Torn (2 page)

The next morning she was shown her office, which was directly next to Daniel’s, as necessitated. It was minimally furnished, modern and sleekly designed. First day nerves gripped her stomach and she was anxious to settle in to the routine of the role, for it to become second nature and familiar.

He had left a list of requirements for her to see to immediately and she got on with it.

Around four in the afternoon, he called her into his office.

He was standing, hands in the pockets of his immaculately cut suit. It was obviously hand made; fitting to perfection the outlines of his defined and muscular form exquisitely. He looked stunning, as though he had stepped out from an Armani modelling shoot. He took her breath away with his chiselled features. The slight tan on his face only seemed to emphasise the colour of his eyes even more, the dark brilliance of them.

“Sit. How are you settling in?” he asked her.

“Fine, thank you.” She went to sit down.
“I’m sure you have a fairly good idea of the things you will be dealing with as my assistant, but I also have a large number of charitable affairs that I am involved with. You will need to be the first port of contact for them. There’s a file on your computer detailing them. I attend numerous functions on a regular basis. You’ve no doubt seen my diary already. I’m attending a children’s charity event this evening. I will pick you up at eight. Go home and find something suitable to wear.”

He walked out of his office, leaving her sitting there. “How unbelievably rude,” she muttered to herself.

As eight o’clock came, Madeline was dressed in a long cream dress with lace details, pearls to compliment the outfit, and nude heels. She had bought the outfit in a designer sale last season and never worn it. It seemed the most suitable thing for the occasion. She hardly ever went to formal functions, had no need to other than the odd industry award ceremony or in-house parties. She had piled her hair up on her head. Her figure was curvy.  She wondered if she was too heavy to carry off the outfit; if maybe she should have chosen more supportive lingerie to hold her in a bit better. She was feeling very much out of her comfort zone. She had few friends. Mostly they tended to be co-workers, and whilst she would sometimes go for drinks after work, she was not used to socialising on a major scale. She was quite introverted in social settings, and the more formal they were, the less she felt she fitted in. 

What she couldn’t understand was why he was taking her. Why was he not taking one of his glamorous girlfriends? She had seen many pictures of him, in the newspapers and magazines over the years. He always had someone beautiful on his arm. Was this to be a part of her job from now on, to accompany him to these functions? She highly doubted it. Perhaps this was just to give her an idea of the type of benefits he supported.

Her buzzer rang and a chauffeured driver stood at her door.
“Good evening Madam.”

“Hi.”

She followed him to a black limousine parked outside.

Standing, leaning on the car, Daniel waited for her wearing a black dinner suit, white shirt and tie. He looked magnificent.

“Madeline.” He held the door open for her.

Inside, Daniel looked at her. “Would you like a glass of champagne? I find it helps with the unendurable boredom of evenings such as these.”

He had ruined the effect entirely with his off hand and shallow remark.

“I am fine, thank you.”
“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

They rode in silence.

When they arrived, Daniel took hold of Madeline’s arm as he led her from the limo inside. He didn’t relinquish her arm immediately. Looking around, she felt completely out of place.  She saw diamond necklaces, expensive dresses, money. She hadn’t come from this kind of background. She felt naturally inferior.  Fortunately it was not a sit-down affair.  Daniel handed her champagne, which she took gratefully this time. He introduced her to people, talking with ease to them about various things. She stood awkwardly as he did so, small talk something she found extremely difficult to do and so merely nodded in agreement to the sentiments being expressed or laughed at the appropriate moments. As she raised her glass, she suddenly felt Daniel release her arm and disappear into the crowd. Left alone in a room full of strangers, she felt anxious and uncomfortable. She headed to the bar to acquire more champagne, the only thing she could think of doing to ease her nerves. After two more glasses, she had no idea what to do next. She could see no sign of him. Spotting a door that seemed to lead out to gardens she made her way to it.

The cool night air had a slight breeze to it and it soothed her as she looked around, taking in the exotic flowers planted throughout the gardens, studying their beauty as she walked. The calmness and quiet enveloped her. As she turned a corner of the pathway large trees surrounded her. She saw something white amongst the branches. Her eyes strained to work out what it was and she walked closer. She could plainly hear a man’s voice now; moans, and the sound of impact, thumping. Mesmerized she leaned closer, stepping on to the grass as she saw clearly the man pounding into someone, a woman, bent over in front of him, his hand gripped in her hair as he pulled her head back, and thrust into her. Shocked, Madeline couldn’t help but look up at the man’s face, at his empty, blank expression, despite his moans he looked oddly removed from the situation, detached. It was Daniel.

Chapter Four

Though scared at the possibility of being caught, she couldn’t tear her eyes away, studying him with a fascination, not consciously realising how erotic she found the scene, the anonymity of it, the opposite if intimacy yet the most alluring of situations, of watching him in so sexually controlled a tableau. His restrained, obscene yet refined, self-controlled movements. She could see his eyes wide open, not focussed on the woman but aimed straight ahead, into the darkness. He turned his head to the side, instantly locking onto hers, suddenly without warning. She was caught but she didn’t move. His thrusts increased in urgency. His eyes tore into her, searching, pulling her into his with a hunger, a possession. He came hard, not releasing her from his stare.  

Madeline came to her senses, panicking and she turned away hurriedly and retreated back along the path and into the function room. Disturbed and consumed by the fire in his eyes, by the threat and longing they had held, she dashed across the room and out onto the street. A desire awakened inside her, she wanted to run away. She couldn’t stay.

Outside she stood at the kerb, trying to flag down a cab.

