Authors: Sabrina Riley
Chapter 5
Fiona did not see Carl again and she wasn’t sure if he left or not. She should have been relieved that he was nowhere to be seen, but it was hard to. Fiona hadn’t liked the way he had commanded her, but the way that his eyes had closed for just a second before he had breathed her in, was enough to make her tingle in her nether regions for the rest of the night.
When she got home, she undressed and laid in bed naked, thinking about the man’s touch. What would it be like to be with a man like him, she wondered to herself. He hadn’t gotten what he wanted, but he had planted a seed that wreaked havoc on her dreams.
Every time she went to work, she looked for him, but ever since the few stolen moments in the coat closet, nothing. She wished that she had stayed, seen where it would have went or given herself more memories to take with her. Now he was gone and she knew there was no chance that she would see him again. Why would he mess with a woman like her, when Carl could literally have any woman he wanted? He wouldn’t of course. That is what she told herself to try and drive him from her mind, though it wasn’t a very successful plan.
Another week went by and she thought about him less and less. He had just been a passing hot moment in her life and Fiona was fine with that. She had other things to worry about like school and trying to find a good company to work for after she graduated. There were a few offers, but none in California where she wanted to stay. While actuary was a good career path, there were not as many openings for them and it was looking like she was going to have to travel towards home to get anything that sounded good.
“Here Fiona. This came in the mail for you. I hope it is good news.”
Fiona needed some good news and she took the envelope from her. It was large and a bit heavy, showing that there was substantial paperwork in it. With no return address, she didn’t know who had sent it, but her name was written out in printed pen. Many ideas of what it could be went through her head, but she didn’t know which one was right.
“Well open it.”
She looked up and asked how her day had been, trying to get the attention off of what was in her hand. “Oh it was fine. You should have been there, Ethel fell and her skirt was up to her chin. I swear I have never seen someone turn so red, so quickly. I almost felt bad for her.”
Fiona nodded, knowing that Debra didn’t feel bad for her in the least bit. She pulled out the small stack of papers and looked at the cover letter. She read the first few lines and it was a job offer. Running her eyes to the bottom of the page, Fiona stopped when she saw the name. Her ears tuned out her friend and she wasn’t sure what she was even talking about anymore.
“What’s wrong Fiona? Is it bad news?”
“No, I mean, I don’t know. It’s a job offer for Castroy’s company. They are looking to hire an actuary to help with management decisions.”
“Wow, that’s a huge company. What is the salary looking like?”
Fiona slid the top paper to her and her eyes widened. “Wow that is a very generous offer. I would already be on my phone accepting it if I were you.”
“Yeah, but this was the guy I was talking about.”
“Wait, you never told me that it was Carl Castroy.”
Fiona read the rest of it and started to flip through the paperwork. “Lucky bitch. Why would Castroy Inc. need an actuary?”
“Most large businesses use them to get the probabilities for certain decisions. How is your job hunting going?”
“I’ve got something lined up, so I am good to go. I’m really glad to see that you are getting yours lined up as well. I didn’t even know you had applied with them.”
“I hadn’t. I don’t know what this is about. I can’t work for him.”
“Why? Because of a kiss?”
“It wasn’t just a kiss.” It wasn’t to Fiona anyway. She didn’t know how Carl felt about it or if he felt anything at all, but it hadn’t been just a kiss to her. To Fiona it had been something more to make her body react in such a way.
“I swear you are pining for him. You haven’t gone out. Lenny said that you would barely look at him through the date and then you took off as soon as the bill came.”
“He’s just not my type.”
“Yes he is.”
“Well not anymore.” Fiona was not looking for the easily agreeable man anymore that would do whatever she wanted. She wanted the firm hand that Carl had shown.
She sighed and put the papers down. “There is no way I can take this job anyways.”
“Why?”
“It would be wrong considering what happened between us.”
“Don’t let one little kiss keep you from a job you may love and pays really good.”
Fiona nodded and she wanted to take it, but the benefits and wage did not make her feel that way. It was the man who had signed the bottom of the letter. It was Carl that she wanted and she knew that if she accepted it, she would be agreeing to some things between them that had been mentioned before. Fiona still thought about his comment about her scurrying to her knees when he wanted. Biting her lip, she picked it back up and dialed the number.
Chapter 6
“Mr. Castroy. You have a call on line 5, says it’s Fiona Avie about a job offer. I don’t see anything that went out to her, but she said it was sent by you.”
“Yes Katie, thank you.”
“Sir, did I miss a proposal being sent out last week?”
“No, no Katie. It’s fine. It was sent out afterwards, out of normal channels.”
The woman paused on the intercom and then the green light turned red. There had been several days that had passed since he had sent it out. She’d had it over three days before she called. Carl figured she would have called sooner, just proving that he had a ways to go with her, to get her how he wanted her.
“Yes, this is Carl.”
“Hi, this is uh Fiona. I don’t know if you remember me.”
How could he not? “Yes of course Fiona. How are you?”
“Good Sir, thank you. I was calling about this pay packet and job offer I got in the mail from you. I didn’t realize you were hiring.”
“I’m always looking for good people. Someone like you could do great things for the company.”
There was a silence on the other end, like she was chewing it all over, but something was holding her back. “Is this because of what happened between us?”
“What do you mean? My people always recruit from USC and you had the highest GPA in your class this year. I also happen to need an actuary, so I thought it was good luck that I already knew you.”
“Oh.” He smiled to himself with her slight sound of disappointment. “It doesn’t have a start date.”
“Be here in the morning, the address is printed on the bottom of page seven.”
