Under Orders

By: Doris O Connor

Chapter One

Anna swiped her damp hands on the sides of her A-line skirt and blew out an exasperated breath, which lifted the ends of her fringe off her forehead. Trust the air con to break down when London actually suffered from a heat wave. Heat in the summer—unheard of. Anna smiled grimly at her flushed expression reflected back at her from the mirrored door to the conference room. She had been summoned. There was no other way to interpret her boss’s curt order down the phone.

“I expect you in the conference room in five. Bring the files. You’re needed to entertain him, and remember, what he wants he gets.”

Every feminist bone in her body had balked at the order, even though she had half expected it. Jonathan Symmonds’s visits followed a pre-conceived order, or so she had been told. As the new girl she had drawn the short straw, at least as far as Anna was concerned. The rest of the female office staff had pouted and called her a lucky bitch, and some of the men, too, had given her some envious glances, as though being at the CEO’s beck and call was akin to the Holy Grail. Sure, the man was sex-on-legs gorgeous, if his picture was to be believed, but that did not give him the right to pick and choose from the staff, as though they were his personal sexual snack bar.

Classic case of sexual harassment right there, yet no one had ever complained. And was she any better? Anna rolled her eyes and had to admit she wasn’t. Here she was, despite the heat wave, dressed in tight fitting blouse, skirt, and suspenders and stockings, as per instructions, even if she had drawn the line at the vibrating panties she had found on her desk this morning. An uneasy feeling settled low in her tummy at the thought of having disobeyed a direct order.

“Whatever you do, just go along with his orders. He doesn’t like to be crossed—in business or in his personal life.” Louise’s whispered warning rang in her ears like clanging cymbals. She’d dismissed it at the time. What could he do to her after all? Sack her, and that was about it, and CEO or not, she would not take that lying down. Oh no, he might be dangerous and ruthless and kinky as fuck if rumors were to be believed, but she was not some whimpering wallflower who would simply sink to her knees and meekly do as she was told.

Even if the thought sent a rush of heat into her knickers. Anna had never met a man dominant enough to make her want to submit, and the devil sitting on her shoulder, the very same that had almost had her putting on those blasted panties, simply grinned at her now.

Enough of this!

Anna fixed a polite smile on her face and pushed open the heavy door. Several pairs of eyes trained on her, and she held on to her smile by sheer force of will. She had interrupted a heated discussion, if the atmosphere in the room was anything to go by. Her boss threw dagger looks at her, before nodding to the chrome clock on the wall with a frown. So what if she was a couple of minutes late? She scanned the room for the elusive CEO, and the fine hair on her damp neck stood on end when the door pinged shut behind her. She sensed rather than saw him step away from the wall behind her. One large, surprisingly calloused hand settled over the iron grip she had on the files she had been asked to bring, and his hot breath skittered along the sensitive skin under her ear.

“I’m glad to see you followed some of my instructions, little one.” He whispered the words just loud enough for her to hear, and then addressed the room.

“These files ought to settle the matter once and for all. We will see how you’re really performing, shall we, gentlemen?” The cool inflection he put on the word made it clear what he really thought of the assembled heads of department, and the bunch of overpaid and heavily sweating business men squirmed in their seats.

Brian, the guy in charge of marketing, visibly paled and loosened his tie as though it was strangling him. Anna would have felt sorry for him, had she not known exactly what was in those files. She had been brought on board specifically to investigate the apparent discrepancies in accounts. According to the computer records the firm was thriving. However on paper the sums did not add up. As far as everyone else was concerned Anna was just a P.A. In reality she had undertaken a painstakingly thorough investigation, and all of her findings were in that file.

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