me.

Then she gracefully lowered herself to her knees, her hand falling from my face to land in my lap. Her eyes flickered downward and then back up at me as she pressed her palm into my hard-on; I barely registered a whimper as it escaped her lips.

“May I see it?” she murmured. “What I’ll be working with?”

Part of me knew better than to agree. I was sure that if I felt the soft touch of her skin on my dick for even a millisecond, the interviews would be over. That part of me kept screaming to practice even a modicum of self discipline, but I quickly tamped down that line of thought and gave her permission with a nod. I wanted this. I wanted her.