It had all started so well. Jessie had lent me that gorgeous mini dress and the matching killer heels for my first day as Melinda Thorpe’s intern, and I rushed to her office in excited giddiness. Every female student in my senior course wanted to intern for her. She was said to be incredibly strict and demanding, but she was also the queen of contracts in this town, the ruthless and beautiful mistress of business mergers and company syndication. Her face regularly decorated both business newspapers and fashion magazines. She was only in her early forties, but men and women ten years her senior tended to behave like school children with a crush around her. My giddy steps came to a stop in an empty office. The desk was bare, nothing but the big monitor and the telephone giving away the fact that someone used to work here. I didn’t know what to do. And then the phone rang, startling me, the sound loud and shrill in the empty office and tugging on my tense nerves. What was I supposed to do? I waited for half a minute, hoping the problem would go away, but when the persistent ringing didn’t let up, I crossed the few steps to the desk and hesitantly picked up the receiver. “Cassidy Summers, this is Melinda Thorpe’s office, hello?” “Where’s Melinda?” The male voice on the other end of the line was gruff. I noticed with relief that the display on the phone listed an internal number. I had no idea what I would have told a client. “She’s not in yet. I only just arrived myself, Mister…” “Shit!” he bellowed through the line. So much for appropriate choice of words in a business environment. “Bloomstein and Hardenberg are here, from BHP, and Melinda was supposed to get them to sign the contract.” He paused, and I just listened, unsure what to do. “Summers,” he finally continued, “you’re new?” “Yes, I’m the new intern…” I didn’t get to finish my introduction. “Fetch April Carruthers, she’s the only other senior consultant in the house right now and have her deal with them.” His voice grew quieter. “I’ll have them set up in conference room twelve. Don’t let them wait too long.” The busy signal ended our one-sided conversation and I stared at the receiver, my heart beating fast. Just who had that been? But then his order came back to my mind, and I hurriedly put the receiver down and hustled down the corridor, reading all the name plates as I went. I finally found the right office and knocked, but there was no reply. I opened the door and found her office equally deserted. My heart started to throb in my chest. What to do? I stood there for a long minute, trying to come up with a plan. I didn’t know anyone else here, so I had no idea whom to ask. Ask! I head to reach Mrs. Thorpe somehow. After rushing back to her office, I fumbled a bit with the phone, but I finally managed to open the built-in phonebook. R… S… T… There it was! Thorpe, Melinda – mobile. I quickly pushed the dial button and picked up the receiver. I waited with bated breath for her to pick up on the other end, and I was about to put down the receiver again Magosa Escort when I finally heard a crackling sound followed by a mumbled, “Yes?” “Mrs. Thorpe? This is Cassidy Summers, your intern. I’m calling because…” “Just a moment,” she interrupted me, and I could hear her voice from far away. “Yes, just like that. Oh god, that’s wonderful!” The next few words were muffled and I couldn’t understand them. My breath hitched. Was she having sex while she talked on the phone? A massage, I decided, it was surely just a massage. Still, having one of those while she was supposed to meet with a client was not how imagined things should be. “Continue!” Her voice was loud again. “This is Cassidy…” “I heard that already! Cut to the point.” I felt like a fool. “Uhm, two people from BHP are here for the contract signing.” I was glad to remember the company’s name, even though their surnames had fled my mind already. “They are waiting in conference room twelve, but there’s nobody here to talk with them.” “April can do it. She’ll be in the office at the other end of the corridor.” “I looked there already, but she’s not in either.” “Shit. Cheeky little bitch, I told her I might be late!” “What shall I do, though?” “I’ll be here in an hour. You go and entertain them. The final draft of the contract is in the left upper drawer of my desk, they can read through it already. There are three copies, read one yourself, and if you can answer any of their questions, all the better.” “Okay,” I confirmed, though a bit meekly. “What was your name?” “Cassidy, Ma’am.” “Good, at least you have manners. Listen closely, Cassidy! You fulfill every wish they have. If they want champagne, you bring them champagne. If they say jump, you jump. This is a big deal, and I won’t see it lost. You’re going to bend over backwards to make sure that they sign that paper, or at least wait for me in a good mood. If they aren’t here anymore when I arrive, don’t bother waiting around, just pack up and leave. Understood?” “Yes, Ma’am.” My heart threatened to burst from my chest. “Good. See you in an hour.” I once more stared at the receiver. This day was playing out altogether different from what I had expected. I began to realize that all the stories I had heard about interns coming home crying after their first day were probably not exaggerated. I pulled the contracts from the drawer and started to search for conference room twelve. ***** “You’re not Melinda.” The words hit me with a verbal slap the moment I stepped my foot into the room. The two of them were seated next to each other on an expensive looking leather sofa with a low, dark wooden table in front of it. They were both, if I dared a guess, in their late forties. He was tall and muscular, wearing black trousers and had the upper two buttons of his white shirt open. His hair, dark and neatly trimmed, was already beginning to thin and showed some streaks of grey. He was the one who had spoken, and a hint of annoyance danced in the corner of his mouth. His Kıbrıs Escort eyes were grey and calculating. The woman next to him had a strong jaw and high cheekbones. The dark