The following morning, Dayana put on one of the outfits Carleton had made her buy. The skirt was so uncomfortable that she had to keep pulling it down every few seconds. If she didn't, there was a real chance her underwear would end up on display.
"Good morning, sir," she said as she rushed into the elevator and joined a man wearing dark sunglasses who had entered before her.
At that moment, her phone started vibrating.
"Excuse me, could you hold this box for a second?"
Without looking up, she placed it in his hands. Her attention was focused on digging through her purse for her phone.
The call was from one of her college friends, who wanted to know how her internship was going.
"You have no idea what I'm dealing with. My boss is a complete tyrant. Honestly, if I'd been given a choice, I would've picked a different company. Because of that man, I spent all day yesterday running around nonstop," she complained. "Let's talk tonight, okay? I just got to my floor, and I don't want to be late. If I am, that tyrant will probably have me executed."
She hung up while her friend burst out laughing on the other side of the call.
"So your boss is a cannibal who's planning to make you his first taste of human meat?"
the man asked as he returned the box to her.
Dayana quickly took it back and apologized in a flustered tone. Until he mentioned it, she had completely forgotten that she had handed him the box.
"You clearly don't know Mr. Aleman," she shot back. "By the way, why are we going to the same place?"
"Welcome back to my office, Miss Dayana!"
The man took off his sunglasses and exposed a face she knew all too well.
"Relax. I have no plans to eat human flesh. At least not yours. Not for now," he added with a smug grin.
"Boss!"
Dayana stopped cold. She had spent the entire elevator ride complaining about him without realizing he had been standing right behind her the whole time.
There was no way she could have recognized him. Dressed in a black hoodie, a cap, and sunglasses, he looked more like a food delivery driver than the boss she knew from the office.
"I'm really sorry, sir. Everything you heard was just a joke."
"Why is this man dressed like this today? Every time I've seen him before, he's been wearing a suit," she thought to herself as she silently cursed herself for failing to recognize him sooner.
"You're fired. Effective immediately!"
"What? No, sir, please don't do that! Give me one more chance! I swear nothing like this will ever happen again."
"Fine. You still have a job, but since you were disrespectful, you'll be staying for overtime."
"Yes, sir. I understand."
"What's inside that box?" he asked while pointing toward it. "It's a premium coffee machine.
I thought it would be useful to keep it in your office so you could make coffee whenever you wanted."
"Take that thing out of my office immediately! Do you think I hired you so you could sit around and do nothing? Making my coffee is part of your job as my secretary."
"You're absolutely right, sir. I'm sorry for bringing it up." She apologized and hurried out of the office. The entire exchange left her feeling completely overwhelmed.
"What did I ever do to deserve this?" she wondered as she mourned the disastrous start to her day. From the moment she got out of bed, everything had gone wrong.
"Miss Dayana," Carleton called out after her. "In exactly one minute, I expect you in my office to go over today's schedule."
She had barely recovered from the last task when the tyrant was already calling for her again.
"Yes, Mr. Aleman," she answered and hurried back to her desk. She knew better than to keep him waiting. Even being a second late could set him off.
Dropping her purse onto the desk, she grabbed her tablet and rushed to his office. She made it there before the minute was over.
"I'm here, sir," she announced.
"Give me a minute. I'm busy," he replied without lifting his eyes from his work.
Since he wasn't paying attention to her, Dayana let out a quiet sigh and rolled her eyes. "Why call me in such a rush if you're not even ready to talk to me?"
The thought irritated her. She sat down in the chair across from his desk while he continued his phone conversation. An open window let in a strong gust of wind that swept several papers off his desk and scattered them across the floor. Not wanting to be blamed for the mess, Dayana quickly bent down to gather them. The moment she leaned forward, a loud ripping sound broke the silence.
Almost immediately, her boss turned around. Dayana grabbed the back of her skirt right where the fabric had torn. The skirt was so tight that it gave way the second she bent over. Panic washed over her, and her face turned bright red. The embarrassment only grew worse when she looked up and found her boss staring at her with clear amusement.
Her knees threatened to give out as she kept one hand pressed firmly over the tear, doing her best to keep it hidden.
"What happened?" Carleton asked as though he had no idea.
"Do you really need to ask? Can't you see what your ridiculous fixation on tight skirts above the knee has done to me?" she snapped, unable to hold back her frustration any longer.
Carleton laughed out loud. Even so, something changed in the way he looked at her.
Because of the style of underwear Dayana had chosen that day, the torn skirt exposed far more than she wanted. No matter how hard she tried, one hand was not enough to cover everything.
"Could you at least turn around and give me some privacy?" she demanded.
To her surprise, he did as she asked. Without wasting a second, she removed her blazer and tied it around her waist to hide the damage.
Now dressed only in her white top, she felt even more self-conscious.
"What exactly are you doing? Don't tell me you're planning to get changed right here," he asked with a teasing smile. "If this is your way of trying to tempt me, I have to admit it's getting results."
His comment earned him a furious glare, but she kept her mouth shut.
Arguing with him was not an option. One wrong word and he could fire her immediately. That would end her internship and force her to wait until the following year before she could continue it.
"Here, put this on," Carleton said as he walked over and handed her his jacket. "You can stay in here if you want. I'll have the driver buy you something more suitable. Unless you'd rather I go myself?"
Dayana hesitated.
Walking out of his office wrapped in a man's jacket was out of the question. Everyone would jump to the wrong conclusion and assume something inappropriate had happened between them.
The driver was not a good option either. If he found out what happened, the gossip would spread through the company in no time.
Feeling embarrassed, she asked Carleton to go instead.
Luckily, there was a clothing store nearby.
A short while later, Carleton came back carrying a new outfit. This time, he had chosen a larger size to make sure the same problem would not happen again. Dayana changed as quickly as she could. The entire situation left her embarrassed, but she was also grateful for his help.
After that awkward incident, something between them felt a little different. A strange sense of closeness remained where there had once been only tension. "If the rest of those outfits fit like that or make you uncomfortable, you don't have to wear them anymore. I promise I won't deduct the money from your paycheck," he offered.
"Thank you very much, sir," she replied quietly.
At last, she went over the schedule for the day with him.
"You're dismissed," he said.
She had already reached for the door when his voice stopped her once again. "Oh, and one more thing. Nice backside," Carleton called after her with a playful grin.
Dayana rushed out of the office, her face burning with embarrassment. The entire day had been exhausting, and all she wanted was to get as far away from him as possible. Yet no matter how much he irritated her, she could not deny that she found him incredibly attractive. Even so, she quickly pushed the thought aside. There was no reason to dream about something impossible. A man like him would never pay special attention to a woman like her.
