BDSM ROMANCE
By: Amanda Bolton
Her Captivating Encounter
Chapter One
Sitting in the waiting room, Angel shifted nervously. If she could land this job than her problems would all but disappear. She blew out a breath and the ends of her new trimmed bangs tickled her nose. Not many people got offered an interview to work for Grayson Lockwood. He was the shit in the reality world. She wasn’t even sure how it happened, but after a long day of looking for a job back home she went home to a message saying she had an interview.
There was no asking. It went a little something like this, “Hello, Miss James. You’re invited to an interview to be my secretary, be at my Kansas City Office promptly at ten a.m. Please come prepared for an interview and testing if you pass the initial screening. Thank you, Grayson Lockwood.” His voice made her shiver. It was deep and demanding, and she felt strange flutters in her gut. There was no phone number to call, and it wasn’t listed on her caller I.D. There was no use in trying to call. No one in their right mind would have passed up this opportunity. Hence the reason she sat in a small room with 15 other women waiting to see who would be the next secretary to the hottest and richest man in the U.S.
She’d already passed the first task apparently, since the numbers had dwindled to half. Now each one of the women left were getting one on one time with Grayson Lockwood himself. He would be conducting an interview. That was the part that made her nervous. She’d had several interviews since she graduated, but none of them led to anything obviously. Angel was beginning to wonder if she was looking in the wrong places.
“Angel James,” a deep voice said.
She stood with wide eyes and walked to the door that was held open for her. She gripped the door pulling it open so she could squeeze through. She wasn’t as tiny as any of the women in the waiting room. She was curvy and short, yet men still looked at her like she was dainty and fragile. She grew up with four older brothers, and they certainly taught her how to take care of herself. She had to learn to be faster and sneakier than them. They were all tall and big boys. She learned early on how to hold her own.
The door clicked shut, and then she was following a man that was nearly a foot taller than her. He wore black dress pants that fit his backside nicely. Angel wasn’t one to check men out. None had every really appealed to her, and she was okay with that. She wasn’t in a rush to be tied down, but this man, Mr. Lockwood, was definitely attractive. She basically had to run awkwardly on her heels to keep up because he did not slow his pace while leading her around a strange maze that led to—he shoved the door open—a huge office.
“Make yourself comfortable Miss James, it’s Miss correct?”
“Yes, sir,” she replied and squeezed around him to sit in the chair on the opposite side of his desk.
He sat in his chair, upright and his features were tense. He looked tired, and if she were going to be honest, that did nothing to make him less attractive.
“I’ve been at this all day and so far no one has met my standards. It’s quite frustrating. Do you think you’ll be the one to get the answers right so I can send everyone home? I certainly doubt it, but I can be hopeful.” His tone was resigned and he followed by rubbing his temples.
His doubt made her sit up straighter. Damn straight she would be the one. She needed this job. Her mother’s care depended on her getting a job, and Angel would prefer not to have more than one. “I’m the one,” she said. She didn’t bat her lashes or lick her lips like most women would try to do. Most of them probably tried to seduce him. Angel had no such thing in mind. She wanted his employment nothing more. It was that simple for her. She was young, but she was determined and graduated at the top of her class.
He smirked, and for a second his eyes scanned her body before snapping back up to her eyes. “And what makes you think so? I’ve got a list of demands a mile high, or so my last secretary stated. I’m mean and I’m tough. I don’t like excuses, and I expect the best.”
Angel narrowed her eyes feeling the challenge blooming. “Mr. Lockwood, I grew up with four older brothers who didn’t care one bit that I was their baby sister. I’ve never had it easy. I push myself to be the best because I had to in order to get any recognition in my house. I work my tail off to make sure I succeed at everything I do, and I’m okay with mean, and I don’t do excuses. There isn’t ‘can’t’ in my vocabulary. My brothers would kick my ass frankly.”
“You think having four brothers has prepared you for dealing with me?”
Now she chuckled. “I’d say I’m more than prepared. I’ve heard about you. Everyone in this field has. We all know that you’re a hard ass, and you don’t just hire randomly. I’d be stupid to mess this up. In reality I think I probably need this job more than the others, but I also believe I deserve it. I’m good at following orders. I’m good at handling things on my own, and I don’t whine if things get a little tough.”
He nodded and she didn’t miss the small smile that changed his whole appearance. He still looked tough, but he softened a tiny bit. “I like you Miss James.”
She didn’t blush or act girly by his words. That’s what he was waiting for. He wanted someone unaffected by his charm, and dammit she was that girl. Angel didn’t swoon, and even though she was girly in how she looked, she certainly wasn’t when it came to her personality. She was quiet, friendly, and she liked taking care of people, but that didn’t mean she’d giggle or freak out because someone like Grayson Lockwood complimented her. She wasn’t that desperate for attention.