Her dreams were filled with images of his handsome face despite how much she had willed herself not to think about him when she was awake and conscious.

Now that her subconscious was holding the reins, she was utterly helpless against his charms.

***

On the other side of the city, Edward lay in bed in his grey silk night robe, eyes wide open. His room was stately. Befitting someone of his status.

The high ceiling was finished with beautiful artistic drawings in sky blue plaster of Paris. The curtains on his window were from floor to ceiling, heavy wine-colored drapes with threads of golden embroidery forming beautiful floral patterns all over the cloth.

The floor was black marble, polished so well that it shone. A chandelier perched precariously in the center of the enormous room. A dressing table cut from oak adorned the left corner of the room.

A family of Russian dolls were arranged according to height on the table. The bed was possibly the most impressive piece of furniture in the entire room. Standing at eight-by-eight feet, it was the first thing anyone would notice if they ever had the privilege to be in Edward’s personal space.

The sheets were pure white cotton, the pillows numbering almost ten at the head of the bed, there hung a seven-foot painting of a Violinist by Chen Yifei.

Despite the grand nature of this room, Edward never managed to get more than four hours of sleep on good days.

The sleeping disorder had begun when he was just a boy. And the demons he was fighting had followed him through to adulthood. Twenty-eight years old and highly successful, but he still had to pop pills before he could knock himself out.

Tonight however, as he lay wide-eyed, waiting for the medications to kick in, he was unable to shake free of the thoughts of his new Personal Assistant.

She had waltzed into his office only hours before and now for some inexplicable reason, he could not get the image of her red hair from his mind.

It made him uneasy but as if held captive by a spell, he could do nothing to dispel the thoughts. As handsome and successful as he was, there was no telling that he had had his fair share of women.

Exotic, foreign women with enough meat on them. But he had never been able to hold down even one. No that he had ever been interested in doing so. He got his release where it was available and moved on fast.

Which is why he was at a loss as to this strange new feeling assailing him. He looked at the scrawny Amy, in comparison to his other paramours and there was nothing worthy of drawing his excitement.

Yet here he was, seized by thoughts of bending her over his desk back at the office and piping her vigorously with the entire length of his meat.

He felt a clenching down below and reached down to confirm that he had gone immediately hard at the mere thought of Amy’s ass pushing up against his thighs.

His naked chest spotted tattoos across the base of his neck bone. The markings were unclear in the dim night light.

He imagined Amy’s breasts under the loose-fitting blouse she had worn. He was sure they would be firm and round, yet soft to the touch.

The things he would do to her… His head was still filled with thoughts of Amy when he drifted off into a drug-induced sleep.

He awoke barely three hours later, panting and sweating despite the air conditioner cooling the air in his room.

The substance of the nightmare was the same as always with random variations as only dreams were capable of. He turned to his bedside clock.

It was barely 05:00 AM. Knowing he would not be able to get any more sleep, he got off the bed. Yet another long day, he thought as he made for the bathroom to wash off.

***************

Edward got out of the car, the door held open by his chauffeur who had his head respectfully lowered. He stormed in through the glass doors of the company building. He was cranky, still tired and feeling like he could have someone’s head for breakfast.

His shoes squeaked against the clean, tiled floor. He rode the separate elevator that led straight up to his office suite.

”Good morning,” Amy greeted, handing him the steaming mug of coffee she had made ready. She had made a point to come in early today to avoid any sort of embarrassment.

Her hair was pulled up in a less elaborate bun than the one Chynna had made for her the day before. She wore a thrift dress by Caroline Hu.

The knee length, white ensemble clung to Amy’s slender body beautifully. Her shoes were a black pair of ankle boots with two-inch block heels.

Edward looked her over in one sweeping glance as he took the cup of coffee she held in her hand and threw it back, not even minding how hot it was, but needing himself to be more awake. His eyes lingered on her bosom before he caught a hold of himself and brought his eyes back up to her face.

Amy wondered if what she thought she saw was real. ‘

Was he just checking me out?’ she wondered. But before she could dwell on it, his voice pulled her back to the present.

”Have my second cup of coffee ready in the meeting room. And then clear my schedule until noon. I have important guests coming over.”

”Yes, sir,” she responded but he had already turned away from her, making a call on his cellphone. She watched his back for a few seconds and took a deep breath before making her own exit.