Day Dreamin' Part One

Here's part one of Day Dreamin'. Still working on it, but, if you'd like to see the rest and juicy bits https://www.wishtender.com/CharlieQuinn Check out my small writing fund donation. It'll give me more incentive to keep typing away. Currently at 6.5k words! But here's the start of it, so enjoy:

The chain attached to my collar suddenly clinked and went taunt with tension as it was yanked forward, which made me tip forward unexpectedly with a muffled, “Mmmpfft!” A deep, amused chuckle sounded. He pulled me up by the chain of my collar till I wriggled and squirmed my way up onto his lap from the floor before him. My hands were cuffed behind me, the steel biting into my skin slightly as I tried to keep my balance. His suit pants were soft against my bare skin and making it both easier and harder to slide up into the right position. He didn’t help me, he just pulled at the chain in the direction he wanted me in. My face was flush with effort, the bit I was wearing making things a little harder as I had to keep trying to swallow as I didn’t want to drool all over his expensive pants. That would earn me a harsh punishment. Finally, I was more or less where he wanted me, I was in his lap over one knee. My ass within his reach, which ended up being his goal,

“Have you been a good girl?” He asked as a large, rough hand smacked me on my ass; At the same time, the same large hand lightly but more firmly than necessary smacked a document down on my desk,

“Yes Sir!” I squeaked as I was jolted out of my day dream. I looked up with eye’s still smouldering with naughty day dreams, until I realised my boss was standing before me. My cheeks instantly flushing bright red and eyes filling with horror as I realised what I’d said, and to whom. I saw a quirk of a smirk ghost the very handsome face before me, right before I quickly stared in horror at my hands in my lap, heart sinking.

“Day dreaming again, Charlie?” It wasn’t really a question, and well, the answer was obvious. There was amusement in the gravely, deep voice, but my ears were burning red, so I missed what he said under his breath which sounded a lot like, “I envy them”,

Clearing his throat lightly, “Could you put this into the system before you leave today?” Then apologetically added, “It might take a while. If you stay longer to finish it just let me know, I’ll update your hours manually,” He slid the document towards me, it was a few pages long. I nodded a bit to enthusiastically and in my over eager state to be buried alive where I sat, I went to grab the document from him and knocked the container of pens all over the place. I died inside. My soul decided to leave me, and I let it, begging for it to bring me with it. Not looking up from shame, I rolled my chair back and I got down on the floor, glad to have the desk hiding me from my embarrassment for a minute, then started picking up pens. He crouched down, looking at me under the desk,

“Charlie, go take five before you start anything else. Okay?” Amusement rolled off him, but he stayed professional. I was just glad I didn’t have anyone to witness this, as I was his P. A and had a separate office. I clutched the pens in my hand, daring to look at him,

“Thank you, Sir-ah, Dimitri,” I said catching myself, and looked at him with all the dignity a woman could have on all fours hiding under a desk with her Boss crouched down before her. He nodded; a smile appeared on his face as he started to get up, the only sign of his demeanour changing. Shortly after I heard the door to his office door open and click shut. I sighed heavily and slumped down. That was the worst he’d caught me so far. I’d only been here for about two months. The day dreams had started off innocently, then just took a free fall into the gutter shortly after. Apparently, I had a thing for older men, well, more specifically one older man: him. Dimitri. Sighing again, I gripped the pens in my hand and with a huff, got up. Put them back in their container then smoothed out my black skirt. He was right, I needed to take five, I wasn’t sure how I was going to get my dignity back after that, but a coffee would be a start.

A woman in her late twenties stared back in the mirror, flush red cheeks made her naturally red lips stand out even more, sharp grey eyes still held a lingering ghost of the horror that just took place in them but at least not a hair of her perfectly curly brunette locks were out of place. In these moments I was glad I didn’t wear make-up. Cold water hit my burning cheeks and it was the best feeling I’d ever felt. I splashed water on my face several times till it felt like my soul was returning to me then headed for the kitchen.