The limo arrived beside her within seconds. It must have been parked very close by, but she had not called for it. She looked behind, saw Daniel walking toward her. Reaching her he pulled open the door for her. As she went to get in he brought his hand up to the side of her head. She could feel his fingers in her hair. Bringing his hand back down, he threw something to the ground.

“You had foliage in your hair.”
His eyes met hers, flaring with heat, with meaning.

The next morning rising at six thirty, her head was pounding. Her first thoughts were of the night before. They had driven home in virtual silence, the silence filled with words unspoken. She wasn’t a big drinker by any stretch of the imagination, and it had been a huge mistake. She dreaded the day and seeing him.  She hoped he would be out at meetings all day. She needed to instigate what she had joined the company to do. Anything that she could find to bring him down; destroy him.

She reached her office carrying an espresso, hoping it would overcome her hangover, and get her through the day. Logging on, she set about seeing to the influx of emails.

Opening the door, Daniel stood on the threshold.

“Would you come into my office. I think we need to have a talk, you and I.”
“Of course.” Her heart started to pound ominously.

She went to sit down in front of his desk. To make matters worse he chose to stand next to her, leaning back nonchalantly against the edge of the desk, his hands resting along the rim.

“I don’t expect my assistant to abandon her role whenever she sees fit.”

“I’m sorry. I had a headache.”

“Mmm. Next time, you will not leave.”

Her chair was uncomfortably close to the lower half of his body, his legs spread apart. She felt that he had positioned himself deliberately.

“I expect my assistant to do as I say.”

“Really?”  The challenge came out of her before she could stop herself. She blamed the espresso, or the hangover, and immediately regretted her sarcasm.

“Absolutely.” He countered, smiling as though pleased by her answer.

She could clearly see the bulge of an erection now directly in front of her as he eyes dropped from his. He was intimidating her sexually and enjoying it.

“What did I say about your attitude Madeline?”

She couldn’t concentrate on what he was saying.

“I think we may need to test your loyalty, your willingness to please me, because so far I can’t say that I’m particularly impressed by it.”

The anger inside her was building. How dare he speak to her like this?

“I can see I am going to have to give you time to adjust to this new working arrangement you find yourself in, and yet you expressed such keenness for the role. But I am not a man of great patience, so I suggest you up your game pretty quickly.”

“That’s no problem at all.” She said testily, rising, eager to leave the claustrophobia of the intimate situation, his body primed so close to her, arousing her despite her minds protestations.

He had expected a lot more fire from her. He felt somewhat disappointed. She was holding back. Why? He knew she had a hell of a mouth on her. Did she need the job so badly? It was something that in his position he never had to consider, but it struck him now that it would be the reality for her. Still, he wanted to see the flames in her eyes, needed her ferocity.

He left his office and took a walk, pulling out his cell phone.

“I don’t care Raymond, I specifically asked you to ensure the donation was released as soon as possible. This delay is unacceptable. If I have to take over the charitable overseeing from you I will do. Now, please see to it.”
It angered him, the total inefficiency. He wanted the new centre opened as soon as possible; the specialised equipment due to be installed would greatly enhance the mobility of the disabled residents who were to live there. He gave millions to charitable causes and he chose the organisations very carefully, thoroughly. He had the most privileged of upbringings and the most lavish of lifestyles was available to him now if he chose to indulge, and he frequently did. But he also saw to it that he shared that wealth. He was an only child, sent away to boarding school at the age of five. Despite the wealth of his family, loneliness and self-sufficiency had comprised his formative years; cruelty and abandonment a large part of his rearing. His father was now deceased and his mother had died when he was four. His nannies were highly qualified and experience; the best that money could buy, he remembered cynically.

He considered calling on a woman who kept herself available for him, but decided against it, returning to the office.

Maddy had been in his office for ten minutes searching it, unsure of where to look, and given that the office was quite bare apart from a locked filing cabinet and bookshelf she was left with rifling through the drawers of his desk. Her hands were trembling as she did it, unsure if he would come walking in at any moment. She found nothing of any help to her, could not find the key to the filing cabinet. She left his office angry and returned to her own.

She found it hard to keep her mind on the job; images of Daniel in various pose filled her vision. The image that most came to her was of his eyes, locked onto hers as he fucked the anonymous woman, his body flexed and powerful as he took her with force. Visceral, it evoked a profound need deep inside of her, compulsive raw need and longing.

Chapter Five

Madeline got on with her work for the rest of the day, highly aware that Daniel was in the office next door. The offices had a thick wall between them and she could not hear him in there, and that silence made the situation more unnerving to her; that he could leave it and come into her without hearing him approach. He was an enigma to her and she acknowledged that this was to be a much more difficult thing than she could ever have imagined over the years.

But the day passed without further incident and at seven pm she left for the day. She assumed he had already left.

Relieved to get home after getting a Chinese takeout on the way, she lay in a hot bath. She was lonely. She had to admit it. No-one to talk to about the day, no-one to come home to. It had been this way for a long time, but it had never got to her like it did tonight. She reasoned that she was tired from the night before and had become maudlin. She just needed a good night’s sleep, and she went to bed early. 

The next day she was refreshed and ready. Walking into the office she headed to the kitchen to make a dup of coffee. Linda, one of the secretaries was already in there.

“Hey, if you want to we’re going out for drinks after work.”

“Oh, ok, thank you, that would be nice.”

“Sure. You can get to know the team a little better. There’s a cool bar round the corner, does happy hour, great cocktails!”
“Ok, thanks Linda. Come get me when you’re leaving will you?”