chapter 5

"Make me."

My heart was beating against my chest.

I tried to fish it out of his hand. He raised his arm. Unfair.

I pressed my lips together. I leaned more against my desk, stretching further towards his arm. Almost! So close, so very, very close! My fingers were shaking as I stretched even further, now only standing on one foot while I silently wished I would have worn my heels to give me bit of an advantage. My fingers touched the file and a smile spread on my face.

My boss held the file further away. "Unfair!", I cried out, went around the table and held onto his arm to get the godforsaken file. His muscles were quite hard, but I forced myself to ignore that and my red cheeks.

"How could I possibly be so rude to such a hard-working woman?", he laughed, pressing me against him. My whole body touched his hard chest. I held my breath as his hand with the file touched my lower back. His face was mere centimetres away from mine. "Trying her hardest to finish her work", he mumbled, brushing my face with his knuckles.

His eyes held mine. I almost got lost in that dreamy shade of blue.

Oh god.

Oh god!

My face went beat red.

I stepped back, letting out an embarrassed cry and jolted flustered to the restroom, leaving a startled Mr. Beaumont back with the file.

Once I found the courage to go back outside, I found my office empty. I let out a relieved sigh and sat down on my table with shaky knees.

The file was there, along with an unfamiliar sandwich on top of it. A folded piece of paper laid next to it. Upon opening the note a tall and pointy handwriting met my eyes.

'Please eat in order to regain your strength and to think clearly. Take breaks in between too, don't overwork yourself. – Michael'

This was the type of affection I had been missing the last few years.

Just a worried "look after yourself" or "did you eat today?" was more than enough. I didn't need more, just a heartfelt reminder.

But this was coming from my boss.

I pressed my face against the note, trying my hardest not to blush or to smile.

I can't fall for him.

I just can't! I was just feeling this strongly because Noah had lost interest in me.

I'm not falling for my boss.

I won't!

  ♡ 

Michael's POV

"There you go Sir, your salmon sandwich", the canteen woman smiled at me. 

"Thank you", I mumbled, suppressing a smile. I still had her flustered expression on my mind, as well as her efforts to continue her work.

While I rode up the elevator, I leaned back with a smile.

Such an ambitious girl. I had checked her files from this month and she had by far done the most work out of all of them. I hadn't expected Sara Atkins to be this young when I had first opened a file, and I damn well hadn't thought such a beauty would meet my eyes on my first day back in New York from this godawful business trip.

I ran a hand down my mouth and beard, not being able to get her big eyes and naïve face out of my mind.

When the elevator had opened, when I had first seen her, I had almost risked my job at that exact point. She was surely 5" smaller than me, bore beautiful brown eyes with long lashes, an exotic face, and a fuller upper lip. She had quite the curvy build and her clothes just hugged those lovely curves ...

I shook my head. Christ, I was thinking about banging my own employee. But not only that. I had never had such a strong desire to kiss a woman. Her concentrated face when she fished for the file, her angry reaction as I didn't trust her work for a split second, her confident "Don't underestimate me", her energetic nature when she had bumped into me – what wasn't there to love about this woman?

Ok, no, slow down. You did this with Eleanor. Look where it brought you.

The elevator opened, and I went straight to her desk. She was still not here.

I had to smile as I looked into the direction of the restroom. Such a cute reaction. I laid the sandwich down on her table and wrote a hasty note to her.

I might only know her for two days, but I knew she wouldn't leave my mind anytime soon. Never has a woman left such a long-lasting impression on me.

  ♡  

Sara's POV

"Unacceptable. Do it again."

This fucker.

First, he pulls me all close to him in the office and now he treats me like dirt.

"What's wrong with them!?" 

"The tax exemption was changed legally this morning. You didn't think about that." Mr. Beaumont looked up from the files. "I can't give them the wrong salaries, Mrs Atkins." 

"Should I correct them then now?" 

He looked at me as if I had lost my mind. "Of course you will. Right now." 

"Right now? It's 10 p.m. already!"

While I thought I could finish on time, more files had been brought along. The others had stayed an additional two hours, while I was already at 5. We all had to redo a certain amount of files again, as Mr. Beaumont found mistakes in every file you delivered to him.

Even if it was a simple spelling mistake, you had to do it over. He was merciless in that aspect.

"I don't care what time it is, Mrs Atkins. The files for today aren't finished." He pointed to the right stack. "Do them again."

