He left the room, leaving me standing there gawping after him! I couldn’t believe it, he actually walked out! I soon collected myself though and raced off to the toilets to fix myself up. Luckily I didn’t encounter anyone on the way there, I didn’t want to have to explain my flushed appearance.

“Oh god” I sighed into the mirror as I splashed cold water all over my face to get rid of that ‘just fucked’ look. Had I really just had sex with my boss? And had he really just walked out on me? I knew I should feel used, but honestly, I didn’t. I’d wanted it just as much as he had, maybe more. No, I couldn’t bring myself to regret what we’d done. It just left me wondering if there would ever be a repeat performance.

Had he regretted it though? Was that why he’d raced out of the office like a bat out of hell? No, being his assistant, I knew that he actually did have a meeting to go to and I’d be surprised if he got to it on time. I even laughed when I pictured how flustered he’d look, and I wondered whether he looked as dishevelled as I was. God, he is a sexy bastard.

I walked back to my desk and got on with my work, only to be interrupted by a very irate sounding Nick on the phone a few minutes later.

“Miss Bloom, I seem to have neglected to bring the Donald file to the meeting. Any chance you can get over here right now with it? Seventh floor meeting room a.s.a.p.” he barked into the phone.

“Yes, certainly Mr Carter. I’ll be right there” I said and without another word he hung up. Fuck you Nick Carter; you are a fucking asshole after all!

I quickly located the file he so urgently needed and made my way there. I knocked before entering and quickly handed him the file. Our fingers grazed against each other as the file left my grasp and I felt the jolt of electricity pass between us. He had to have felt it too because our eyes met and held for a few moments before pulling away.

“Thank you” he said and gave me a smile. Maybe he wasn’t such an asshole after all.

“No worries” I replied and left the room, floating back to my desk as if on a cloud. Oh god, this man knew exactly how to play with my emotions. One minute I hated the bastard, the next minute I wanted nothing more than to be held in his arms. I was fighting a losing battle and I knew it.

I tried to forget about him for the rest of the day and luckily, he didn’t return to the office before I left, so there was no awkwardness. I mean, what do you say to each other after the way we’d carried on in his office?

I went home that evening and it all came back to me, the way his body felt against mine, the way he’d made my legs weak, the way he’d held me close and placed soft kisses down my neck. Oh god! The man was my boss for fuck’s sake. How could I ever face him again after that?

I needed to talk to someone, but who? My friends all knew what I thought of him, they’d heard the countless stories of his bastardly ways. They’d think I had a screw loose for fucking him in his office. I felt so alone. Suck it up Row; you’ve just got to deal with it yourself.

I contemplated posting my problems anonymously online, on one of those message boards that seemed to cater for everything you could possibly want to talk about (and things you didn’t want to talk about!), but chickened out. It would be just my luck to be found out and then the whole world would know that I, Rowena Bloom, fucked the boss in his office. No…better to keep it to myself.

~*~

The following morning, I had a shower and dressed and tried to tell myself that everything would be OK. I was a strong woman and could handle myself. Nick Carter was not going to get to me and affect me in the way he was. I decided to try and play it cool, act like it meant nothing to me, or that if didn’t even happen.

“Oh god” I muttered to myself when I saw him waiting at the lift. I decided to take the stairs instead, plus it was an excuse to get a little exercise.

I walked through the door to the stairs and began the climb, wondering why no one else seemed to use the stairs.

“Hey, Rowena, wait” called his familiar voice from below.

I spun around to face him and waited while he raced up the stairs, two at a time to reach me.

“Yes?” I asked

“Look…about yesterday” he began “we need to talk”

“It’s OK, no need to explain anything. Things got a little out of hand, we both got carried away. No harm done” I said, although really, my heart was pounding out of my chest. I ducked my head down a little to hide the blush that I’d felt creeping up my face, then without giving him a chance to say a word, I turned to carry on up the stairs. I couldn’t get away fast enough and my foot missed the step, bringing me down onto my knees. He was there in an instant helping me up.

“Are you OK?” he asked as he held me against his firm body.

“Fine” I stuttered and pulled away from him. I couldn’t get too comfortable in his arms, although I would’ve liked to.

“You sure?” he queried.

“I told you I was” I replied and carried on up the stairs.

I sat down at my desk and Nick walked into his office a few minutes later, giving me a quick glance before he closed his door. My heart leapt in my chest; maybe he did like me after all. I switched on my computer and checked all of my emails for anything of importance, forwarding on to Nick the items that needed his urgent attention. A pile of work had mysteriously appeared on my desk overnight and I decided I needed a nice cup of coffee before tackling that lot. I supposed that I should take a coffee in for Nick too, he’d probably be waiting for it like usual. Why he couldn’t get off his backside and get his own was beyond me. It’s not like he doesn’t know where the kitchen is or how to use a kettle, but it was just one of those things that had become part of my job description.

Oh god, I’d have to face him again. I leaned against the counter whilst I waited for the kettle to boil and carried on with my daydream. I was imagining him holding me in his arms, like he had done earlier, but in my daydream so much more happened.

“You OK Rowena? You look as if you’re on another planet” asked Kayla, appearing as if from nowhere.

“Hmm…oh hi Kay. Yeah, I’m fine, just got a few things on my mind, that’s all. How are you? How’s the wedding planning coming along?” I asked.

She instantly broke out into a smile at the thought of her fiancé “we’ve decided to get married in England, you know, because his family all live there. Anyway, there‘s this cute little church…”

We stood there for a few minutes with me “oo-ing” and “ah-ing” in all the right places whilst Kayla animatedly talked about her wedding plans.

“Aw Kay, that sounds perfect. But you’re not getting out of having a girl’s night out before you go!” we both laughed and agreed that a bachelorette party was on the cards before the wedding in England.

“How’s that arrogant bastard boss treating you? I saw him the other day and he looked furious, as if he was about to burst a blood vessel or something. I don’t know how you stand it. If my boss treated me like that I’m not sure I’d still be working for him” she said and shook her head.

“He’s not so bad” I said, hoping my voice sounded even and didn’t give anything away.

“Rowena…he’s an asshole” she said, astonished that I was defending his behaviour “but I do admire your patience and the way you manage to keep him under control”

“Well, I’d better go and get his coffee to him” I said “I’ll email you later and we’ll have to try and go to lunch”

“If he can spare you that long” she laughed.

“See you later” I said and carried the mugs of coffee out of the kitchen. I set mine down on my desk and carried Nick’s over to his office, knocking first before entering.

He was on the phone, from what I could tell, it was a rather angry phone call judging by the scowl on his face and the tone of his voice. Bloody hell, he looks sexy as hell!

He just waved his hand and indicated for me to put his coffee down on the desk and get out. I did as he asked and left him to it.

Half an hour later, his office door opened and he came charging out, barking orders in every direction, then said he was going out and to cancel all of his morning appointments. He was back to being a complete prick and I hated him again. How could he behave that way? How could he just act like nothing had happened between us? He could at least speak to me like a person, instead of shouting at me like I’m a nobody. Hmm, I decided a little payback was in order. If he thought I was going to just drop my knickers for him again (or rather, have them ripped off again), he would be sorely mistaken. Let’s see how he likes that! The bastard.

When he returned later that day, I put on my most professional face and spoke to him only when I had to. I avoided any situation that would put us alone together and then left at the end of the day feeling pleased with myself. He wasn’t going to see how he was affecting me.