Page 33 of At His Beck & Call

“Good. You should consider going back to school and becoming a lawyer,” she says suddenly, her light green eyes looking at me curiously. “You’re very bright. And you’re young. Plenty of time to finish.”

I smile faintly. “Thank you, I haven’t really thought about it in a while.”

“Well, you should. You’d make a great lawyer. You have the right temperament for it, too.”

“Thanks, Adelaide, I appreciate it. Have a nice night.”

She gives me the first warm smile we’ve exchanged. It’s only day two, but it already feels as if her barriers are dropping.

I hear the elevator ding after a minute, and she gets on. Three seconds later, the little green light on my desk lights up.

Chewing my lip, I rise immediately, checking my makeup on my phone. I quickly swipe on a little lip gloss.

Will he kiss me? Can I touch him today?

Questions rush through my head as I tug at my jacket and head to the office door, walking in without knocking.

Oliver is sitting behind his desk, signing something as I enter, and he looks up at me, his dark eyes tracking me across the room as I come to stand in front of the desk.

“Would you have any objection to taking your clothes off right away?” he asks immediately.

“Uh…”

“I like looking at you,” he adds, and an embarrassing flush rushes to my cheeks.

“Yes, that’s fine.”

“Whenever you’re ready, then.”

The lack of small talk is a little disorienting, but I rally quickly. This is what I’m here for after all, and if I want to keep the money rolling in, all I have to do is remember to follow his lead.

I carefully remove my clothes, piling them on top of my shoes as I did before.

“There’s a table,” he says quietly, pointing his pen to a small cabinet that wasn’t there yesterday. “You can put everything on top of it. I don’t want you to put your clothes on the floor again.”

“I’m sorry,” I stammer, putting my jacket on the surface and picking up my shoes.

“Lissa.” I turn back to him, feeling foolish. “I should clarify—I don’t want your clothes on the floor because you shouldn’t have to scramble around for them afterward. This is your space as much as it is mine during this hour of the day. I added the table for your convenience. But you didn’t do anything wrong.”

I breathe out, annoyed that he felt the need to clarify that and that I’m such a mess at the thought of displeasing him. It’s ridiculous to feel so hurt that I made a mistake, but I do.

I undress, the same shame and worry pulsing through me as I turn, a hand coming up to cover myself, scratching awkwardlyat my arm. I wish I had a robe or something. Oliver looks so put-together and formal behind the desk, and I feel totally exposed.

He looks up at me, frowning at my arm, and I lower it, clenching my fingers into a fist self-consciously.

“Would you untie your hair?” he asks. I tug at the tie at the base of my ponytail and shake it out. It’s always been naturally wavy and tumbles over my shoulders.

“Mm, lovely,” he says, his eyes glinting. “Come over here.”

I move toward the desk as he rises and comes around to lean against it, looking at my body for a long time without speaking.

I try very hard not to fidget, but it’s the most thorough appraisal anyone has ever done of my body, and I can feel how hot my neck is from blushing.

“Do I embarrass you?” he asks, and I don’t know what to say in response.Yes,would be my resounding answer, but I don’t want to insult him. “I asked you a question, Lissa.”

I clear my throat. “A little,” I say, squaring my shoulders.

“You have nothing to be embarrassed about. You’re utterly flawless.”