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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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4 o’clock. Nina glanced up at the clock on the wall at the same time as Yasmin, David’s assistant, did. She reached for her phone and quietly told David his appointment had arrived.
In his office, David, not one to sit idle while he could be billing a client, had begun to look through a contract. For just those few minutes, the client would be sent a substantial bill, on a pro rata basis in accordance with David’s hourly rate. Putting it to one side, David buzzed Yasmin, ‘send her in’, and he began to look for Nina’s CV.
He still hadn’t found it amongst the tangle of paperwork on his desk when the door opened. Yasmin announced Nina and then closed the door behind her as Nina walked into David’s office.
In that moment as Nina walked in and David looked up, for a few seconds, time stood still for him. Everything faded into the background. All he saw was her face, her eyes, the way her hair fell around her face and onto her shoulders. He found himself catching his breath. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. If his jaw could have physically dropped, it would have hit the floor with a thud.
He stammered. ‘Er .... ‘ Dammit, where the hell was her CV. He rifled through the papers on his desk.
He heard a soft voice with a slight hint of a smile in it.
‘Nina ?’ she said helpfully. Good god, was she laughing at him ? He ran his fingers through his hair. This was not going to plan.
Nina looked on as David finally found her CV and motioned her towards the sofa at the side of his desk.
He held out his hand. ‘Hi Nina, David, thank you so much for coming in today. Please have a seat.’ He took her small soft hand in his big, albeit manicured, manly one, feeling her skin in his palm. It was like silk and he didn’t want to let go.
Nina withdrew her hand. This was not what she had expected. She felt a bit sorry for him. Obviously he had been in the middle of something and he clearly wasn’t used to interviewing. She was also a little surprised. He didn’t look very much like his profile photo on the company website. It must have been taken a few years ago when he was younger, more earnest and serious, trying to look the part of a high-flying lawyer.
The man before her was older with grey beginning to show in his now ruffled hair. He was also a lot taller than she had expected and judging from the way his shirt tucked neatly into his trousers, in very good shape. She had expected someone a little more organised though, so she relaxed and even began to find his obvious lack of preparation, amusing.
David was flustered. Nina sat on the edge of the sofa, her long legs neatly crossed at the ankles. She had beautiful legs. He tried not to look. For God’s sake man, keep it professional !
His mouth was dry. ‘Before we begin, would you like a drink ? Some water ? Tea, coffee ?’
Nina looked at him and thought, he could probably use a glass of water himself.
‘Sure,’ she said, smiling at him, ‘I would love a glass of water.’
That smile again. He smiled back very briefly and fled the room. Yasmin looked up in surprise as he strode past her desk. ‘Everything alright David ?’
‘Yes fine’ David called back as he hurried past Yasmin’s desk towards the staff kitchen, with a brief detour to the men’s room so he could compose himself.
He was in uncharted territory. It wasn’t that he was unused to being around beautiful women. His mother was beautiful, Lisa was gorgeous, all his girlfriends had been model-types. He had been to parties and social events with stunning women littering them. He was also an extremely professional man and believed strongly in women’s rights in the workplace, free from any form of harassment. He conducted high-powered meetings every day all day with other lawyers and bankers. He was known for his intelligence and brilliance, of getting deals done.
And yet, right at this moment, he was hiding in the bathroom from a woman he had just met, a complete stranger to him, because he had looked into her eyes and she had disarmed him.
He looked at himself in the mirror. The man who looked back was the same David. Handsome, rugged, intelligent, formidable.
‘Who are you kidding?’ he thought to himself. He couldn’t get the sound of her laugh out of his head, or forget the fleeting scent of her perfume he had caught when she had sat down. What was that, Prada? Dolce et Gabbana ? The feel of her hand in his. And her legs in those stockings with the lace just showing at the top .... fuck.
Somehow he was going to have to go back in there and conduct a professional interview and not make an idiot of himself in the process. He smiled faintly at himself in the mirror.
Fuck, fuck, fuck ...
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