Page 14 of The Woman

Perhaps the stress of the last few days has me hearing things. I rub a hand over my face, trying to clear my mind.

“It’s late. Did you eat already again?” she asks.

“I did,” I answer, tugging at my tie. She’s in another pair of those tiny shorts that barely cover her ass but is wearing a t-shirt this time. Although it’s small like the rest of her clothes, it at least covers her breasts better than the dress and tank top did.

The expression that crosses her face after my reply could almost be described as disappointment, but then it’s gone, and she smiles. “Maybe tomorrow. Could I get you a glass of water? Or tea? I know you don’t drink coffee in the evenings.”

My natural inclination is to tell her no and that I don’t need anything from her, but I’m tired, and I figure it will be nice to come out of my shower to an already prepared drink. “Tea. Thanks,” I tell her as I head toward my room. “It’s in the cupboard ab–”

“I know where it is,” she replies, cutting me off. I cast a glance over my shoulder at, her but she’s already walking quickly into the kitchen.

I can’t deny that she’s not quite what I had been expecting when I selected her, and she even seems different than the woman from our meeting today. I’m not sure what to think of that or how I feel about it.

When I come out of the shower, she has my tea sitting on the coffee table, and the TV turned to the business news channel. I almost feel a touch of appreciation for it.

Appearing beside me, Avery gestures to the couch and smiles that blank smile. “Take a seat. If you need anything else at all from me, I’ll be in my room.” She begins walking away but then suddenly pauses and turns around. “Oh. I did want to ask you if maybe I could come with you tomorrow?”

My brows furrow, and I turn to face her. “You want to come with me?”

Is it normal for women to ask such things?

“Yes.” Her hands clasp together in front of her as if she’s nervous, but she keeps her head up and voice steady. “There is not much I can do here, and I thought it would be nice to see where you work.”

I narrow my eyes at her, confusion beginning to form in my mind. I can’t imagine being stuck inside here day after day. I’d be going out of my mind with boredom. But it’s completely normal for women to be at home throughout the day, and the fact that she asked me–

“That way, I could provide whatever services you need from me there,” she then adds, and suddenly, it all makes sense. She’s not asking because she’s bored and wants to come. She’s simply asking so that she can please me and do whatever I ask of her there like she’s supposed to.

“No,” I answer before turning my back on her and taking a few steps toward the living room.

The thought of her lingering around, invading my office as well as my home, sets off the tension in my body, making my shoulders bunch. I don’t need that at all.

But then a thought has me stopping dead in my tracks in front of the couch. If she’s there with me tomorrow, my grandfather won’t come in and ask me questions. He and my father won’t be suspicious or disappointed. If I touch her arm or have her do something for me in front of him, he should be convinced that I’m not “wasting this privilege”.

After briefly closing my eyes and sucking a breath through my nose, I turn back around.

“Actually. I changed my mind.”

Chapter 8

I decided to take my own car this morning so that we could avoid being around other people as much as possible.

We’re both silent along the drive, not that I’d expect a conversation from her, but I can’t help noticing out of the corner of my eye, Avery looking out the window at everything we pass as if it’s something exciting. It occurs to me that this would be the first time she’s seen all of this, which is a weird concept for me. But I find it puzzling that she’s noticing it at all.

After pulling into the underground parking garage, I find my designated spot and park. The main elevators are closer, but I opt for taking my private elevator toward the back of the garage, using the special card I was given. Avery continues looking around at everything along the walk and then watches the numbers change as we ascend.

When the doors open, she makes a beeline toward the windows, looking out at the city with wonder and then down at the street far below us. I study her for a moment, my brows bunched together. I’m unsure if this is normal behavior, but I conclude it must be. She hasn’t seen any of this in person before or been up this high. The building my apartment is in is half the height of this one.

My eyes drift slowly down her body as she stands there. Today, she has on the jeans she was apparently wearing when she arrived at my place the other day. They aren’t too small like the rest, but they cling tightly to her form, which means they make her ass look voluptuous, which in turn has my sights being pulled to it often. They’re paired with another tank top I got her, but this one isn’t as small as the other ones she’s worn.

Pulling my eyes away, I head to my desk and pick up the phone to page my new assistant, who I assume is here already. Thomas answers immediately. Out of everyone who came in for an interview, he was the only one to speak his mind and stand up to me.

“Are you caught up on the program?” I ask.

“Mostly, yep. The rest will come with using it more.”

“Good,” I answer, watching as Avery takes notice of the water feature wall and steps over to it. “Is my grandfather out there?”

“No, he’s not. That guy is kind of scary, to be honest. He said I looked like a bum yesterday when I came in. I thought he was going to throw me out.” I grunt in response. He probably did look like a bum. “Do you want me to get him?”

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