I’m practically floating on air all Monday morning.

Flashes and snippets of the weekend keep coming back to me. Jacob behind me, tipping my chin back with his palm cupping my cheek, a deadly smirk on his lips. Jacob’s cock buried in my pussy as my hands are tied behind my back. The first orgasm he gave me Friday night in the bathroom. The soreness between my legs just keeps reminding me about what we were doing, and it keeps making my smile.

“How was your weekend?”

I look up to see Darlene leaning against my cube, smiling.

“Good,” I say, turning to face her.

“Do anything fun?”

I shrug a little, a smile on my face. I wish I could tell her, but I know it would destroy me. The boss’s little pet? I can’t imagine what people would say.

I’m a professional. I’ve always been serious about my jobs. In a lot of ways, they define who I am. I’ve never done anything inappropriate to try and get further in my career, though I’ve heard rumors of plenty of girls doing that. It’s just never been something I’ve wanted.

If people knew about me and Jacob, they’d assumed that any accolades I earn in this company will be because I’m fucking him. I won’t be taken seriously at all. I’ll become just another rumor.

So no, I can’t tell Darlene anything. And in fact, it makes me a little sick, just imagining how people might react to it.

“Oh, you know,” I say. “Hung around with some friends, saw a movie. What about you?”

“Went to this amazing Hungarian place over on Spruce. Otherwise, I sat around with my cat and pretended I have a life.”

I laugh and lean back in my chair. “I’m sure your cat’s a lot of fun.”

“Oh, she’s a little bitch.” She rolls up her sleeve and shows me scratch marks. “But I love her anyway.”

I laugh and shake my head as Darlene heads back to her cube with a little wave. I turn back to my computer, grinning to myself.

Inwardly though, I can feel something starting to creep into my mind. This relationship with Jacob feels good, hell, that weekend was absolutely incredible. He taught me things about myself that I didn’t know. But it’s dangerous, really dangerous. I plan on being at this company for at least a year, hopefully longer. I’d like to get promoted at some point, or at least earn a better title and a better salary before moving on. And I’m afraid I won’t be able to do any of that if this relationship becomes public. I’m afraid I’ll become a professional laughingstock.

And I can’t handle that. I’ve always taken myself seriously. I can’t imagine the world not seeing me as I see me. That feels like the absolute worst fate imaginable.

I need to be careful. I’m so wrapped up in him from the weekend, but there are a lot of pitfalls to being the boss’s plaything. It feels good, really good, but I’m afraid it might ruin me if I’m not careful. I know Jacob would never do that on purpose or want that to happen to me, but he can’t control absolutely everything. Even if sometimes he wants to.

I lose myself in work for the rest of the day, I try not to think about him. He doesn’t text or message, which does make me a little curious, but it’s probably for the best. I know he’s a busy man, especially now with everything happening.

Around noon, I take my lunch with Darlene. We talk about nothing really, just chatting like old friends, and that feels good. When we’re finished and I head back to my desk, I find Karl already there and waiting for me.

“A minute?” he asks.

“Sure,” I say. I put down my things and follow him to his office.

Karl settles down behind his desk and I stand awkwardly near the door.

“Shut it,” he says and gestures for me to come inside.

Slowly I shut the door, my stomach a mess of nerves. The look on his face isn’t helping anything: cold and unnatural.

“Sit,” he says.

Slowly I sit down in the chair in front of his desk. He stares at me for a second, like he’s trying to get a measure of me.

“I warned you against this,” he says finally.

“I don’t—” I start, but he interrupts.

“Enough,” he says. “I know you have a relationship with Jacob. It’s the sort of relationship that I’m sure HR would frown upon.”

My insides seize up suddenly. This is like my worst nightmare playing out in front of me. Karl is just the kind of petty asshole that would tell HR and the entire company just to shame Jacob and me. He can do some serious damage if he wants to, and I’m terrified he will.

