Chapter 3 - Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?

By Valeria

That day I returned to my office and shared the news with my colleagues as I said goodbye.

One of the girls openly told me she was jealous because she would sleep with him even if it was just for one night.

I don't understand women like that.

"I'm not planning to sleep with anyone," I clarified firmly.

The next day, I signed the document making my position official.

I showed up at Alejandro Zalco's secretary's office.

We had just returned from lunch, and he hadn't arrived at the office yet.

Around 3 PM, we heard the elevator and finally saw Alejandro Zalco.

He stepped out of the private elevator with an air of "move aside, I'm here."

To get to his office, he had to pass by the desk where we were.

As his secretary stood up, I did the same.

I felt his brazen gaze on me.

It felt like he was undressing me with his eyes.

I felt quite uncomfortable and regretted not wearing pants.

I also understood why everyone succumbed to him.

His presence could melt even the largest iceberg.

That morning, I had put on a fitted black skirt, above the knees, not too short but definitely not long. I'm 20 years old, so I wasn't going to dress like someone older. I kept it classic with a white blouse that had some embroidery and a tailored black jacket matching the skirt.

I thought I looked appropriate, formal, and modern at the same time.

His gaze lingered on my legs and slowly traveled up to my face, pausing for a few seconds on my mouth.

"Are you my new secretary?" he asked in an incredibly sexy voice, as sexy as he was. Yes, I must confess he seemed arrogant, boastful, conceited, and sexy, extremely sexy.

But my plan was to work, so I tried to ignore what his gaze conveyed.

However, just his look made me blush all the way to my ears, and I hated myself for not being able to control that blush.

The girls were right when they talked about him.

Physically, he was perfect, and his face...

He was tall, quite tall, about 6'1", with broad shoulders. I noticed that when he headed to his office. Brown hair, incredibly beautiful gray eyes, piercing, fascinating.

I scolded myself for thinking that way.

But I couldn't stop looking at his perfect, though very masculine, features.

Or his mouth, which invited a thousand thoughts.

"Yes, sir," I hoped I hadn't taken too long to respond.

Anyway, he's just a handsome man.

I tried to remind myself how much money I would make if I lasted in this job, and the key was not to get lost in his eyes or his mouth.

"Come to my office."

"Yes, sir."

He walked away, and I, standing beside the desk, followed a few steps behind.

His secretary grabbed my arm and whispered in my ear that I was in trouble, that he had never looked at her like that.

A few seconds later, I reached his office door. He was sitting behind his desk in an imposing chair, as if his presence wasn't imposing enough.

I knocked on the open door softly.

"Come in and close the door."

I did as he said.

I closed the door and stood there, waiting for him to tell me if he wanted me to bring him something or to sit down for some questions.

"Sit down."

"Thank you, sir."

I tried to maintain as much formality as possible.

"What's your name?"

"Valeria Ocampo, sir."

"You look young. How old are you?"

"20 years old."

"It says here that you have four courses left to get your degree in business administration."

"Yes, sir." At this point, it seemed like that was all I could say.

"Did you speed through your degree?"

I smiled and saw his gaze on my mouth again. He didn't look away immediately.

I'll have to be more careful than I thought. He's a natural seducer; even the simplest questions seem like an invitation to bed.

Until now, and after Diego, I almost felt asexual.

And in the last few minutes, my mind was sending signals to my body that I didn't want to feel.

"Almost, I try to pass several courses over the summer."

"Okay. Can you travel?"

"I have availability, although I don't have a passport."

"The company's lawyers can handle that in 24 hours. Are you single?"

"Yes, sir."

"I don't like dealing with jealous boyfriends. I'm very demanding and work late, so I need my secretary to always be available."

"I don't have a boyfriend, sir."

"You're too beautiful not to have a boyfriend..."

"I don't have one. I broke up several months ago."

"Who do you live with?"

"I rent an apartment with two friends, sir."

He's already starting with more personal questions. I need to keep my mind clear to answer correctly, I thought.

"Okay, they must have told you what your job entails."

"Yes, sir."

"I need you to be punctual. I don't want excuses of any kind. I only give you the day off for exams, as long as nothing important comes up, and if you go out at night, I don't care if you feel bad the next day. I always want you at 100%."

"I don't go out during the week."

"I might need you on Saturdays and Sundays too."

"Mrs. Susana already clarified that."

"How good is your French?"

"It's not a language I speak perfectly, but I can get by."

"Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?"

God!

This man is crazy.

He asked if I wanted to sleep with him.

He completely took me by surprise.

I must have blushed from head to toe.

It's not that I'm shy; it just caught me off guard.