I wish I could launch him out the window that was behind him. I went to take the stack, but he got up too. Mr. Beaumont laid his hand on it before I could take. 

"You'll do them here. Saves time." 

"I'd rather do them at my desk", I honestly told him. "I don't have my stuff with me." 

"I have everything you need", he insisted. "Sit down, Mrs Atkins."

I didn't move.

"That was not a question, but an order."

I did, while pressing my lips together. He offered me his stationery and I went to work, cursing the whole time inside my head.

I silently worked there while he typed like a madman. Whenever I was done with a file, he would instantly take a look it and either sign it or point out a mistake. Luckily, the mistakes were less common than his signature.

"I don't get what's wrong with this file", I told him, showing it to him. That's one thing that I had quickly learned about him; he didn't point out your mistakes instantly, he always let you search for them. 

"Let me see", he drew it closer to him, his eyes quickly darting over the file. "Take a look at number 2700." 

"Thank you."

I tapped the pencil against my head as I carefully read it. He wasn't typing anymore. "Did you take breaks like I told you to?" I met his eyes, confused how he just came up with that topic change. Mr. Beaumont bore a stern expression, making him look dangerous as his brows lowered. "Did you, Mrs Atkins?"

"Yes Sir", I swiftly lied. 

"Mhm", he hummed, tapping the table repeatedly. "Did you finish your sandwich?" 

"Yes Sir." 

"Aha. So why did Jessica come to me, clearly worried you were working like crazy without any breaks? Also, why did Nina tell me you hadn't eaten anything at all today? Clarissa couldn't think straight that's how worried she was about you."

Those women.

I gripped my pencil tightly. I had found a group of friends who all fell into the mother type it seemed.

"I took breaks." 

"How long were they?"

"Two minutes", I admitted, muffling. 

"What did you do in those two minutes?", he caught my words nonetheless. 

"... I went to the restroom", I honestly told him.

He sighed loudly.

"For Christ sake!" Mr. Beaumont took a handful of files, clicked his biro and started writing. I stopped reading the file. 

"Sir? What are you doing?" 

"Helping you." I watched him astonished. "Now, do you want to go home today or not?" 

"Ah! Yes, Sir!", I instantly resumed correcting my files.

  ♡  

It was well after 11 pm when we finished. I leaned back, rubbing my eyes tiredly. I watched him sign the last few files then he nodded at me. "We are done for today." 

"Thank you for your help, Sir", I said in the kindest voice, smiling softly at him. Mr. Beaumont looked away, buttoning his suit close. 

"Don't mention it."

Mr. Beaumont waited for me in the hallway which led to the elevator, so we could take it together. He wore a long grey coat over his black suit, which looked quite thick and warm. I didn't want to know the price of any clothing part of his, it all looked expensive. I felt cheap next to him in my simple dark green winter jacket.

The elevator arrived quickly, and he let me enter first with an extended arm. I purposely stood behind him, avoiding his eyes at all costs. He pressed the button for the ground level and the doors closed silently.

He stood in front of me, quiet, checking his mails. This was so embarrassing. This noon he had pressed me against him, in his office he had scolded me and now we did as nothing had happened today. His feet suddenly turned towards me. 

"How will you get home?", his voice sounded above me. My heart made an uneven beat. I still couldn't look up to him. My hair fell forwards and I brushed it back quickly. 

"W-With the tube." 

"At this hour? Nonsense. I'll drive you home."

My heart was beating against my chest.

Not more alone time with him. My heart wouldn't take it.

"That's not necessary!", I blurted out. 

"Why not?", Mr. Beaumont asked with an offended voice. 

"My friend takes the same tube as me", I lied, looking up to him. "I-I never drive on my own." 

He raised a brow, placing his hands inside the pockets of his coat. "One thing is painfully obvious, Mrs Atkins. You cannot lie, even if your life depended on it." 

"I'm not lying!", I raised my head, instantly regretting that I had done that. 

A smile crossed his face. "Finally you are looking at me", he mumbled, cupping my chin with his left hand.

I felt like I would pass out any second now.

He let go of my chin and played with my hair. "What should I do with you, Sara?"

My breathing got uneven. My knees grew weak. My heart beat in my throat. I got dizzy.

The elevator sounded, and the doors opened. I felt as if I could breathe.

I bolted past him outside and ran towards the tube.

Just get me home already!