3

The days were getting harder and harder, heavier and heavier, there was not a moment in which she did not regret having to be Leonardo White's secretary.

She could say: "to accept to be his secretary", but that's where it was: she hadn't accepted to be his secretary, he had just gone to order her to be his secretary, and as a result she had three times the work she had when she was a simple secretary, just another pawn in a huge company.

Three weeks had passed since she had been his secretary, and calmness had been her most dangerous enemy: she did not have a second of peace, huge and trapping dark circles were drawn under her haggard face, at his request, she had to arrive hours earlier, she did not even understand the reason for that order: She arrived at the company and there were only him and her and very few employees, so few that a hand was necessary to count them, during the period in which both were almost alone in the company, the only thing that Emma received, were uncomfortable questions and comments that did not leave her mind during the whole day.

If she were a little more sure of herself, she could say that Leonardo was flirting with her... but she was unable to come to a correct conclusion: one day he was kind, another he was coarse, another he was flirtatious, another happy as a child, the other... bitter as an old man.

"You have to be ready for tomorrow," he told her, and she raised her eyes, too exhausted to go unnoticed by a man as observant as he, "You didn't sleep well," he noted, though it was all too evident.

She hated it when he said something like that, it was his fault that she hadn't slept well. For the first time, Emma thought about quitting, she knew that going whole early mornings without sleep would end up killing her.

"Not much," she answered, averting her eyes from Leonardo.

"And you're thinner," he observed, his lips pursed in an expression that wasn't too clear to her, "Are you all right?"

Emma sighed, regulating the small mass of fury that was beginning to grow in her chest.

"I am, it's just too much... work," she confessed frankly, perhaps she was looking for him to get angry and fire her, so at least she wouldn't feel the guilt of having to give up perhaps the best job she could get.

"But it's more pay".

"But the work is too much for me..." The girl threw the papers on the table, her head hurt too much, she barely had breakfast, slept about three hours, locked herself at home to finish the documents that her boss had ordered her... she could not continue like this for too long, in fact, three weeks had been enough for her. "I think this was not made for me" she told him, perhaps wanting to reveal her desire to resign... or return to her old position.

"What do you mean by this, Emma?"

"I've never seen it as a g-good thing to sacrifice my health f-for work" Her voice sounded exhausted and timid, as if she dared to tell him that, but she was still afraid to do so.

"I still don't understand you" Of course he understood her, but he likes the sway in Emma's tired voice. "Be more direct" He took a seat next to the woman, looking into her eyes, a contact she couldn't maintain for even five seconds.

"This position involves more responsibility than I-I can bear w-without hurting my health".

Emma flinched when she felt Leonardo's hand lightly patting her shoulder, she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, swallowing saliva without saying anything. The pats soon turned into gentle caresses to the tense woman's shoulder, who was still with the words imprisoned in her throat.

"I understand, Emma. I don't do it intentionally, do you understand?"

She looked at him. Actually if it seemed like he was doing it intentionally, for if he didn't ask to go so early, she could at least get a little more than three hours of sleep each night.

"I understand".

"Although you're right, it's been a lot of work, I'm exhausted too" She looked at him, unable to hide her emotions. "Why are you looking at me like that? I'm serious, don't you believe me?"

"Of course I do, Mr. Leonardo... it's i-it's just that... this position is too much for me, I think that... w-would you like me to... isn't there any chance that I could go back to my old position?"

"No" Severe and immediate, that was the answer Emma received, he didn't even seem to consider it, he just hurled that answer at her like a hurricane that destroyed Emma's faint hopes of returning to her regular life. "No chance, Emma".

"It's w-what..."

"There is no chance for you to get your old job back: you stay here with me or you leave the company".

Emma swallowed saliva at the severity and decisiveness of his words, once again proving that he was not at all flexible. But, she told herself, she could not put her health above a job... three weeks sleeping badly and her body could not stand it, she could hardly eat, as the pain in her stomach forced her to refuse food, the pain in her back and neck did not allow her to conceive of peace.... not to mention the occasional dizziness or loss of consciousness that she suffered repeatedly... she could not imagine what it would be like if she continued like this for six months... or a year... she had thought that Leonardo would leave in three months, but he seemed to have very different plans and she could not stand one more night without sleep.