Awkward kitchen small talk avoided and a fresh coffee in hand, I returned to my post. I saw the silhouette of Dimitri sitting at his desk through the tinted glass of his office as I walked by, my cheeks started to flush again, no! What happened, didn’t happen. Shut up brain. I told myself. It didn’t help of course. Sitting down, I enjoyed a few sips of my coffee before turning my attention to the document that got me busted. Picking it up, I scanned it, put my coffee down and put my glasses on.

Few hours later, my coffee sat cold and forgotten. The light outside had vanished, and I pushed my glasses up for the fiftieth time. A deep frown had settled on my face, and I bit the end of my pen. Literally chewing on my thoughts. It was standard paperwork, few invoices, but something was wrong. Call it a gut feeling. I was so wrapped up in thought, that I didn’t hear Dimitris’s office door open and him walk over,

“Day dreaming again Charlie?” He said, not hiding his amusement this time. I absent mindedly mmm’d, in his direction. Only barely registering that he’d entered and was leaning on the door frame to my office.

“…It just,” I said just as distracted. It was his turn to frown slightly. “It just doesn’t feel right, you know?” I still had the pen in my mouth, so it came out sounding like I was smoking in a key scene of an old-fashioned gangster flick. “Come here,” it wasn’t an order, but a grin flickered across his face (not that I saw), and I heard him come around and take a spot next to me. “So, these,” I pointed at numbers on my screen. “These… Somethings not right,” He leaned over to get a better view of the screen, we were rubbing shoulders at this point, but my focus was on the puzzle before me. “You know when you’re looking at something, but you don’t know what it is?” I gestured at the screen, “That”. Dimitri was silent while he analysed my screen, frown deepening. “I can’t reference it against the older invoices,” my tone betrayed my irritation, “as I can’t find which folder Cheryl’s put the files under”. I was Cheryl’s substitute while she was on maternity leave, I was honestly surprised Cheryl had chosen me to fill the spot. Not having much experience, at all, being a P.A, I’d just applied for as many jobs I could for my summer break (yes, I know I’m old to be a student. It’s called mature student, thank you). Definitely did not turn down this gig when it came calling, and to be honest, it wasn’t difficult to pick up. Basically, just the same as university work plus a hot boss and phone calls.

Speaking of the hot boss. My body just realised how close he actually was right now; I could smell his faded cologne mixed with coffee and my cheeks started heating up to two thousand degrees. Leaning over with one hand on my desk and the other in his suit pants pocket, he mulled over what he was looking at, then he slowly looked at me,

“I think it’s late, and we’ll look at this again in the morning,” there was an edge to his voice, that scared me slightly. Did I upset him? Oh, crap I stayed too late didn’t I. I got lost in thought again. He’s probably pissed that I wasted company time over this. Looking down, I nodded, his gaze too harsh.

“Sorry, I got lost in thought again,” I said softly, heart sinking. It was his turn to blink, the anger that seemed to fill him dissolved instantly,

“No Charlie, you did good to bring this to my attention”. He did something that I think surprised us both. I heard him shift, then his fingers gently cupped me under my chin, gently tugging my chin up, till I moved my head so I was looking at him. My body was instantly alight. I was day dreaming again, wasn’t I? I’d fallen asleep at my desk again doing paperwork, I knew it. I couldn’t help it; it was so boring. Images of my lusty thoughts flickered through my mind, as I stared up at him. I hadn’t played out this scenario before. His thumb caressed my cheek for a second before he hastily retracted his hand. Waking us both up. Oh. That wasn’t a day dream. Oh no. We both stared at each other, not entirely sure what to do in that moment. I don’t think I could have gotten redder in the face by that point. He recovered first, voice sounding a bit tight at first when he spoke, “No, we’ll tackle this in the morning. I’ll get you to ring Cheryl to get the older files off her in the morning,” he paused, not quite sure about what he was about to say, “are you alright to get home?” My eyes widened, fuck.

“What’s the time?” I asked panicked, whirling around to look at my laptop for the time, “Fuck!” I groaned loudly, sinking into my chair. I’d missed the last bus by a solid half an hour. Taxi was going to cost at least twenty-five. This display of breaking my “professional” demeanour seemed to break the awkwardness that had settled between us, and he laughed,

“Come on. I’ll bring you home.”

