Page 19 of His Plaything (Slade, Inc.)

Chapter Sixteen

Twenty minutes after her rendezvous in the stairwell with her boss, Morgan was back hard at work. She was working in Mr. Slade's office on her laptop as he worked on his desktop. Every so often she would look over at him with a silly, schoolgirl-crush smile. She knew she probably looked like a puppy watching her master, but Morgan couldn't hide her happiness.

"Mr. Slade, do you mind if I work in here, too? I have a few questions, and it would be easier to ask you in person than to just keep sending you emails." Shay's nauseatingly cheerful voice came from the doorway.

Morgan's happy smile and bright eyes faded immediately. Of course she has questions that only Mr. Slade can answer. Morgan frowned before exhaling a little too loudly. Her eyes flickered up to see her boss giving her a warning glare.

"Sure, Ms. Wilson. There's room at that table there." He pointed at a small table off to the side in his office.

Morgan's fingers stalled on the keyboard as she listened to the other woman enter and start to set up her work area with her own laptop. Mr. Slade said that the temp would only be around a week. For Morgan, that was five days too long.

After just a few minutes of silence, Shay broke Morgan's concentration again.

"Mr. Slade, can you look at something for me? I just can't seem to find the problem with this spreadsheet. The numbers are off, and I don't know why."

Mr. Slade lifted his head and glanced over at Shay. He then gave her a slow nod before letting his stare fall on Morgan. There was an odd look in his eyes. Morgan couldn't put her finger on it. It almost seemed like pride mixed with guilt. He didn't smile at her as he stood from his chair.

Morgan tried to keep her eyes on her computer screen, but she was soon watching the other two with a sideways glance. Mr. Slade leaned over Shay's shoulder, looking down at her work. She pointed at the screen a few times.

Soon Morgan was turned in her chair, staring shamelessly at the former coworkers. The former office plaything with her former boss. How much history did they have together? Bile started to rise in Morgan's throat. She held back a cough as she continued to torture herself with her sick curiosity.

Mr. Slade lifted his hand and placed it on Shay's shoulder as he pointed at her screen. The sight of him touching her had the sick feeling increasing inside Morgan. A spike of anxiety filled her chest, and she was having a bit of trouble controlling her breathing now.

Shay then looked up at her temporary boss with a flirty smile. She giggled, and Morgan could have fallen to the floor just then with disgust. Mr. Slade then squeezed Shay's arm tighter before giving her advice about something in the program.

"Mr. Slade, you're so smart. I would never have found that." She giggled up at him again.

Fucking stop touching her! Morgan was starting to feel hot all over. Her hands balled into fists in her lap, but she couldn't look away. Shay nonchalantly let her arm fall to her side. After a few seconds, she swung her arm, accidently touching his leg.

A deep breath rushed from Morgan. She didn't realize how loud it was until Mr. Slade looked over at her. Her face was overheated. She tried to give him a look that said "stop touching that woman", but she didn't think it came across. If it did, he didn't move his hand, anyway.

Mr. Slade gave her a bit of a confused look before returning to his conversation with Shay. Morgan couldn't stand it any longer. The last straw was when he leaned in to get a closer look at something. Their faces were so damn close that if Shay turned her head quickly, she would be kissing his neck. Fuck!

Shay giggled again, and Morgan knew she had to get out of there before she did something stupid. She hastily stood from her chair, hitting her already sore knees on the desk.

"Shit," she whispered through clenched teeth.

A mental picture of her and Mr. Slade fucking in the stairwell came to mind, but it was quickly soiled. In her mind, Morgan was replaced with Shay. The two had their hands all over each other. Morgan almost screamed, but fortunately, she caught herself.

Mr. Slade and Shay both looked up at her as she started to walk toward the door. "I'm going to get a coffee."

Shay's voice slowed her feet. "You already have a pop. It's not even opened."

Facing away from them, Morgan clenched her jaw and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she started out of the room, not responding to the other woman.

Fuck you. I just need to make it a few more days. Then she'll be out of our lives. Right?

Morgan's shoes made loud slapping noises as she stumped down the hall. Another male worker was standing in the doorway to his office. He gave her a bewildered glance, but she didn't react to him. She felt like slapping someone, anyone.

Morgan walked into the break room and started pacing. She didn't need any more caffeine, that was for sure. She kept tensing her hands and then relaxing them in an effort to rid herself of some of her stress. It wasn't really working.

After several minutes, she heard someone enter the room. Morgan stopped pacing and turned to find Marcie standing right behind her. She had a concerned look on her face, but it seemed almost fake. Was that true, or was Morgan simply not in a good emotional state at the moment?

"What's up with you?" Marcie raised an eyebrow at Morgan before she walked over to the sink.

As she set her empty mug in the sink, Morgan folded her arms over her chest. Marcie was far from what Morgan would call a friend, but right now, she needed to vent. That was probably a mistake, though.

"I think there's too many cooks in the kitchen."

---