Sweet Temptation

Chapter 7

Adrianna

"Adrianna, sit. Carrie, you can go," Mr. Gold demanded as he stood. He didn't try to stall what was about to happen next. I looked around his ice-cold office, thinking maybe HR would pop up from somewhere, anywhere. But they didn't. For now, we were alone as the sliding doors closed. Carrie left with a big smile on her face; no doubt she would reward him for getting rid of me.

"Adrianna, I'm not going to beat around the bush. You know why you're here?" He said as he slowly moved towards me, pointing at the sofa as if to tell me to sit.

He didn't come next to me straight away, but pressed a button and then out of the wall, a bar magically appeared. Had he watched some video on minimalism? Then decided the only way to have an office as cold as possible, was to make everything was in it appear from nowhere. Hidden, so no one could know what was truly in the office. I started to wonder if the sofa was hidden, and he pressed a button to make it appear. My mind started wandering as I looked around, trying to find any other hidden buttons. I only did this type of thing when I was nervous; I would start looking for something, anything to focus on rather than the matter at hand.

He handed me a glass, no doubt it was Hennessy Paradis Imperial, apparently his favorite drink. I'd heard some of the guys say it cost more than some of us make in a week. What's the point of such luxuries? Once a drink goes down, you'll end up pissing it out. It's not like you could savor it. Not like a good meal; then again, this must be the joys of being rich, I suppose. Something I've never had and a life I don't think I'll ever get accustomed to living.

I grabbed it with both hands as I uncomfortably sat at the end of the sofa.

"You can move down the sofa, I'm not going to bite."

I looked up at his dark eyes as he never made an appearance downstairs for the first time in a while; he'd lost a lot of weight, not a pound or two; but stones. Loads of it. I wondered if he had been sick, and this was his road to recovery. He looked completely different, not the middle-aged man, but an athletic man with a few lines and crop type blond hairs with a square jawline. What a difference weight-loss can make to a person, he appeared to be someone completely different.

I didn't say anything, as my eyes deliberated about the very expensive Hennessy Paradis which was in my hand; I smelled it discretely, and then took a sip. There was no sharp taste; if anything, it was warm and pleasant.

He sat down next to me, a little too close, and asked, "What do you think?"

I summed it up in one word, "Nice."

He smiled, jerked his head back, and emptied his once quarter-filled shot glass. I did the same, but it made me cough. As I regained my composure he said nothing as he smiled. A smile I didn't like and didn't expect from him. A smile made my heart beat as he drew closer to me, like a moth to a flame.

"Do you want some more?" I nodded, as his breath was so close, no more was I smelling the cognac I'd downed, but everything he'd eaten today.

"You know what today's about? You cost the company money and there's a price for it."

He magically took the cup out of my hand, and then he placed it to my side, and moved even closer. I moved away from him; I knew if he moved any closer he'd be sitting on my damn knee.

But he followed suit until there wasn't any couch left, and I knew there was only one thing to do.

Leave.

I was about to do when he put his hand on my knee and growled, "I could make all of this go away. If you agree to some new terms."

I was tempted, the old Mr. Gold, hell no. But the new one was sexy as hell. I hadn't paid the insurance on my car and rent was getting more expensive. His hands were moving up my thighs, his lips were getting closer, and I hadn't even heard the terms yet.

"Mr. Gold, I'm not that type of girl," I shot up at the realization he wanted me to prostitute myself. The problem was I hadn't been raised like that. This kind of thing was okay with some girls like Carrie, but not with me.

He laughed. "Everyone has their price, and you need this job. You need a new car, rent, and I don't even need to tell you all the other reasons you need to do this."

He'd struck a chord. He'd done his homework and decided I would be at his beck and call.

"I'm not desperate," I snapped as I moved away from him. I had to get to the sliding doors, figure out where the button was, and get the f**k out of here. I searched for the room like a madwoman, trying to walk quickly and get as far away from Mr. Gold as possible.

"Stop playing hard to get, it's boring. You know leaving here means no one will hire you. No one. They send your debt to the collection, and before you know it, you'll be living on the streets," he said as he faked a yawn.

I shot a glance at him, seeing he was sitting on the sofa, with his legs crossed, and I hated him even more for summing my fate up in one sentence, with it ending with me needing to suck his c**k or some other s****l act to stop it happening the way he was describing it.

"You need this job. You know it and I know it. The question is, are you willing to do what it takes to keep it."

I didn't hesitate as I blurted out, "No. f**k you and your precious job. I'll get another one."

Great, I figured out where the door was and there was no one, and nothing was going to stop me from going through with it. I strode to it with all the confidence and I started to walk through it.

He shouted, "You'll be back."

I shook my head saying, "No. I f*****g won't."

As I went through the door, nerves started to take over me, but I didn't care, I just kept walking.

I ignored HR and Carrie as they called out to me after I passed her office.

"Adrianna, I am calling you. Stop walking away from me!" Carrie screamed out, and I realized I wasn't scared about walking on glass anymore. Somehow it'd become the least of my problems and I needed to get out of this f*****g building and as far away from him as possible.

I turned around to face her.

"What?"

She looked bemused as she ran a couple more steps to get next to me.

"Why are you leaving? Didn't he offer you a way out?"

Shit, she knew!

"What is wrong with you? You know how he operates and you stay by him."

She shook her head, "His wife stands by him. I get what I can. This is the real world, honey!"

I chuckled. "Not my world."

She snarled, reducing the distance between us, "Well, let's see how far you get sitting on your high horse. You seen Linda lately? She left here, still can't get a job. She's back home with her family in Minnesota. Don't be naïve; this is a man's game. You need to play their game and then when you're ready, leave. Don't let them have the upper hand, you have it all the time."

"I'm not giving away my body to keep a job."

She backed away from me and said, "Well, it doesn't look as if you think so much about your body, so I don't get why you're so scared about it."

I slapped her, without hesitation, and the shock of it all was written all over her face as she grabbed her face as if it was a precious stone. I didn't wait around for her to hit back. I kept on walking, and as if on cue, the elevator doors opened and I stepped in. I didn't have to press the floor, it did it automatically. I would have to call Jen to meet me downstairs with my purse and phone. I had left them at my desk. The elevator took me to the ground floor, then I heard his voice over the speaker.

"You don't have to worry about getting your things. They're downstairs in the parking garage. You have two days to think about my offer, or it'll no longer be on the table."

I stuck two fingers up in the air, knowing somewhere in here, there was a camera. I felt dirty and cheap, not only by his offer but Carrie's assessment of my body. They made me feel as if I was nobody as if I would do whatever and anything to stay in my position. As if I was desperate.

I didn't have to stay in this town. I knew somewhere, there would be someone who would make a difference in my life. It wasn't all bleak; I wasn't going to let it get to me. I'd worked two jobs to get through college, worked off my butt once I finished trying to pay these damn student loans and I wasn't going to let this job make me feel I was worth nothing.

No f*****g way.