Page 144 of Naughty Nelle

Forcing myself to focus on my work, I booted up my computer and checked my emails. The majority of them were from Catherine sent this morning. More ridiculous things to do like picking up her dry cleaning, setting up her waxing appointment, and color-coding her files. Didn’t she have anything better to do first thing in the morning than piling a crapload of chores on me?

I got to work, resenting every minute. Just as I finished booking her trip to Milan and setting up all the appointments she requested, a familiar clickety-clack sounded in my ears. Shit. Catherine was here. Nine a.m. This was early for her. Her usual ETA was ten. Maybe she had a restful weekend and was in a good mood. If so, later today I could ask her for a raise or persuade her to let me work more extra hours to help me pay for my mother’s treatments.

“Did you book my Milan trip?” Not even a good morning.

I looked up from my computer. “Yes, I just got done booking your entire trip. Do you want me to forward you the itinerary?”

Silence. Not even a thank you. Her serpentine eyes lingered on my roses and mine on her outfit du jour.

As usual, with her svelte supermodel figure, she was a walking advertisement for Chanel. Today she was wearing a classic Chanel suit—a smart little black and white tweed number with fringed embellishments—and matching “CC” pumps. Layers of faux pearls were strung around her long neck and a bright red “CC” monogrammed headband held back her waist-length raven black hair.

“Roses?” she said frostily as she passed my desk. “I must be paying you way too much for you to afford them.”

“Someone sent them to me.” My voice quivered. Nope. Not a good day to ask for a raise.

She eyed me with contempt. “Really? That’s a surprise.”

God, she was a bitch. I’d been working for her for a little over a month, and I’d never heard a kind word out of her mouth. Not once.

“Well, I don’t want you to be smelling the roses all day. We have lots to do.”

She dug her manicured hand into her black leather Chanel briefcase (God knows how much that cost) and pulled out a two-inch thick folder.

“Last month’s expenses. I want them done by the end of the day.”

She slapped the folder down on my desk and marched into her office, slamming the door behind her. Reluctantly, I opened it and scanned the receipts. Yowzer! This woman ate out at expensive restaurants morning, noon, and night. Breakfast at The Four Seasons…Lunch at Le Cirque…Dinner at Nobu. And since when was a thirty dollar tube of Chanel lipstick (for which I schlepped uptown to Bergdorf’s to purchase on my lunch break) an “emergency business expense”? Given the number of receipts in the folder, it was going to take me hours to prepare her expense report. I needed to get going on the tedious job right away. Just as I start arranging the assorted receipts by date, the phone rang.

“Boys’ toys,” I answered. Catherine never wanted me to give out her name unless it was absolutely necessary.

“Saarah…do you like your flowers?”

That voice! I recognized it instantly. My heart raced, and the phone receiver shook in my hand. It was him!

“Um, uh, they’re very pretty.” Who was I kidding? They were magnificent, and their intoxicating scent was making me dizzy.

“Good. I have a meeting in the city today. I shall collect you outside your office at six sharp for an early dinner. Ben has school tomorrow.” CLICK.

Shit! He didn’t even give me the chance to tell him that I might not be able to make dinner because of all the work my tyrannical boss was piling on me. With my mother’s health care crisis, I couldn’t afford to lose my job.

I immediately got back to work on the expense report, but my mind kept drifting to what I was going to wear on my date with Ari. My drab dress was not going to cut it. Sadly, I couldn’t afford to buy a new one, and there was no time to scoot up to my apartment to change into one of his pretty sundresses. As my heart pounded, wetness pooled between my legs. My cotton panties were soaked. Well, at least I knew what I was not going to wear.

I was still on the first week’s worth of expenses when Catherine came charging out of her office. A file marked “Competitive Boys’ Toys” was in her hand.

“Ike just called an emergency meeting with the design team in the boardroom. He wants me to demonstrate the top-selling boys’ toys.” Her voice sounded panicked as it always did when Ike pulled this kind of stuff. “I need you to come with me. Let’s go.”

I straightened up. This was not the first time I had to accompany Catherine to a meeting and be her puppet. Maybe she’d had great success creating the bestselling girls’ toyline of all times—Poutz—but she didn’t know the first thing about boys’ toys. As I followed her down the hallway to Ike’s boardroom, I anticipated assembling robots, action figures, and assault vehicles and then demonstrating how they worked while my wretched boss sat back in her chair and fluffed her hair.

Ike’s boardroom consisted of a long cherry wood table, a dozen black leather swivel chairs, a giant flat screen TV, and framed posters of all of the company’s successful toys. Ike, who was in his early 50’s, and the motley design team which included Fernando, were already seated around the table when Catherine and I entered the room. A dozen popular boys’ toys were scattered on the shiny wood, including a Power Rangers Zord, a Transformers action figure, and a Star Wars battleship. We took the two empty seats next to Ike, who was seated at the head of the table.

Ike got right down to business. “So, Catherine, can you please show me how little boys play with these toys.”

My inept boss smirked, looking my way. “My assistant will show you. She’s such a boy at heart.”

Her patronizing words made me cringe. Okay, I might have been a tomboy growing up, but I wondered if she knew that I could fuck a man’s brains out. And not just any man. A god. An Adonis. Ari’s beautiful face filled my mind and a tingling sensation coursed through my body, intensifying at my crotch.

Ike made eye contact with me, for sure recognizing me from our earlier encounter. With an encouraging smile, he asked me to get started.

My confidence soaring, I demonstrated each toy, one by one, complete with POW! ZING! VROOM! sound effects. Ike watched attentively, nodding his head throughout my presentation. When I was done, he thanked me, looking pleased, and returned his attention to Catherine.

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