My heels clicked loudly through the quiet carpark as we walked up to his car, I know that he was the CEO of a construction company, but for some reason him having a truck for a car seemed to surprise me. Thought it would be some cushy company Mercedes or something, given how big the company was. Seeing my surprise, he smiled, shrugging,

“Once a builder, always a builder,” he walked around to his door, “the seats just got a bit more padded”. I literally climbed in; this thing was built like a tank. Sinking into his seat, he suddenly looked exhausted and closed his eyes for a brief moment. Suddenly I felt bad that he was giving me a lift. How often was he there that late? It was quarter to nine, and he was at work on the dot at eight each morning. Seemingly sensing my frown, he perked up, “Where we off to?” He asked, starting the engine.

Short while later, I stared out the window as highway lights flickered past, “So, what do you actually do? Or wanting to do?” He asked suddenly darting a glance at me, “As this is a temporary role”.

“I’m a student,” He paused and looked taken aback, “I just applied to as many jobs I could that fit in my summer break. Cheryl just happened to call me back first,” I felt something shift within him again and the sense I’d tipped over the first domino today got stronger. I’d found something I wasn’t supposed to.

“Are you studying business, or finance?” His voice hadn’t changed but I feel like that was because he was controlling it this time.

“No, I, ah,” Somehow, I suddenly felt like I was about to say something very wrong, “Sociology. I’m about to start my Masters after the break…” I trailed off. Glancing at me again, the shadows on his face betrayed nothing about the sudden ice feeling I was getting from him. I knew I was under qualified, Cheryl must have had no one else to choose from.

“Have you had a position like this before?” Looking down at my hands, I played with my ring nervously,

“No,” a small voice that was mine said. He breathed in deeply and we rode in silence for a few minutes. I plucked at my fingers. With another deep breath, Dimitri suddenly chuckled as we slowed down and stopped at some lights, it was a dangerous chuckle one that my body wasn’t sure what to make of. Turning to me with a dangerous smile on his face,

“Well, looks like someone’s underestimated you Ms. Charlie,” My body couldn’t decide if it wanted to run as hard and fast away from him, or strip naked and jump him this second.

“You’ve been one of the best P. A’s I’ve had,” Looking up in surprise at the sudden praise, he flashed another smile before turning down my street. I pointed out my building, “So, tomorrow,” He said pulling up outside it, “Would you mind staying late again? You’ll be compensated of course. I’ll get us takeout as well,” My stomach decided that was the moment to growl loudly, reminding me I hadn’t eaten since lunch,

“Ah, sure, I don’t mind. But I can bring my own food though,” He shook his head at that,

“No, my treat,” he insisted. I opened my door and started to climb out, “And Charlie,” I turned around after I’d jumped down, “this is between us for now. I don’t think I need to say that though. You’re smart and I think you’ve already figured that out. I believe you have found something that other’s rather you hadn’t,” he sank back into his chair again, running his hand through his hair short dark hair; then said more to himself, “and I’ve already got a migraine coming.”

After we said goodnight to each other, and him driving off toward his own destination, an unease settled in my stomach. I’d never been good with conflict, and this was serious. It looked like Cheryl was trying to cover something up. The sudden feeling of anger burnt through me at the same time, apparently, she’d hired me because she thought I was an idiot. Well, I was an idiot for lusting after my boss but not when it came to my work ethic. Plus, hiring a researcher? (Even if I am an amateur researcher), that was a rookie mistake on her part. With an uneasy, angry huff, I turned around and headed to my apartment to tame the now growling demon that was my stomach.

The next morning, I got into the office, made my routine coffee, unsuccessfully dodged small talk about the weekend which ended up with me agreeing awkwardly to go to work drinks tomorrow (Saturday; not that I’d actually go), and then me not so subtly running away from the kitchen to the safety of my office. God small talk was painful. I was extremely thankful that this position had its own office. Checking emails, I marked the ones that were urgent, ignored most of them, deleted some spam, answered a phone call, and then turned my attention to writing the list of to do for Dimitri.