tan of her skin and the shiny black of her long, sleek hair hinted towards a southern European origin. She was almost as tall as her companion, and her wide shoulders and huge chest, with a lot of her impressive cleavage visible in the dark red satin dress, made her an imposing figure. Her dark eyes were focused on me, and I almost curtsied. My heart played a drum solo. “I’m sorry,” I managed without too much stammering, “Mrs. Thorpe has unfortunately been delayed, but she will be here in an hour. I’ve brought the contract with me, so you can familiarize yourself with it, if you’d like.” They took their time responding, but the male client finally stood up and extended his hand. “I don’t believe we’ve met before.” I bridged the few steps and shook his hand. “Cassidy Summers. I work for Mrs. Thorpe.” “Jacob Bloomstein.” He didn’t let go of my hand, and his strong grip sent a strange tingle through my body. “I haven’t seen you before. I guess you’re new.” Did his thumb just stroke the back of my hand or had I imagined that? “It’s the first day of my internship,” I blurted out and immediately bit my lip. Shit, I shouldn’t have said that! Only a flicker of a smile showed that he had caught on to my dilemma. But I didn’t have time to worry about it, because the woman also rose from the sofa. “Celestina Hardenberg.” Her grip was equally as strong, but what immediately captured my senses was the flowery, sweet perfume with the slightly bitter and intense footnote, matching both her dark, melodious voice and her sensuous but strong appearance. “It is nice to make your acquaintance, Cassidy.” Her voice had a breathless quality. Something about her mesmerized me. “Likewise,” I managed to stammer awkwardly. “It must be nice to work for Melinda, no?” This time I was sure that I didn’t imagine it. Her thumb flicked over the back of my hand, quick and softly like butterfly wings. “It is,” I confirmed, “though I haven’t met her in person yet. I only started today, after all. But it is exciting…” My voice trailed off when her amused smile and the raising of her eyebrow suddenly made me aware of the possible double entendre. The room seemed to become smaller. “God, I’m rambling!” “You ramble nicely.” The way she smiled at me made my breath hitch, and I don’t know what would have happened if she hadn’t let go of my hand. It took me a moment to get back my bearings, but I remembered the contracts at last and handed both of them a copy. “Thank you.” Mr. Bloomstein took it from my hand with a sly grin, and they both took their seats again. “Can I bring you anything to drink? Or do you wish something else? Feel free to ask for whatever you desire.” “Something to drink would be nice. Just a glass of water for me.” Mrs. Hardenberg smiled softly at me. “I’ll take a nice, eighteen year old… whiskey.” The way he looked at Lefkoşa Escort me made it clear what he was alluding to. God, he was really hitting on me! They both were! “Of course,” I hastily confirmed and bustled over to the liquor cabinet set into the wall. Thank god it had both, and I filled a big glass of water and a poured some of the golden whiskey into a smaller one, shielding my trembling hands with my body. Remembering my visit to one of the posh bars a few weeks ago, I also filled a small bowl with ice cubes and picked up the thongs to go with it. I set the glasses down next the contracts they had opened on the table and acknowledged their thanks with a nod and a smile. “I’m curious,” Mrs. Hardenberg suddenly said, “how you plan to keep us busy until Melinda arrives. From what I see, the contract is exactly how we asked her to word it, and both of our time is too expensive to waste it.” I blushed. This was what I had feared. “If there’s anything…” “There is.” It was him talking now. “But tell us, knowing Melinda, she has given you a set of directions to work with. What did she tell you?” Shit. They were both leaning against the backrest now, their arms crossed and expectant grins on their faces. The room was quickly turning into a vortex that tried to suck me in. I couldn’t tell them, could I? But I watched Mrs. Hardenberg’s nails tap impatiently on her upper arm and knew that I had to start speaking. I bit my lip, but nothing but the truth came to the forefront of my panicked mind. “She told me to fulfill your every wish. To jump if you say so. To bend over backwards to keep you entertained.” My breath hitched audibly when I watched her run a finger along her cleavage while she licked her lips. “Bending over backwards? What an interesting image.” She looked me up and down, and I did my best not to tremble from embarrassment. “I believe you would look exciting like that.” I blushed, and my cheeks burned and tingled, as if my skin was growing too small for me. Mr. Bloomstein chuckled. “Why don’t we start with something a bit easier than acrobatics, dear, perhaps something like undressing?” “Oh god!” The words rushed out of my mouth before I could stop them, and my face flushed with the deepest crimson. “What happens if we leave now?” She knew exactly what would happen. My lips started to trembled. I waited for the ground to open up, swallow me and take me away from this place. It didn’t, and when the silence became palpable, my mouth confessed on its own. “I’ll be fired.” “We would not want that, would we?” She asked her companion with mock concern, but her flustered face and gleaming eyes showed that she had me exactly where she wanted me. “Oh, I’m not sure I care all that much,” he replied, his gaze locked to my face, “we can always get ourselves a pretty, willing intern if we so desire.” The message was clear. God, I should be running away by now anyway. If there hadn’t been all that sexual tension already, I probably would have. But they both fascinated me in their own ways, and before I knew what I was doing, my trembling fingers nestled with the zipper of my dress. My breathing grew shallow and the room appeared to spin around me, but I couldn’t deny the sudden wave of arousal that washed over me when I bent my shoulders slightly forward and let the dress tumble to the floor.