A Shrew's Revenge

Chapter 9

"Wow." Stacey repeated as Nora and her sat in her suite having lunch.

"Tell me about it." Nora said, remembering what had happened.

"Well, we did it." Stacey said, leaning back and popping a grape in her mouth.

"Did what? He's hardly looked at me all week." Nora said.

"You call that neck rub hardly looking at you. And the blouse, that was brilliant." Stacey said with a smile.

"We still haven't done anything." Nora said, remembering the moment with a shiver.

"But now we know he's attracted to you. What we need to do is keep him guessing... is she interested or isn't she?" Stacey said. Nora grunted.

"How do I do that?" Nora asked with a snort.

"For one- try to put yourself in situations where you are physically close to him or the two of you are alone. " Stacey said.

"So he can try something?" Nora said pretending to gag. The reality was that Nora hadn't found the contact unpleasant at all.

"Well, yes. But remember, he won't make moves without a little motivation- he's your boss and he knows that. Unless you encourage him, he's going to tread carefully." She said, Nora nodded. She knew people were very careful about getting slapped with a s****l harassment suit.

"Okay." Nora said.

"Also, make sure to let him feel he's in control and always pull away before anything happens. I'm serious, Nora- you can flirt, you can let him massage your neck but don't get carried away." stacey said. Nora shook her head.

"As if!" she said almost too quickly. Stacey stared at Nora, wondering for a second if she would survive this game. She was much too inexperienced at the seduction game, then again, her harsh personality was a result of years of being treated like a loser. She was tough. If anyone could do this it was her.

"Just be careful- He's known for seducing beautiful women and breaking hearts." Stacey said.

"Yes. I know that- trust me. Do you think he's going to fall for it all?" Nora asked, worried. Stacey nodded.

"Of course. We just need to stay focused. Keep him guessing, reel him in and then cast him back. You'll have him begging you by the end of the summer." Stacey said, enjoying it almost too much.

"So what do I do next?" Nora said, walking towards her wardrobe and looking at her clothes for Monday.

"Maybe you'll just be a bit friendlier this week." Stacey said with a grin.

----

Brian walked into the office on Monday, very excited to see Beatrice. He was sure after that moment they'd shared that it was going to be a great summer. He made a mental note to make sure they had more moments alone in the future.

As he approached his office, he noticed Beatrice was not at her desk, frowning slightly as he opened the door.

"Good Morning." Nora said with a bright smile as he turned to the desk. Brian smiled, noting the dress she was wearing. It was nice- clinging to her figure all the way to the skirt, which hung loose and short.

Nora arranged a few folders on his desk and then moved towards the cart nearby.

"Coffee?" She asked preparing to pour him a cup.

"Please." Brian said, putting his things down and moving towards her. Nora placed the cup on his desk and turned to find him right behind her. For a second she was still, and he looked at her with a big smile on his face. His hands went to her hips, surprising her as she felt his thumbs stroke her side and then suddenly he shifted her.

"excuse me." He said with a wink as he moved her out of the way so that he could sit in his chair. Nora took a deep breath, moving almost immediately so that he would not noticed how she had almost panicked.

"You have your meeting in half an hour, I've gone ahead and packed all the materials and had them moved to Meeting room B." Nora said, picking her notebook up off the desk and checking off items.

"Good. Thank you. Do me a favor, call Sebastian Green and move his appointment with me for 3PM tomorrow instead of 1." He said. Nora made note.

"Okay. Anything else?" She asked, as she walked towards the cart.

"Actually..." he began, making her turn to look at him, "You look good in white." He said with a smile, looking over the dress.

Nora blushed. "Thank you." She said, quickly leaving the office.

Brian stared after her, his eyes twinkling. How fun. She was surprise after surprise- especially those reports. He wondered just how far her knowledge of business went. As he'd seen the days progress, he'd also noticed the quality of her clothes and shoes. Brian had spend too much time with pretty women not to know that the clothes Beatrice was wearing were expensive. He wondered how a personal assistant could afford those types of brands- and then it occurred to him she might have a generous boyfriend.

Brian gathered his things and moved towards the door, deciding he would need to find out as much as possible about Beatrice Kuhlmann.

------

Nora sorted through paperwork, filing it into the cabinet at the end of the room of Brian's office. She was very much aware of his presence as he made call after call. The meeting had gone well, from what she could tell, and now he called different suppliers, trying to negotiate better rates. It seemed like they had a new product in the works.

