I initially booked a table at my usual date venue. It’s expensive in an obvious way, from the tiny portions of food to the snobby and pretentious waiters.

Then I cancelled. I can’t take Kara to the ‘usual’ place. There’s nothing ‘usual’ about this date.

We end up going to an expensive restaurant but one that’s a little less up its own ass. It’s the sort of place I take clients when I need to impress them without it looking like my $800 an hour billing rate is spent on frivolous dinners.

A maître d’ escorts us to our table and I order a bottle of my favorite red wine. Kara looks a little uncomfortable. Hardly a surprise. She’s having dinner with a man who spanked her in his office, but then rejected her advances later in the evening. She must be confused as hell. That makes two of us. What I did makes no fucking sense.

“I owe you an explanation,” I begin.

“No,” she replies quickly. “It’s fine. I get it.”

“You do.”

“Yeah. You don’t like things to get serious, so you only fuck women in your office.”

The word ‘fuck’ doesn’t come naturally to her and she blushes after saying it. Christ, she’s so gorgeous. We should never have come here. I don’t have the patience to wait through an entire meal before feeling her wet pussy again. She’s still not wearing any panties. If I reach my hand out…

“Would you care to taste the vintage, Sir?”

You have no fucking idea. I turn to face the waiter who appeared out of the blue while I was lost in Kara’s gaze. “That won’t be necessary.”

The waiter pours the wine impossibly slowly and eventually leaves.

“Where was I?” I ask. “Oh yeah, you were accusing me of fucking loads of women in my office. I admit, I don’t like to get serious, but I don’t exactly make a habit of having sex on my desk.”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to lie to me. I’m a big girl; I can handle it. I know you like to screw the staff.”

“I’m not lying. Why do you think I am?”

“You have a reputation.”

“Ah. Yeah, for some reason I have a reputation as a player. I’ve no idea why.”

“The handprints on my ass beg to differ.”

“Not everyone gets that treatment,” I insist. “You’re special.”

“Don’t say that.”

“It’s true. Look, I admit, I’ve been with a fair few women, but never at work. And I’m not seeing anyone else right now.”

A smile flashes across her lips before she remembers to hide it. “It’s none of my business,” she replies. “We’re just having fun.”

“It doesn’t have to be just fun.”

The waiter comes over with impeccable timing again to take our order. I blurt out the first thing that catches my eye and Kara orders a steak salad.

“The wine’s nice,” Kara says, once the waiter’s left. “It’s… fruity.”

I smile. “I guess it is. The bottle describes it as full-bodied with hints of blackcurrant and chocolate, but ‘fruity’ is just as accurate.” Kara smiles and takes another sip of her wine. I’m helpless around her. Nothing about this is going to be ‘just fun.’

“Are you any closer to closing the biotech deal?” Kara asks.

“You’re changing the subject,” I reply. “Before the waiter came over, I said this didn’t have to be just fun. We could try something a little more serious.”

“You don’t have to say that. I know you’re not the type to do relationships.”

“That’s not been through choice. Ever since I closed my first deal, I’ve been obsessed with work and earning money. It’s not healthy and I want to change.”

Kara takes another slow sip of her wine to buy herself time to think.

“This isn’t a good idea,” she says eventually.

Damn, I shouldn’t have let her think. Thinking about relationships is bad. You should always go off instinct.

“Why not?” I ask.

“Because I’m your secretary. And we barely know each other. And my mom would never approve.”

“I bet your sister would though.”

“My sister would encourage it for exactly those reasons.”

I reach out and take Kara’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. She’s not wrong. This is a bad idea on paper.

“You should listen to your sister,” I say. “She seems like an intelligent girl.”

Kara smiles, but doesn’t say anything, opting to stare across the restaurant instead.

“How would it work?” Kara asks, still not looking at me. “We have a weird relationship.”

She’s right. I can’t keep bossing her around all the time if we’re going to do this properly.

“You will obey me at work,” I reply. “You’ll call me ‘sir’ when we’re alone and you’ll do what I say. If you don’t, you will be punished.”

“There have to be limits. I’m not going to walk around the office naked during the day just because you tell me.”

“I’ll never ask you to do that. Your body is mine. I’m not sharing you.”

“You know what I mean. There are things I won’t do.”

“If you ever feel uncomfortable then you just have to say.”

“You mean a safe word?”

“Someone’s been reading dirty books.” I meant it as a joke, but Kara’s face goes red. It’s not just law textbooks she reads. “Say ‘Bluebook’ if you want me to stop.”

“Bluebook?”

“It’s the best way to calm me down. I can’t stay hard when I think about doing legal citations.”

“Okay, Bluebook it is.”

“And how will you punish me?” Kara asks, looking up at me shyly.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

I’m seconds away from suggesting we get out of here when the waiter shows up with our food. The red steak gives me flashbacks of Kara’s freshly spanked ass. I wonder if she still has a handprint on her cheeks. If not, I can add some new ones soon enough.

“What happens outside of work?” Kara asks between bites of her salad.

“Outside of work?”

“With the rules. Will you still boss me around?”

She’s trying to sound relaxed and casual, which means she’s worried about the answer. I’ve no idea what she wants to hear. The truth seems like a good place to start.

“Outside of work it will be normal, like this. Most of the time.”

“Most of the time?”

“I’m still the boss in the bedroom. You okay with that?”

There’s a short pause and then a firm—unmistakable—nod of the head.

I reach down to her thigh and give it a firm squeeze. “Don’t take too long with your food. I’ve got an appetite that can’t be satisfied in here.”