Page 6 of Following His Commands

I walk straight to the receptionist. “Hi, my name is Danielle Hutchinson. I’m starting as a paralegal today.” I give the woman my best, most confident smile.

“Hi, welcome. I’m GiGi. Follow me and I’ll take you straight to HR,” she says, walking around the counter to greet me.

I follow her through the office. A lot of eyes land on me. I know what they’re thinking:Who’s the new girl? Where’d she come from? What is she doing here? Is she a threat to my job?

I try to avoid making eye contact with any of them. I’m sure I’ll meet them all in good time.

GiGi knocks on a door and opens it. “Stella, I have Danielle Hutchinson for you,” she says before stepping aside and ushering me forward.

“Oh, good. Come on in, Danielle. Let’s get you all sorted and set up as quickly as possible. You could not have arrived at a better time, or maybe it’s the worst time. It could go either way,” Stella says cryptically. “Please have a seat.”

I walk into the office and sit in the proffered chair.

“We just need you to fill in these forms. Sign here and here, on this, to release the company tech and then you’ll be all set.” She smiles.

I breeze through the paperwork. I’m eager to get in and get started on whatever work might be waiting for me. Thirty minutes later, I hand all the documents back to Stella.

“Perfect. Now, let’s get this over with. He’s been grumpier than usual this morning,” she warns me.

“Who has?” I ask.

“Mr Warner, your new boss. The person you have to work with. I’m sorry in advance, by the way. If you have any issues, come and see me. I’ll touch base with the other partners. They’re the only ones who can talk each other off the ledge. As brilliant as they are, they all have their moments,” she whispers to me as we continue to make our way through the various hallways and open work spaces.

Stella taps on a door. All the other offices appear to have glass walls you can see right through. Except this one. It’s windows are all fogged over. Obviously, whoever’s inside doesn’t want to be in the centre of a fish bowl.

“What?” a growly voice bellows from the other side. A vaguely familiar voice. Though, for the life of me, I can’t seem to place it.

Stella looks at me and rolls her eyes. “Here goes nothing,” she says before swinging open the door. “Mr Warner, I have Danielle Hutchinson here.”

“Who’s Danielle Hutchinson and why should I care?” the voice replies.

“She’s your new paralegal,” Stella says, walking farther into the office while leaving me to quietly follow behind her.

My steps halt on the spot. The world spins around me. This is not happening right now. I blink, hoping that what I’m seeing is nothing more than a mirage, a hallucination from lack of sleep and too many orgasms.

Orgasms. Argh. the reason I had all those orgasms is staring right back at me from behind a huge, atrociously ornate, mahogany desk. A smirk graces his lips as he stands, walks around the furniture, and stops two steps in front of me. Then he holds out a hand for me to shake. I place my palm in his and instantly regret it when I feel that same spark.

Last night, I put it down to my alcohol-impeded brain. But I have no excuse today.

Yes, I do. I have thetoo many orgasmsexcuse. They must have short-circuited my neurons.

“Danielle, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Alistair,” he says, gripping my open palm. His thumb rubbing up and down the side.

“Dani. And it’s nice to meet you too, sir,” I offer in return before tugging my hand free. I don’t miss the heat in his eyes. And then realisation dawns on me. He gets off on it. On that particular term.

Great one, Dani.

My gaze trails downwards, and I immediately snap my head up. He smiles at me, knowing full well I was checking out his package.

I need to quit. I can’t possibly work for this man. Can I?

FOUR

This morning was shit. It all started when I woke up alone, courtesy of the woman currently standing in my office, the one who also ditched me at some point in the middle of the night.

“Thank you, Stella. I’ll handle it from here,” I direct to our HR manager. I wait for her to leave the office, my eyes never leaving my little runaway. I wasn’t expecting to ever see the girl again, and here she is. Practically served up on a silver platter for my taking.

“I… ah…” she stutters.

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