Susan dragged herself out of bed, hitting her alarm clock with a force that could only come out of resentment. She looked in the mirror and laughed upon seeing how bedraggled and haggard she looked. It was lucky that she didn't ever sleep with anybody—he'd be scared off the moment he saw her wake up. Susan went into the bathroom and stepped into the shower, allowing the hot water to relax her muscles and rinse her hair clean. When she was finished, she got ready for the day, made herself look ever the professional with a tight, neat ponytail behind her back, a modest-thing tweed skirt, and a blouse that buttoned up to the neck. This was essentially her uniform when she went into work. Her boss, Tyson Landis, was always telling her to relax, to let her hair down, but it was something she just wasn't capable of doing. She was mortified to think of the lack of professionalism it would require going into the job wearing her hair loose.
When she arrived at the office, things seemed to be in crisis. The looks on everyone's faces would have made her laugh had they not scared the shit out of her just from anticipating the mess she'd have to clean up. Behind his desk, Tyson was pacing impatiently, one hand holding his phone to his ear and the other tapping nervously on his thigh. This was something he did rarely, as the man was typically completely unflappable.
Susan waited for his phone call to be over before she questioned him.
"Tyson," she said, "What is going on?"
He shot her a look, then sat down in his chair and ran his hand over his head. Tyson was handsome even when he was upset. His skin was dark and smooth, his eyes even darker. He was always well-dressed in suits that were tailored to every specific measurement of his body. His head was shaved bald but he had a black goatee that accentuated the lines of his jaw and cheekbones. Honestly, and she would only ever admit this to herself, Susan had had a crush on him since she'd started and every time he looked her way, a she felt butterfly wings flutter in the stomach. Susan was absolutely inexperienced with men in general, having never gone further than chaste kisses with one, but hoped that if she had to choose anybody to touch her, it would be Tyson Landis.
"They're coming today. Not next week. Today."
Susan's jaw dropped. Them. The potential partners— the two men who, if the companies merge, would almost double the value of Tyson's considerable empire.
"Why today?"
"They said it would be more convenient than waiting until next week."
"But one day's notice?"
"No," he said, gritting his teeth. "Zero days. They called me this morning."
Susan blanched, her fingers clenching and unclenching over the leather-bound calendar she was carrying around the office at all times. It was like a security blanket to her and the blanket was tearing, ripped apart by the mere thought of a major unscheduled event, perhaps the most important event they had anticipated all year.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Go prepare the presentation, Susie," he said, sighing, "and get me coffee, please."
It took her about an hour to get through the first task, putting together the binders for the presentation as well as double-checking the hardware to make sure everything was ready for display. Susan cursed him for refusing to hire interns—they would have gotten it done much more quickly, but he said he didn't trust anybody he hadn't properly vetted and he just didn't have time to get through the resumes of college kids. And it was true, but it was also desperately inconvenient for the both of them. As his assistant, Susan was responsible for getting literally everything done that he didn't have time to do himself. They worked in an office full of people and yet he trusted nobody but her. The thought made her feel warm but also annoyed; if he valued her so much, he would have given her a pay raise by now, some incentive to continue on working as hard as she did. Still, she tried not to complain too much.
When she was downstairs waiting for his order at the coffee shop, her jaw nearly dropped when she saw three men walk in, dressed expensively in top of the line suits, walking straight and tall as only the very wealthy can. They must be the company, the men who had demanded the meeting moved to today instead of next week. She panicked when they got on the elevator and disappeared, her hands shaking anxiously as she waited for Tyson's coffee to be finished. She grabbed it quickly when the barista put it on the counter and hurried to the elevator, pushing the button over and over until it finally opened. She pushed the button for the eighth floor and waited nervously until she stepped off. The men were already in the boardroom with Tyson, who was gesturing for them to take their seats. He saw her and beckoned her in, pulling out her chair for her and introducing her around the table. Her boss always had her sit in on his meetings and presentations, insisted upon having her at his side at any given moment. Susan had trouble not staring at each man sitting around the table. Each was as handsome as the next, all as tall as Tyson, all well-featured and chiseled. The man in the middle, Edward, with blue eyes and short pale hair, caught her looking and looked back, his eyes dancing, and winked at her. Her face went red and she immediately turned towards the presentation. Watching Tyson work was almost erotic to her every time. He was so powerful, so charismatic that she had trouble imagining anybody would be able to resist doing what he asked of them. She knew that, as his assistant, she genuinely had no choice other than to obey him, but had a feeling that she would do so anyway. His presence demanded compliance. She felt Edward's eyes on her as she stared at the screen and felt herself growing hot. Occasionally she'd glance back at him and he'd hold her eye, give her a knowing, teasing smile that she had trouble reading. When the presentation was finally over, the four men spoke amongst themselves, with Susan barely paying attention to what they were saying. Everything must have worked out in Tyson's favor, though, because as they all shook hands with him he was grinning ear to ear, practically bouncing out of his skin. After the men had left and they were back in his office, Tyson scooped Susan up in his arms and twirled her around. Never had he shown her such affection. The touch of him made her mouth go dry and she wanted to stay in his arms. Too soon, he set her down on the floor and kissed the top of her head.
"Susie, you're a life-saver. Really. Let me take you out tonight."
"Me?"
He laughed. "Yes, you. Go home how. Get ready."
So she did, reeling and nervous, wondering how the night would go.