Coffee
Anastasia
“Coffee, Anastasia. NOW!”
I drop the files in my hand at his command and poke my head into his huge office. He sits with his head nose buried in a pile of files and doesn’t look up when I say, “You said you didn’t want any coffee.”
Jake Keaton usually takes his coffee seven minutes after he gets to work and I’m usually responsible for getting it for him. No one else, just me, which practically means I am not only his assistant, I am also his errand girl, his financial analyst, his secretary and like this morning, his personal women-repulsive machine.
He stares at me from his large mahogany desk, his grey eyes narrowing and his playboy features bored, “I changed my mind Anastasia, got any other questions?
Just one – do you like your coffee poisoned or plain?
Cursing under my breath, I zip downstairs to the cafeteria to make the order for him – black coffee, no sugar, no cream and a pinch on cinnamon.
Who the hell put cinnamon in coffee anyway? Like the world needs any more psychos to add the bunch.
On my way back, while I’m waiting impatiently in the elevator, flanked by Monique from finances and Shawn a friend and colleague from the executive floor, the former stares at me reproachfully and sniffs.
“You fucking the boss now?”
I recoil, my mouth dropping as shock hits me with a tidal wave. “What the fuck, Monique.”
“Don’t give me that face, Anna,” she tuts, “you smell like him.”
Oh!
I laugh outrightly even though I feel Shawn’s gaze poring into the back of my head. “Well that’s only because I –” used his soap, and shampoo and smeared his sweetly-scenting masculine lotion all over my body even though I know he would absolutely freak out if he smelled it on me and puffed a few wisps of his perfume on my skin when he wasn’t looking.
Something tells me that saying all these things isn’t going to solve my predicament with Monique so instead I clear my throat and say, “Must be a coincidence, but forget about me, red is a really great color on you, Monique where did you get that dress from?”
That seems to do the trick. She flicks her hair and twirls around so I can get a full view of the dress.
I lied.
Red does not look good on Monique. She looks fiery, like something that just stepped out of a burning furnace and the makeup on her face is too much like she is about to step into a miniature fashion show.
But regardless I smile approvingly when she says, “I know. I bought it for a sale at the boutique section. Did you know the boutique section is doing some kind of sale?”
Our company encompasses of so many sections that sometimes I forget we even have a boutique section. “Nope,” I reply, “but I’ll be sure to check it out after the day is done.”
“Tell them I referred you. Imma get a discount.”
I nod and heave a small sigh of gratitude when the elevator doors slide open and we all step out to the top most and executive floor.
With the cup of coffee in my hand I pass the offices and employees desks, straight to Mr. Keaton’s office and give one rapid knock before stepping inside the gigantic and well-designed office.
He is not alone. Behind that huge mahogany desk is a face I immediately recognize and a smile that brings sunshine to the otherwise dim massive office.
“Took you long enough,” my boss mutters, taking the coffee from my hand, “I almost thought you were run down by a bus.”
Bet you wished it.
The man on the other side, Zane, his business partner and longtime friend, springs up to give me an enthusiastic hug once the coffee leaves my hand.
“I thought you were going to be dead by now, Anna.”
I smile at him. “I survived.”
His eyes roam over my face and settles on my evident dark circles. “Barely. This man got you riding him every chance he gets eh?”
I flush brightly at his use of words and my eyes dash quickly to Jake’s who has a slightly amused smirk on his face.
The jerk!
“Let’s correct this at once,” Zane claps his hand once, “you, me, a spa, let’s say eight tonight?”
“Uh…”
“Before you say no, think about hot tubs, warm bath, heavenly massages and a night without Jake Keaton’s voice in your ear.”
There’s nothing I want more than that, but then –
“I’ve got a thing.” I slump.
Now I’ve got both their attention. Jake Keaton is staring at me like I somehow just became an actual human being with actual plans in the past two seconds and Zane is staring like I just got more interesting.
“A thing?” my boss voices.
“Yeah,” I refuse to give him any more information than that, “A thing. Rain check on spa for another day?” I ask Zane.
He winks at me, “Never been a man to turn down a spa date with a pretty woman, honey.”
I smile back at him and vacate the office, willing myself to breath and not focus my thoughts on the intense manner Jake looked at me when I told them I had a thing.
In truth I do have a thing. With my ex – Josh.
It’s a thing were we meet when he is in town and try to keep our promise to remain friends to each other after the nasty breakup. Relationship with my ex was not exactly toxic but he never could understand why I was too tied up with my past and why I would never let anyone get in touch with my emotional scars and eventually things just went downhill and I couldn’t even blame him when he cheated on me with some cute chic from his office.
The rest of the day finds me doing more paperwork upon paperwork. I print out reports and memos and fax it to other sections of the company. I had to entertain Jake Keaton’s guests in my office which seats directly in front of his because he refused to be disturbed, I had to escort Zane back to the ground floor because he insisted on it and wouldn’t take no for an answer and on top of that, Jake Keaton’s command just kept on increasing and increasing like a swarm of bees on a sunny day.
My work day is scheduled to end by seven pm but by thirty minutes past eight, I am still tied up at my desk, nose buried in a report Jake ‘needs’ to be delivered to him ASAP and freaking out over the time.
At some point my phone buzzes with a text from Josh, and I take a second away from my report to peer down at my screen.
“Working late?”
My fingers taps on my screen, typing back as fast as I can, “Might be a little late. Just working on something. Almost done.”
“Is there something more important that has your attention, Ms. Wells?” Jake Keaton quips, materializing suddenly in front of my desk with his lips in a stern line and a little frown on his face.
“No sir,” I hit the button to turn off the screen, “I just…”
He leans across my desk, bringing his face inches from mine and I am suddenly aware of the silence that engulfs us. When did everybody empty out? “Just what?”
“I’m almost done with the report so I uh … I was making plans.”
He smirks and slaps a file on my desk. “No you’re not.”
“What?”
“You’re not almost done with the report,” he points at the file, “I hate this one, do it again.”
I look down at the file on the table. It’s the report I made for him just this afternoon. The one he accepted after going through it thoroughly. “I just did this.”
“Do it again.”
“But—”
He cocks one arrogant brow.
But I have a fucking date!
I deflate. “Okay boss,” I hit the power button again.
“What are you doing?”
“I just need to cancel a date,” I whisper.
It may likely be a figment of my stressed out imagination but I see satisfaction flicker across his gorgeous features for a second or two before masked by his usual smug one. “Then do it.”
He watches me with a smirk.
“You’re going to um . . . stand there and watch?”
“You got a problem with that?”
“No.” I shoot Josh a text and drop the phone back on my desk. “Done,” I sigh, “All yours.”
I don’t know how intense that sentence sounds until he says, “Yes Anastasia. You’re mine until I say otherwise.”
My eyes fly up to his as my body stills. Surely, he must not have meant that the way my head is interpreting it. His grey eyes hold mine, unflinching for a second before he straightens and raps his fingers on my desk.
“See you tomorrow, Anastasia,” he remarks.
“Tomorrow is a Saturday.”
A sinister smile spreads across his face, “We’ve got a charity function in the night. My parents are hosting.”
Now, I have to see him on weekends too, Oh Man!
He smirks. “I’ll pick you up. Don’t be late.”
Did I already mention how much I absolutely hate this man?