"Miss Tyler, please come into my office for a moment."
Serena's head whipped up at the slight baritone voice crackling over the intercom, and her heartbeat picked up. Her pulse quickened and she felt her throat suddenly parch up. Why in the world did she have to be employed to a man so damn sexy? It was unfair.
The slim, twenty-three-year-old swallowed her nervousness and wiped her sweaty palms before opening the knob leading to Darien's private office. As soon as she stepped in, there was no sign of the earlier agitation on her face. She was calm and collected, just like Darien wanted his personal assistant and the rest of his staff to be.
"You rang, sir?" she asked, her chin held high, blue eyes sparkling dangerously.
The black office chair swiveled around to reveal a flat-out gorgeous, well-built man with ebony hair, ocean-blue eyes, and a sexy crooked grin. Darien McFadden was indeed, the epitome of devilish good looks. Every young woman on his staff would sigh as he walked past their desks to his office and they often giggled in the ladies' restrooms about how lucky they were to have him as their employer.
Serena was no exception. Outside, she was the elegant and sophisticated personal assistant to Darien. Inside, she was still a young girl dreaming of finding love and living her dream of mothering children. Sometimes, she wondered what it would be like, married to Darien. But she dismissed the thoughts as girlish fantasies, nothing she should be concerned about.
So there she was again, being able to get a glimpse of the most vital man she had ever met. She suppressed a chuckle, knowing how much half of the female staff envied her position.
As usual, Darien was dressed to kill. A stylish navy blazer above an immaculate shirt and a red silk tie with diagonal stripes positioned between the folds of his suit. His olive skin glowed with health, muscles flexing beneath his blazer. His untamed bangs only added to his sexiness, making Serena want to run her hands through it.
"Serena, I'd like you to make sure that the documents for the German delegation will be on my desk at three 'o clock, tomorrow. Understood?"
"Understood perfectly, sir," Serena replied crisply, giving him a small grin. "Would you like Jenny to bring up some coffee for you?" she asked.
Darien shook his head. "Why don't you bring it up, Miss Tyler? I have some other things to discuss with you." Serena nodded and turned to head out the door.
~*~*~
As his assistant turned to leave, Darien immediately found himself appreciatively eyeing her slender waist slowly flaring out into shapely, womanly hips. His eyes suddenly darkened and his thoughts had taken on a rather primal turn. Damn. Thank God for his redwood desk. If it weren't high enough, she would have caught a glimpse of the bulge in his trousers.
He sighed and leaned back, recalling how quickly he had employed Serena Tyler as his personal assistant.
~*FLASHBACK*~
She had come in his office, her long blonde hair flowing behind her. He quickly noticed how natural her beauty was, as she had no make-up. She had great fashion sense, he noted, eyeing her cream silk blouse, beige slacks, and suede heels. But what had struck him a great deal was the way her voice sang in his head and the firmness of her grip after they shook hands.
No doubt she had been ecstatic when he accepted her on the spot. He had been all too happy to let her out of he office in order to expel the air he had been holding all throughout interviewing her.
There was no doubt about it. Serena Tyler was a woman to watch out for. He had to be careful not to get too close to her. But his damned instincts acted otherwise and day by day, he found it even more difficult to keep his distance from his goddess of a personal assistant.
"It's so unlike you, Darien," his friend Andrew had observed, much to the amusement of Greg, Ken, and Chad, his other associates. "Methinks you have something going on with this woman, McFadden," Greg added, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
Ken and Chad had laughed, slapping him on the shoulders. "Darien, your bachelor days are numbered...haha..." Much to his mortification he had felt a hot blush creeping past his neck and completely flaming his face, making Chad, Andrew, and Ken burst into outright guffaws. Even polite Greg had a huge grin on his face.
"Hehe..Somehow..haha..I knew that...hahaha...that would be...hohoho...your reaction!" Chad gasped, clutching his sides.
~*END FLASHBACK*~
'Chad should be grateful he's been one of my best friends, or I wouldn't have let that remark pass,' he thought to himself. It was all he could do to keep himself in his chair and keep himself from ripping off Serena's white blouse and savoring the smooth curves hidden underneath.
Darien's fantasies were interrupted by the sound of nearing footsteps that he knew, were Serena's. Immediately, he inhaled deeply. Once. Twice. And then he heard her knock. Hoo, boy! Here it comes...
"Ahem~. Come in, Miss Tyler."
"Your coffee, sir. Black, two sugars." Serena placed the cup on his table and stood in front of his desk, her hands clenched at her sides. Darien gestured for her to sit while he sipped his coffee. Serena promptly sat, primly crossing her legs and folding her hands in her lap.