I started thirty minutes earlier than him, mostly so that I could remind him what meetings he had and to remind him (make him) respond to emails that needed his attention. The rest of the day was just filing, database, answering calls, emails, and taking notes in meetings. It was honestly boring, but the pay was decent, and that’s all I cared about. Plus, the social hierarchy and power dynamics of office culture were insanely interesting. Like none of us wanted to go to drinks tomorrow, half the staff hated each other and the last thing they’d want to do is spend their free time together with work mates, or partying. But they’d show up. I knew I was talked about, newbie not playing the game and plus I had my own office, I wasn’t part of the daily discourse or the office lore that was important for comradery. Cheryl was a terrible gossip from what I’d caught on, and her replacement was a terrible killjoy. My bad. But even with my mind loaded with power structures, big words, -ologies and how social norms worked and why they were (or weren’t) important. I was still a little bitch and still couldn’t say straight up to Dave I was not interested in going to work drinks. So, the agree and run away tacit would have to suffice and save face. It was kinder… Or so I tell myself.

On the dot of eight AM, Dimitri strolled in, I didn’t look up from my email as he stood in my doorway,

“How do you do that?” I asked him as he went to say, I assume his generic good morning greeting, but the look of confusion replaced whatever was on his tongue.

“Huh?” Was his smart response, I gestured to the clock on the wall behind me, still without looking up at him,

“How are you here every day on the dot at eight? Seriously, it’s creepy,” I finished typing my sentence and looked up to a very handsome and amused face. He hadn’t shaved which meant he hadn’t slept well. I might have been new, but I noticed patterns. The stubble could definitely stay however, made him even more delicious and gave him a ruggish feeling, that I very much appreciated.

“Honestly,” he looked like he was debating whether to tell me, “I drive in early, set my alarm, then have a nap in the truck before I walk in.” Now it was my turn to look confused. Shrugging, “Traffic is unpredictable, so I’d rather be early, have a nap; than to be running late,”

“You’re weird,” I concluded after a few seconds of looking at him in silence, “But, that does make much more sense than any of my conspiracy theories,” something had changed between us, I’d never been this casual with him before, and he seemed relaxed. It was nice to be able to be myself, well, the begins of being myself. It just got weirder and went downhill from here. “I thought maybe you had a secret highway. Or a button in your truck that would cause cars in front of you to part like the sea in the bible.” He laughed,

“I wish I was that rich,” I slid my handwritten to-do list over the desk towards him,

“The stubble was the only reason I ruled out my robot theory,” at that, he self-consciously rubbed his chin,

“It suits you,” I remarked off-handily at his doubt, then focused very intensely on the email before me, as I registered that’s not something I should probably be saying. His eyes darken with some sort of emotion for a second which I didn’t see as I was intently staring at the laptop screen. He gave his stubble a last thoughtful stoke then stepped forward into the office to collect the list. I pushed my glasses up, trying to hide my bright red cheeks but then realised I had to go through the list with him. Clearing my throat, as I felt that my voice would betray me,

“So, you have your first meeting with Graham at ten,” I squarely looked him in the deep, gorgeous, brown eyes… I tried my best to invoke all the boss girl self-help podcasts I’d listened to, be assertive! “Don’t, ah-“ I’d forgotten what I was saying. I looked down at the list instead, it was too hard! “Ah, don’t forget the estimate list for the project. Then at two, you have lunch with Laura from accounts. And you’ll need to charm her pants off because she’s annoyed at us for not filing things correctly for her,” He took the list off my desk looking amused,

“Not filing things correctly?” He questioned whilst looking at the list,

“Yeah, I have several emails from her saying we’ve been filing things wrong this year and it’s giving her a headache,” I hesitated, then frowned, “wait, who does the filing?” The next domino fell and we both said at the same time,

“Cheryl.” We looked at each other, the atmosphere turning serious again.

“I’ll ring her at nine asking where those files are,” He nodded. We both got to work.