Every once in a while, Nora would casually look over her shoulder at Brian who had removed his suit jacket and now stood with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, pacing back and forth, phone in hand. She had never noticed before or had the opportunity to see the tattoo on his left forearm. She'd always imagined that tattoos were a turn off but she couldn't help but look at it whenever she could. It was amazing how it seemed to highlight his masculinity and even looked elegant to a certain extent- it was anything but vulgar.

With a sigh, she continued to file the documents, putting the oldest ones in the lowest drawer and the newest files up top as she heard snippets of his conversation. She'd been going over the plan as she and Stacey had designed this weekend but she hadn't a moment to herself with him. Now the door was shut, most everyone was heading out for lunch but he hadn't been off the phone all morning.

Nora closed the cabinet carefully and placed the pending documents on top before turning to look at Brian. For a second she was startled, noting that he had hung up the phone and was now leaning against his desk, hands in his pocket as he watched her.

With a sigh and reminding her of his betrayal, she moved towards him, a smile on her face.

"I'm going to head out to lunch." She said, moving to the desk and leaning forward across it, Brian right next to her. She was reaching for some documents that were still pending filing.

Brian watched as Beatrice's long body leaned forward beside him, the hem of her skirt just barely covering the beautiful curve at her back. He grinned, wondering if she knew how attractive the angle was as she picked up the papers.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" She asked as she straightened herself back up and used the desk to align the folders.

Brian watched her, noticing for the first time the long thing fingers and perfectly shaped nails. Beatrice moved with a lot of delicacy. He wondered what those hands would feel like on his chest, chuckling as he did so.

"Something funny?" Nora asked, not sure why he was laughing.

"No. Nothing, just thinking. " He said, taking his hands out of his pocket and crossing them over his chest, his eyes not leaving her. he wondered how long it would be before he could wrap his fingers in her hair. Nora raised a brow, knowing he was watching her. She trembled, trying to convince herself to just make the move- she needed to step out of her comfort zone.

Her eyes moved over his hair, which always seemed to be arranged impeccably.

Brian was still as Beatrice extended her arm, her beautiful hands moving towards him, her perfume invading his senses as she leaned forward towards him. For a second he wasn't sure what she would do but then her fingers landed just above his ear, grazing it gently.

"Sorry, you've got something..." Nora said, moving her hand away and showing his a tiny bit of paper which Nora had pretended to remove from his head. She had closed the space between them, her thigh now lightly touching his.

Brian smiled at the contact and turned to look at her hand which held up the paper. He moved his hand up to take it from her, their fingers lightly touching as they did.

"Thank you" he said, turning to look at her directly now, their blue eyes making direct contact at that instant. Brian looked towards her lips, they were large and full, giving her a slight pouty look. Nora noticed how he watched her and very gently bit her lip, entranced by the way he looked at her.

Nora brought her hand to her hair, tucking a strand behind her ear and dropped her gaze, hoping she looked shy. Brian watched her, wondering how she would react if he reached out and pulled her against him. He'd almost resolved to do so when she suddenly turned on her heel, her dress slightly fluttering as she did so to give a glimpse of her smooth thighs.

"I'll see you after lunch." She said, walking rapidly towards the door, folders in hand.

Brian stared after her a while- She may seem cold and serious but there were moments where she acted warm, almost hinting at her desire to be touched. He took a deep breath, deciding that he would wait for another sign- some clue she was interested before moving forward.

His cell phone rang, making him turn and snap back into reality. As he reached for it, he noted the name on the screen- Nora Lida.

"Hello?" He said grimly, suddenly remembering his current situation.

"Hi." The voice said from the other side of the line.

"Hi- how are you enjoying London?" He asked pinching the bridge of his nose. It was depressing to have to hear her voice after being so close to a much prettier woman.

"Boring and gray. You'd hardly believe it's summer. I'm about to head for dinner but it's raining." Nora said, trying not to laugh over the phone.

"That's right- it must be 7 or 8 over there." he said, not sure what to really talk about.

"Yeah. I need you to do me a big favor." Nora said, putting the wheels of her next step in motion.

"What's going on?" He asked, groaning inwardly.

"I forgot I ordered a gift for my father from a shop on Madison- they texted me to say it was ready but obviously, I can't pick it up. Would you mind getting it for me and keeping it until I get back? I don't want it sent home or he might see it." Nora said. Brian sighed.

"Of course. Do you have a confirmation or receipt?" He asked.

"Yes. I'll send it to you. Thanks." She said, suddenly ending the call. Brian stared at the phone, picturing he in London, about to eat a large portion of fish and chips, ridiculous sweater vest and bottle bottom glasses. A few seconds later, the phone ran and he received the message with the receipt. At least it wasn't far from his own apartment...

Nora stood outside a deli on the sidewalk, just a block away from the office building, chuckling.