and left the store back into the bright New York summer.
When she walked into the expansive first-floor lobby of her building, she had an idea. Before she went to the elevators, she sat on one of the never-used couches, and took off her flip-flops. Her back to the doors, she hoped none of her coworkers could see her as she quickly took the heels out of their box, caressing their soft leather and little padlocks, and put them on her feet. She put her flip-flops into the box the heels had come out of, and stood.
Her pants fell past her ankles, covering the straps and padlocks, so they looked like any other pair of shoes. Valerie walked to the elevator, feeling the soft jangle of metal against the back of her heel.
It would be their little secret, she thought.
Chapter Seven
Over the next days it became a game, or at least that’s what Valerie thought. A thin bracelet made of braided leather showed up via bike messenger on Monday night, after Valerie got home, and she wore it Tuesday. She could have sworn that when Jasper saw it, he smiled. On Wednesday she wore The Shoes again and Thursday evening she received thigh-high stockings with a seam up the back, soft as butterfly wings. There was no price tag, of course, but there was a note in the package:
I bet you already have a garter belt , it read.
The note was right.
Friday she wore the red pencil skirt, the one he’d sent to her the weekend before. Of the three sizes he’d sent, one was too big and one too small, but one fit just right, hugging her curvy hips and showing off her smaller waist, sculpting itself to the ample swell of her ass. Valerie spent minutes just staring at herself in the mirror before rushing off to work.
When she got there, she felt like everyone was staring as she sashayed into the office. She didn’t mean to sashay, she was just trying to walk, but it was surprisingly hard in her skirt and heels. The other assistants were probably whispering about her, she thought, but then she saw Jasper, standing in the door to his office.
His eyes started at her head and traveled down her body, slowly, and Valerie felt like his gaze was almost physical, a long, slow caress.
“Good morning, Mr. Declan,” she said as she walked toward him.
“Good morning, Valerie,” he said, and nodded. Then he walked back into his office.
Valerie hummed as she went about her work: proofread some copy, schedule some meetings, wrangle the other principals in the company into a time for their yearly board meeting, which was a month away, held in the Hamptons, and would be an absolute pain to manage.
Jasper went to lunch and came back without hardly glancing in her direction, though, and even though Valerie felt stupid about it, she also felt a little crestfallen. What had she been hoping for, she chastised herself, a lunch date in the middle of the workday when they were both surrounded by colleagues?
Still, by 4:30 he hadn’t said or done anything and Valerie realized she was beginning to feel desperate. After their week of indirect flirting, she’d convinced herself that something would come of it by the end of Friday, and here it was. Nothing. Besides that long, hungry look first thing that morning, he’d barely given any indication that she was anything but his assistant.
Finally, at 4:45, she picked up the nearest thing that she’d been working on, walked to his office, and knocked softly on the half-open door.
“Come in,” Jasper said.
She stepped through the doorway, pushed the door until it was almost closed, and looked at him, expectantly. He didn’t look up from his computer screen for several seconds, and when he did, there was nothing in his gaze.
“Mr. Declan,” she said. Her heart beat harder in her chest and adrenaline shot through her body with the knowledge of what she was about to do.
“Yes?”
Valerie steeled herself. “I had some questions about this copy,” she said. She moved to the side of his desk, doing her best
When she walked into the expansive first-floor lobby of her building, she had an idea. Before she went to the elevators, she sat on one of the never-used couches, and took off her flip-flops. Her back to the doors, she hoped none of her coworkers could see her as she quickly took the heels out of their box, caressing their soft leather and little padlocks, and put them on her feet. She put her flip-flops into the box the heels had come out of, and stood.
Her pants fell past her ankles, covering the straps and padlocks, so they looked like any other pair of shoes. Valerie walked to the elevator, feeling the soft jangle of metal against the back of her heel.
It would be their little secret, she thought.
Chapter Seven
Over the next days it became a game, or at least that’s what Valerie thought. A thin bracelet made of braided leather showed up via bike messenger on Monday night, after Valerie got home, and she wore it Tuesday. She could have sworn that when Jasper saw it, he smiled. On Wednesday she wore The Shoes again and Thursday evening she received thigh-high stockings with a seam up the back, soft as butterfly wings. There was no price tag, of course, but there was a note in the package:
I bet you already have a garter belt , it read.
The note was right.
Friday she wore the red pencil skirt, the one he’d sent to her the weekend before. Of the three sizes he’d sent, one was too big and one too small, but one fit just right, hugging her curvy hips and showing off her smaller waist, sculpting itself to the ample swell of her ass. Valerie spent minutes just staring at herself in the mirror before rushing off to work.
When she got there, she felt like everyone was staring as she sashayed into the office. She didn’t mean to sashay, she was just trying to walk, but it was surprisingly hard in her skirt and heels. The other assistants were probably whispering about her, she thought, but then she saw Jasper, standing in the door to his office.
His eyes started at her head and traveled down her body, slowly, and Valerie felt like his gaze was almost physical, a long, slow caress.
“Good morning, Mr. Declan,” she said as she walked toward him.
“Good morning, Valerie,” he said, and nodded. Then he walked back into his office.
Valerie hummed as she went about her work: proofread some copy, schedule some meetings, wrangle the other principals in the company into a time for their yearly board meeting, which was a month away, held in the Hamptons, and would be an absolute pain to manage.
Jasper went to lunch and came back without hardly glancing in her direction, though, and even though Valerie felt stupid about it, she also felt a little crestfallen. What had she been hoping for, she chastised herself, a lunch date in the middle of the workday when they were both surrounded by colleagues?
Still, by 4:30 he hadn’t said or done anything and Valerie realized she was beginning to feel desperate. After their week of indirect flirting, she’d convinced herself that something would come of it by the end of Friday, and here it was. Nothing. Besides that long, hungry look first thing that morning, he’d barely given any indication that she was anything but his assistant.
Finally, at 4:45, she picked up the nearest thing that she’d been working on, walked to his office, and knocked softly on the half-open door.
“Come in,” Jasper said.
She stepped through the doorway, pushed the door until it was almost closed, and looked at him, expectantly. He didn’t look up from his computer screen for several seconds, and when he did, there was nothing in his gaze.
“Mr. Declan,” she said. Her heart beat harder in her chest and adrenaline shot through her body with the knowledge of what she was about to do.
“Yes?”
Valerie steeled herself. “I had some questions about this copy,” she said. She moved to the side of his desk, doing her best
Similar Books
Uneasy Lies the Crown
N. Gemini Sasson
Flint (1960)
Louis L'amour
The Backward Shadow
Lynne Reid Banks
Holiday Illusion
Lynette Eason
Beyond the Valley of Mist
William Wayne Dicksion
Oriana and the Three Werebears
Tia Fanning
Body Chemistry
Dara Girard
MemorialDay
Wayne Greenough
Relentless
Dean Koontz