Dungeon Time (Play at Work) Read Online Free PDF Page B

boss’s big shot attorney, was on the way to help her carry her tangled belongings upstairs.
    She couldn’t sort out what it meant. He always stopped by her desk to say hello, spoke a few kind words, and went on his way. Although friendlier than many of the executives she met, he’d never implied he had any personal interest in her.
    Please don’t let it be pity . He’d come upon her sleeping off a liquid lunch. How humiliating. She ground her teeth in frustration. He probably just wanted to make sure she didn’t fall on the steps and break her stupid neck, leaving his friend without a receptionist.
    But that made no sense. Rumor around the office claimed he was very wealthy , even without his extensive practice. Old money. If he just wanted to lend help to a pathetic white-collar worker, wouldn’t he have sent a laborer, maybe an office boy?
    Anna found no logical explanation for Mr. Masters’ offer.
    She pulled into the driveway of the beach-adjacent complex. It took every penny she could spare to rent there, but she yearned for the ocean breeze on her face. The old building needed work, its beige stucco façade showing wear. Still, she loved it and looked forward to her freedom. Her parents were all the way across the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro.
    She worked in Long Beach, but Seal Beach was her playground.
    A flickering thought passed through her mind while she waited for the manager to answer her knock. Perhaps Mr. Masters wanted to seduce her. But she laughed the idea away. A man like him, wealthy and powerful—and so handsome—didn’t need someone like her for sex. He could have all the pretty, polished women he wanted.
    Out of ideas, she clutched her key and stared up the long flights of wooden steps. Even with help, unloading would be a massive undertaking. She’d been afraid to pack anything until she broke the news to her parents. After the shouting match the night before, she’d crammed her belongings in her car, without care. She preferred order, and she couldn’t wait to get everything where it belonged.
    A mess . In garbage bags and suitcases and on hangers. Mr. Masters didn’t strike her as the type to appreciate sloppy habits either. She shrugged. Nothing to be done except try to haul up the worst of it before he gets here . She didn’t know where he lived, but it would take time to go home to change. Maybe she could stuff it all in the closets before he arrived. His good opinion mattered to her—for reasons she tried not to think too hard about.
    He had the most mesmerizing brown eyes….
    Grabbing an armload from the car, she mounted the rickety stairs and let herself in. Home, all her own. No brothers and sisters and parents scrambling over one another in a four bedroom place meant for far fewer than the mother, father, six children, and Nonna who occupied it. At least her leaving would make more room for the others.
    Six hundred square feet—all hers.
    “Nice place you have here.”
    She jumped. “You scared me! How on earth did you get here so fast?”
    Mr. Masters took her arm and moved her out of the doorway, joining her in the single living area of her new studio. “A coincidence. I live two blocks away.”
    She had moved to a good neighborhood. But her elbow tingled where he’d touched her, and she licked her lips, searching for a way to be normal. “No pizza?”
    He laughed. “Hungry?”
    More than hungry, I’m starving. But not for pizza. Giovanni, her ex, had never caused her to dampen her panties just by touching her arm. Their lovemaking had been okay, but she’d wondered if things could be better. They were much better in books. Of course those were stories, fiction. Not real life.
    “Going to set those clothes down somewhere?” Mr. Masters had changed to worn jeans and a tucked in black T-shirt that outlined the muscles on his chest and revealed his trim waist. His biceps bulged, and she curled her hands to avoid reaching out to trace them. His elegant suits