I sit there with a straight face, unmoving, trying not to let him know how angry and afraid I’m feeling.

“Fortunately for Jacob, there are people in Human Resources that still feel loyalty toward him, though I suspect that’s changing.” He glances toward the window and back to me. “They’re the only ones protecting the two of you right now.”

I take a breath. So Jacob’s right, he still does have influence in this company. That’s a good thing. He still Karl’s superior. I feel a spark of hope ignite in my chest.

“Things are changing around here,” he says to me. “I don’t know how or why you’re involved with Jacob, but I’m telling you to end it now. Break yourself away from him. You may be safe today and tomorrow and the day after that, but who knows how long that’ll last?” He smirks at me and leans forward. “And you don’t want this to become common knowledge.”

It’s like he can read my mind. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I manage to say. “This is highly inappropriate.”

He purses his lips and leans back in his seat. “Yes, well. I’m sure it would seem that way if what I were saying wasn’t true. Unfortunately, we both know it is. And you need to choose a side, and quickly.”

I look away from him, unable to stomach it. I never wanted any of this. I had no clue taking this new job was going to bring on so much stress and difficulty.

But on top of that, there’s Jacob. What we shared over the weekend, I’ve never felt anything like that before. It was incredible and intense, and it made me feel more alive than I ever could have expected.

Now we’re back in real life, and things aren’t so simple. This stuff with Karl and the company, it’s way more than I ever asked for. I know Jacob means well, but it’s intense and it’s terrifying.

This is my career and my future. I don’t know what I am to Jacob. I could just be some toy for him to play with. I mean, I feel like I know him, but I really don’t. He hasn’t been in my life in a long time, and when he was, we were practically strangers. There’s an intense sexual attraction between us, but I don’t know how long that’ll last.

One day, he might get tired of protecting me, and he might throw me under the bus. He could easily betray me at any time. I never asked for any of this, it was just all forced on me. All because of this war between Jacob and Karl.

“I don’t know what you mean,” I say to him again.

“You do. Pick sides, and pick wisely. I’m giving you a chance.”

“Is that a threat?” I ask him.

“Yes,” he says, smiling. “As a matter of fact, it is. When I get rid of Jacob, you’ll be next, unless you get smart.”

I stare at him, shocked. He’s straight up threatening to fire me now, which is outrageous.

“I’m going back to work,” I say, standing up, seething and afraid.

“Go ahead,” he says. “We won’t talk about this again. I’ll play nice. But the warning is there. Think about it.”

I turn away and leave his office. It feels like exiting the den of some slimy creature. I feel used and dirty and disgusting, and I wish I could take a shower.

Instead, I’m wearing clothes Jacob bought for me and I feel like I can still taste him on my lips.

I head back to my desk and sit down at my computer, head reeling.

It’s incredible how quickly my mood is shifting. This morning, I felt invincible, lighter than air, happier than I’ve been in a long time. Just being with Jacob was like a gift, and I didn’t want to leave his arms for a single second.

Now though, I’m afraid of what this all means. I’m afraid that if this comes out, I’ll look like a whore and my professional reputation will be destroyed. I know Karl won’t hesitate to do it, too. He’s the kind of man that revels in the destruction of others, and I bet he gets some special perverse excitement from hurting women. He strikes me as the masochistic asshole type.

I want Jacob and I know he’s doing his best for me. But I’m afraid of when that’s going to end and he’s going to leave me alone like everyone always does. I’ve never had a man stay by me when things get tough, and I’m used to it by now. It’s part of why I’m so self-reliant. I don’t want to give too much of myself to another person and risk losing all of it.

I can feel myself giving in to Jacob, and it scares me. I don’t know where it ends.

For the rest of the day, I do my work. I chat with Darlene at lunch, I say hello to my coworkers, and I keep my head down. I don’t message Jacob, and he doesn’t message me.

And it scares me how much I want to see his name pop up in my email or on my phone.