“Okay. You know I don’t graduate for another three weeks right?”
“I have your schedule and we will work around it until then.”
It seemed like he had thought of everything and though he was being professional to the letter, she wished the other Carl was back. She was sure that she was just thinking about it too much. “I appreciate the job. I’ve been looking for a while and hadn’t found anything where I could stay in the area.”
“We’ll be glad to have you. See you at eight.”
He hung up without another word and she was left staring at the phone, still a bit confused. What had just happened? And Fiona still wasn’t sure what the offer entailed. Was she just looking into it more than she was supposed to? It was a job, nothing more. That is what she kept telling herself anyways, while she hoped for something more in the back of her mind.
Fiona told her roommate later that evening and she let her take her out to celebrate. It was a huge weight lifted off of her shoulders and she felt like it was the first time she had been able to relax in a long while. All of her hard work was paying off and soon she would just transition into working life. It was something that some of her classmates that graduated would struggle with in a few weeks and Fiona had been worried about it as well.
Now she was pretty carefree and she found herself wanting some attention. Her first instinct was to call Carl, the object of her affection, but it was just business with him, even if she had to keep reminding herself of it. With the drinks flowing and her inhibitions down, Fiona found herself kissing a man from the college that she had seen a few times, but never really fancied in that way. It was amazing what a little liquor could do for the shyness though, as well as physical attraction to another.
When he wanted more than some hot kisses and touching, she realized that even in her state, she still didn’t want that from anyone else but Carl. She excused herself and Jimmy was left with a hard-on and a shocked face. Finding Debra in a similar position, she saved her from her one night stand that Fiona was still sober enough to see was not the Fabio that her friend thought he was.
They made it back home and Fiona passed out, tired and not used to drinking. She set her alarm for the morning and she went to bed thinking of Carl and what working with him would be like.
***
“Come on Fiona. It’s seven thirty and you’ve got to get up.”
Fiona mumbled to Debra, turning over and covering her face. Her head was pounding and the light blinded her eyes when she tried to open them. “It’s not that late, is it?”
“Yes, your alarm clock has been going off for an hour.”
Fiona cursed and sat up, checking the clock to make sure that Debra wasn’t messing with her. She was late and it would take twenty minutes to get to the Castroy main building. She got up and ran to the shower. She didn’t have time to wash her hair, but she had to rinse off the night before at least. Fiona grabbed clothes and jerked them on. She forgot several things, but she just brushed her hair and ran out the door. It was in traffic that she got to smooth her hair down, unable to put it up with the little time she had. Putting on a little eye makeup and lip gloss, she sighed to herself, it was as good as it was going to get, certainly not the first impression that she wanted to make.
She parked as close as she could to the front and with only a couple of minutes to spare, she made it to the fifteenth floor as the papers had suggested. Fiona was expecting a receptionist or someone else to talk to about it, but it was Carl’s floor and he apparently had the whole thing. The elevator opened up into a large, open room. There were a couple of smaller desks to one side, but the large desk facing the opened doors is what caught her attention. The man sitting behind the desk certainly got her attention more than anything else.
“Morning Fiona. You’re late.”
“Sorry Sir.” Her eyes flicked to the clock and it said she was two minutes late. Surely he couldn’t be upset about that. “I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to meet with the accounting team or what, but this is where the paper said to go.”
“You are in the right place Fiona, but I would like to get your tardiness out of the way.”
It was two minutes, not twenty. “I like to take care of issues immediately, as soon as they arise.”
She nodded, though the conversation was making her uncomfortable. He was acting like she had broken a mortal sin, his eyes dark. “Come here Fiona.”
Fiona walked forward, her hand moving from her hair that she was twirling in her fingers. It was a habit that came when she was nervous and every time she was around him, Fiona felt butterflies in her stomach. Stopping in front of the desk, she had the feeling that she was going to be scolded in some way.
“I expect all employees to be prompt for their duties.”
The place didn’t open till nine, but she didn’t mention that. “I want your panties.”
She kind of smiled for a second. “What is with you and my panties?”
He didn’t crack a smile, all serious. Fiona should have walked away, it was highly inappropriate, but she didn’t want to. She wanted to shock him as he seemed to be like shocking her so much. “I can’t do that Sir.”
“It’s Carl, no need for Sir. Why not?”
“Because I don’t have any on.”
His face jerked a little and his eyes got darker as he looked at her. She watched him swallow hard and take his time back up to her eyes. “Why?”
“I forgot them.”
“I don’t believe you.”
She pulled her skirt up and then down quickly, flashing him a bit of her bareness. “You still haven’t given me back the last pair anyways. It was not included in the pay packet.”
Fiona was trying to remind him that he was her boss, not a boyfriend. “I think there is room for those types of expenditures.”
“There is Sir, but I am not sure you will find it on my duties as your actuary.”
“Surely you have done the math.”
“So you don’t want me for a job?”
“I do, but your duties will include far more than statistics.”
He had gotten up from behind the desk and was walking towards her. Her body shivered slightly, but she didn’t let him know how he affected her. “And what other duties are those Sir?”
“It’s Carl, Fiona. And I think you are testing me.”
She turned around as he came up behind her. Carl had the barest hint of a grin on his face, paired with intense dark eyes that bored into her. “Not at all. I already did that and now I want to reap the benefits of finding you.”
He didn’t make sense, but she had long since stopped listening to his words. He was so close to her and again, she wanted the kiss. Fiona knew that he wasn’t going to give her one though, he like leaving her out to dry as he toyed with her.