"Well... I don't think I have any other choice," Emma announced heavily, standing up weakly. "I'm going to quit..."

"Wait, wait, wait" Leonardo stood up quickly, holding her by the shoulders and sitting her back where she was, the man's long hands began to massage the tense woman, who shuddered at the contact, she was not someone who had experienced too much male touch, she had barely lost her virginity, and it had been at a party that she barely remembered. "Don't say things you may regret, Emma" Leonardo's voice entered her ears, walking around her, his movements became softer and more relaxing, although she felt uncomfortable, she had to admit she liked it.

"It's just that..., sir... it's very tiring for me... I think it's the best thing to do..."

"No, of course it's not the best thing to do" He let go of the woman's shoulders, who held her bag, no matter what he told her, she would end up leaving, she couldn't stand that job much longer. "You'll be out of a job, you'll never get one like this, you understand, don't you?"

"Maybe I don't want a job like this" Again, she tried to stand up and he forced her to sit down. There was something about Leonardo's touch that made her nervous, something she didn't know how to describe.

"Come on, Emma, you're just tired, if you leave work today, you'll end up regretting it tomorrow".

She looked at him, not believing his words were right. The reason she was this exhausted was precisely because of the job. Maybe she would end up regretting it, she accepted, but that didn't mean she couldn't get a job that required less of her.

Leonardo saw how, once again, Emma stood silently. Her steps were somewhat clumsy, she looked too exhausted, and from her position, he took the audacity to detail her with his eyes. A smile was stamped on his face, even though she was not the most exotic woman he had ever seen in his life, she was really attractive. Her slender legs and intense eyes gave her something that Leonardo did not know how to describe.

"Think carefully about what you are doing," he warned her, before she set foot out of the place. The woman did not respond, but she heard Leonardo's footsteps behind her, approaching her and holding her gently by the waist. The woman's breath began to shake, but she still did not say a word. "I know you will regret it" When Leonardo came close to her ear to whisper this, a strong shiver ran through the woman, who turned away from her boss, looking at her with a puzzled look. The man's strong perfume entered her nostrils and clung to the parts of her body he had barely touched.

"I'd like t-to stay, s-sir, but... it's too much for me, and..."

"Well," he interrupted her, she thought he would let her go, but he didn't. "What do you say if I make you a proposal?"

"What is it?" she asked, suspiciously.

"Nothing bad, don't worry," he reassured her, deciphering the prevention in those feminine eyes. "I have a proposal for you, but..." he got closer to the woman, to her face, as if he was going to touch her lips, although he ended up stopping at her ear, "what do you think if I tell it to you somewhere else?"

"B-but... it's a working proposal... isn't it?" questioned Emma, in a trembling voice, he still did not move his face away from hers, who was not very good at hiding the sudden nervousness she felt.

"Of course, it's a job offer, what did you think?"

"Nothing," Emma answered immediately, "But... if it's a job offer... why don't you give it to me here?"

Leonardo's hand stroked the woman's soft hair. She stopped a throbbing movement that struggled to escape from her body.

"You are my secretary, Emma, I think it's good for you to be a little closer to me".

She looked at him, not quite understanding his words. What did he mean by closer? She understood that she was close enough, and even... too close.

"I don't understand what..."

"I like you, Emma, you know that? Besides being my secretary, I'm interested in you being my friend, that you don't see me as just your boss, the one who exploits you with work" he laughed when he said that" "So I thought that... I don't know..." Leonardo turned around, looking at a pile of messy papers scattered on the desk. "Maybe you could help me take those papers to... to my apartment".

She looked at him with parted lips and raised eyebrows.

"B-but I have to go home and I'm going to make myself something to eat and..."

"Don't worry, is food your excuse? I can order one. One for both of us" He turned away from the woman, picking up the papers with surprising speed. "Help me carry these papers to my car, then we'll go to my apartment where I'll help you sort them out if that's what seems to bother you, then I'll give you a proposition I know you'll accept" The woman was still standing there, not saying a word, she didn't want to do what he said, and Leonardo seemed to notice. "And, to clarify, you still work for me, so what I'm saying is not a request, this is an order".