"Non monsieur, je ne viens que pour travailler."

He looked at me, smiling in that incredibly sexy way he had when we first met.

"Are you sure? You’d have many benefits, apart from having me, of course."

He was definitely an idiot.

Sexy, attractive, but an idiot.

My hands were on the desk, and he took one, opening my palm and running his fingers over my entire hand.

I felt a jolt.

It seemed like his hand was burning me.

"No sir, no offense, but I was hired just as your secretary."

"I can hire you for much more... you’d get extra bonuses and we’d have a great time together."

He said without letting go and winking at me.

However, he was treating me like a prostitute.

I pulled my hand away.

"Honestly, I prefer to be your secretary, even if it means fewer... benefits."

"I understand you’re prepared to be that, but you’re missing out on the other part... I understand you won’t be coming in tomorrow, my current secretary."

Damn, he doesn’t even know her name, just another woman in a long list of insignificant ones in his life.

At this moment, I’m glad I didn’t succumb to his charms and all his power.

"They must have told you everything I need and like, I spend a lot of time in the office, so I need you to be attentive to me at all times and if my father comes, you need to inform me, even if I’m busy, and take care of him on some occasions."

"Take care of him?"

"Relax, he... won’t speak to you in French, you just need to entertain him if I’m busy."

He winked again, but this time differently, seeking my complicity.

At least he didn’t fire me for refusing to be... friendly.

He knows what he does to women, even to me, who thought I was immune to men like him.

Of course, feeling his fingers burning on my hand is one thing, and quite another to agree to sleep with him.

It’s incredible how he found the moment to surprise me with that question, so direct and yet it even sounded like a poem.

I’m crazy.

I can’t think like this, I’ve only known him for an hour.

Then he ruined it when he tried to buy me, putting himself as the grand prize.

He clearly never wastes time.

He knows he has power, that women fall for him, and most accept his proposition without hesitation.

Will he insist another time?

I hope not, it’s uncomfortable, I’m not a prostitute and at the same time, I, who thought I was immune and even asexual, haha, how naive I am, felt all the fire in his gaze and wanted to feel his kisses and caresses.

It’s never happened to me before, because even with my ex-boyfriend, when I met him, everything was much more innocent and sex came gradually, although it didn’t take long for me to be in his arms, but I must admit that now I felt a fire running through me and he only grabbed my hand.

What must it feel like in his bed...

We talked a bit more, maybe he tried to hide that he only wanted sex at that moment or maybe later, after the office.

When I left, his secretary looked me up and down.

"I didn’t hear anything."

Is she referring to sex?

"I don’t know what you should hear in a job interview."

"You didn’t have sex? You took quite a while to come out of his office."

"How could I have sex? I was hired to be his secretary."

"But all of us... had."

"I don’t want to be like everyone else, I need to work."

"With the severance pay they give you when you’re fired, it’s more than enough."

"How many languages do you speak?"

"Spanish and I can get by with English, more or less..."

"I speak four languages and I’m four courses away from a degree in business administration, they also offered me to learn Chinese, because that’s what Mr. Alejandro Zalco needs."

"But he looked at you like he never did with anyone else."

"That’s not my problem."

"I wish you luck, in the end, we all fall into his clutches."

"Thanks, same to you."

I finally reached my apartment.

Only Emilia was there, Carla hadn’t arrived yet.

I changed quickly to go to college, and meanwhile, like a parrot and in great detail, I told Emi, my best friend, everything.

She was astonished when I described what I felt.

After breaking up with Diego, I hadn’t gone out with anyone.

No man interested me.

It’s not that I still loved Diego, the love faded and maybe it was just habit, as Emilia told me that day.

My friend and I would go dancing, play pool, have fun, we loved seeing comedians in person, or as they’re called now, influencers, but I always avoided getting involved with another man.

The insecurity caused by being with Diego for so long, because deep down I knew he would replace me with the first girl who crossed his path, he also didn’t agree with me dressing up too much and always found some flaw in me, luckily, faded away.

Thanks to my great friend, who helped me move forward, to dress up again, to feel sexy and also for the thousands of compliments I received from many men.

My relationship with Diego was toxic, he wanted me to stay home so he could go out with his friends and have fun, and his idea of fun was being with other women.

Right now, I feel free.

I’ve completely forgotten him, I don’t miss him, I’m just annoyed at having been so stupid.

Now I go out, dress sexy, I know men find me attractive, I feel confident in my looks and intellect and I’m immensely grateful to my parents for the hours they spent talking to me to shape me into a professional and always encouraging me to study languages.

So, intellectually, I distanced myself from Diego and I suppose he noticed, and that’s why he treated me the way he did.