Darien momentarily wondered if he should go ahead and ask her what had been on his mind for quite some time. 'Screw it, McFadden. Just ASK her.' Serena kept a steady gaze on him, her eyes never faltering. "Miss Tyler, I'm the kind of employer who wants to know about his employees' backgrounds. I am interested in knowing yours, just as I have known about the others."
Serena shrugged one shoulder. "There's nothing much to explain about my background, sir. I'm the eldest in my family, I have a younger brother named Sammy. My father is a businessman and my mother is a housewife. I have one pet, a cat...I call her Luna..."
"Lovelife?"
"Well, actually sir...there's just no time for me to have a boyfriend, mush less go out on dates. After work, I just go home to my apartment and finish up my take-home documents. On weekends, I stay with my family or I jog around the park."
Darien nodded, feeling like a heel for asking personal questions. Funny, he didn't feel that way when he asked his other employees who would even spill out their darkest secrets to him. "I see. Social activities?"
"Like I said, sir. I just don't have the time for that. I'm happy with the way my life is running now. I can have fun once I get enough money for that. I've always wanted to travel and see the world."
"No boyfriend, eh? I doubt that, Serena. In fact, I bet you've got so many boyfriends, you don't know what to do with them," he smirked, feeling a little twinge of jealousy inside.
The look on Serena's face was enough for him to know she was telling the truth. "I wish I had one, sir...I wish I had one," she sighed, looking wistful. She envied those couples she caught glimpses of, everywhere she went. She had been date-less ever since she was high school and even her friends had been lucky to snag a boyfriend.
It wasn't that she wasn't attractive. Far from it, she was VERY attractive. She just hadn't met the one, yet. And she had learned to prioritize. It was for this reason she was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" when she graduated, coming in third honors behind Melvin, their Salutatorian, and her friend Amy, who was Valedictorian.
Darien, on the other hand, was the typical playboy during his high school years. Every week, he had a new one and by the time he had graduated, he had dated practically the entire female population of his school (teachers excluded). Ironically, he had been the Valedictorian and Greg had come in a close second. Still, as he continued through his college years, he was lonely and he had nobody to talk to.
His father had died suddenly, leaving him with the responsibility to look after their company. At barely twenty-two, he had agreed to shoulder the burden of making McFadden Industries into the one of the most competitive companies globally. For five years, he had worked hard, sacrificing the medical career he had wanted to pursue. His hard work had paid off and clients started pouring in like rain.
It was for that reason he hired Serena. She was one of the many who had replied to his ad, wanting the position as personal assistant. She had beaten them all in the exams and her credentials were the best. Had he known she was attractive enough to leave men's jaw on the floor, he wouldn't have hired her and would have settled for a fifty-year-old instead. Day by day, he felt his attraction towards her grow and it was getting more difficult for him to suppress himself.
"Well...does that mean, Ms. Tyler, that you have no plans for Valentine's Day?"
Serena glanced at the calendar on the wall and swallowed the lump building in her throat. How she hated that day. To her, it was the worst day of the year and she spent it at home, with Luna. "No, sir. I plan to stay home and watch the world go by," she replied, sarcastically.
'Oops. Wrong question, McFadden.'
"Well...if you don't...Have plans for Valentine's, that is...I was wondering..."
'Oh, for Heaven's sake, spill it, Darien!'
Serena was giving him an odd look now. 'I've never seen him so...flustered.' For a moment, she wondered if this was a whole new side of Darien McFadden that was beginning to show.
"I was wondering...Serena, would you like to go out with me?" he asked, his hands gripping painfully on the arms of his chair. Please say yes, please say yes.
"Is this your way of saying you want to date me, sir?" Serena asked, her eyes twinkling merrily. "Well, you're just as date-less as I am, and two's company, right?" He grinned, flashing perfectly aligned white teeth.
"Well...alright, sir ~"
He held his hand up for silence. "Darien, Serena...just call me Darien."
"Okay...Whatever you say, Darien."
'Whoa whoa whoa! Darien...slow down a little...Valentine's Day isn't until Wednesday...why don't you have a little getting-to-know-each-other date first before you let the fireworks fly off?'
Darien cleared his throat. "On the other hand, you and I could have a little dinner date tonight so I can know more about you and vice versa, and then we can have the Valentine's date. How's that?"
"Fine with me."
"Is seven okay with you?"
"Seven is perfect. I'll see you then, Darien." 