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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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David was turned slightly away from the doorway, talking to Helen, the woman running the induction. Her face was a little pink and her eyes shiny. She didn’t normally get senior partners attending induction days, or insisting on giving presentations. David had rung through first thing on Thursday to let her know he would be there to meet the new inductees so he could brief them on the big litigation case he would need at least two of them to start work on immediately.
Nina slipped into her seat. She hadn’t expected to see David today and she was surprised at her reaction. She looked at him, appraising him as if for the first time. Gone was the slightly flustered and disorganised man. The David of today looked relaxed and assured as he chatted with Helen who hung on his every word. Nina was amused. Helen looked starstruck.
Two trainees, Josh and Kiran took their seats behind her. Most of the other new recruits were young Uni graduates taking up training contracts, with one other slightly older woman she assumed was a paralegal or a PA. Nina was conscious she was the oldest person there.
She was dressed casually as directed by Yasmin. Her make up was minimal, just a swipe of lip gloss and mascara. She wore a light grey cashmere sweater with black jeans. She had managed to keep a slim, toned figure through yoga and pilates so with her skinny jeans and trainers, she looked a good twenty years younger.
Of course, David being David, he noticed her immediately she sat down. He loved her casual look. She was just as beautiful as he remembered if not more so being so understatedly dressed and made up. He himself looked cool and composed, outwardly anyway. Crisp white shirt, tailored trousers to a Burberry suit and Gucci shoes. A carefully crafted image designed to install confidence in his colleagues and fear into his professional adversaries. Inwardly, however, he was on fire. He had been burning up all week thinking about her. He hadn’t been able to focus on anything else. When Yasmin told him Nina had accepted the job offer he almost punched the air but managed to restrain himself. He found out she would be attending the induction on Thursday and suddenly there was an urgent need for him to personally attend and talk about his department.
Behind her Josh drew his breath in sharply. ‘Omg’ he said loud enough for Nina to hear, ‘that’s David Shepherd!’ Kiran looked up. ‘Omg you’re right, wow, what’s he doing here?’ ‘Fucking rockstar!’ whispered Josh clearly in awe.
Nina’s interest was piqued. So ... David clearly was good at his job and had fans. She smiled to herself, rubbish at interviews though.
She glanced up to find David looking at her intently, almost frowning. Nina’s smile faded and she unconsciously straightened up in her seat. ‘For God’s sake!’ she scolded herself, ‘be professional.’
David noted the smile. Of course he did. It conjured up images in his mind he couldn’t suppress. He wanted to find a plausible excuse to throw everyone else out of the room, walk up to Nina and take her in his arms. Those lips. He didn’t just want to kiss them, he wanted to crush them with his.
Nina composed herself and looked up again. Why hadn’t she noticed how good-looking he was before? He was gorgeous, handsome even. She liked the intelligence burning through his eyes, and she suddenly realised that David Shepherd was a force to be reckoned with. She didn’t know anything about his professional reputation but looking at his demeanour now, clearly you wouldn’t want to face him as an adversary in court. He looked intimidating and what was now very evident was that he had, for some reason, gone very easy on her in her interview. She gazed on the 6’4 Adonis before her, beautifully dressed, composed and in control. How on earth had she under-estimated him? She thought back to last Friday and she looked around the room. It must’ve been her age that had thrown him. He was clearly used to hiring young hotshots straight out of Uni, not people like her. Well ok, she thought, she would just have to work harder than everyone else to prove she was worth the hire. She unconsciously stuck out her chin.
David began to talk. He held the attention of everyone in the room effortlessly. Charming, intelligent and witty, he inspired loyalty amongst his team and it was clear why.
‘I’m not going to disabuse you of the notion that the training period will be hard work. We need people who can focus and pay attention to detail. There will be days when it’s boring and dull, repetitive. But,’ he paused, ‘the rewards are there. Your work will be recognised and valued.’
‘I’m looking for team players. We have an important case coming up and at least three of you here today will be working directly for me when you start. You’ll be mine,’ he said, as he finished speaking and a small ripple of laughter filled the air.
David wasn’t smiling, however, as he looked directly at Nina. He couldn’t have been more serious. You’ll be mine ....
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