heed to her at all. His face wasn’t flushed, and his tone was so ordinary and matter of fact that it was almost insulting. He had no obvious hard-on, and her boss had switched his concentration away from her with humiliating ease.
‘Well? Has it?’
‘Yes, Mark.’
‘Excellent.’ He didn’t so much as glance up. ‘Off you go, then. Please check the kitchen is ready, and be in the hall to greet our guests from half-past ten. I’ll see them all together in the dining room to start with.’
Frozen in shock at the anti-climax of their first sexual encounter, Anya stared at Mark’s back for a few moments in case she’d been mistaken. But no, that really was it. She was being dismissed. With lightning speed, Anya gathered up her clothes and, grateful that there was no one else in the house to bump into, she ran to her room.
Seething with annoyed confusion and hurt pride, Anya wanked herself off, showered, changed her underwear, and presented herself to the temporary caterers to ensure that the refreshments she’d requested for the candidates’ arrival were on their way to the dining room, and that a light lunch was being prepared.
She wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of the food was wasted. Mark intended to lay his cards on the table before any of the formal interviews began. He obviously expected that at least one of the women would walk out. Anya suspected they would all go, and after her recent humiliation, she wouldn’t blame them. She was sorely tempted to leave herself.
The women all arrived within ten minutes of each other. Trying her hardest not to let her face reveal that she was accessing each one as a potential lover, Anya welcomed them, before ushering them into the dining room; privately relieved they all looked as good in real life as they had in their photos.
Exchanging pleasantries with the women, Anya could tell that both Clara and Jayne were a little apprehensive, but Elizabeth was in perfect command of herself. Anya began to fill the women in on the type of business Mark ran, about the conference lunches she’d learnt he often held, and reiterated the need to work not just here, but in the flat in London as well. Unable to talk about the flat she’d never seen, Anya expounded the virtues of the lovely mansion and gardens, talking up the tasteful dressing room and living area she would share with the successful candidate, and carefully refraining from mentioning the tiny, cramped bedroom.
The moment Mark walked in, however, the easy-going atmosphere in the room changed.
Suddenly it was all so obvious. There was something dangerously hypnotic about this man. Something mysterious and almost enchanted. It occurred to Anya that she had only really met him twice. Both occasions had been far from ordinary, and yet she already didn’t want to fail him. Here and now, as the three other women all observed Mark Parker with open interest, Anya knew she would stay; that she had forgiven his strange behaviour in the office. Maybe it’s because I can never resist a challenge? Reigning in her thoughts, Anya refocused on the job at hand; besides, she really didn’t want to analyse her feelings any further.
Appearing utterly relaxed, Mark introduced himself and launched into a brief speech about Parker Software, and the responsibilities, pay and hours that came with the housekeeper’s position.
Phasing out as Mark talked, Anya considered each candidate in turn. Could she imagine herself sleeping with any of them? The simple answer was yes. Both Jayne and Clara had an air of something indefinably sexy about them.
Jayne was dressed smartly in a skirted suit; russet, cropped hair framing her freckled face, making her appear younger than her 32 years, and the more Anya studied her, the more she speculated about what it might be like to be kissed by her lightly glossed lips.
Meanwhile, the equally smartly suited Clara’s ice-blue eyes were flicking from Mark to Anya and back again. Anya observed
‘Well? Has it?’
‘Yes, Mark.’
‘Excellent.’ He didn’t so much as glance up. ‘Off you go, then. Please check the kitchen is ready, and be in the hall to greet our guests from half-past ten. I’ll see them all together in the dining room to start with.’
Frozen in shock at the anti-climax of their first sexual encounter, Anya stared at Mark’s back for a few moments in case she’d been mistaken. But no, that really was it. She was being dismissed. With lightning speed, Anya gathered up her clothes and, grateful that there was no one else in the house to bump into, she ran to her room.
Seething with annoyed confusion and hurt pride, Anya wanked herself off, showered, changed her underwear, and presented herself to the temporary caterers to ensure that the refreshments she’d requested for the candidates’ arrival were on their way to the dining room, and that a light lunch was being prepared.
She wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of the food was wasted. Mark intended to lay his cards on the table before any of the formal interviews began. He obviously expected that at least one of the women would walk out. Anya suspected they would all go, and after her recent humiliation, she wouldn’t blame them. She was sorely tempted to leave herself.
The women all arrived within ten minutes of each other. Trying her hardest not to let her face reveal that she was accessing each one as a potential lover, Anya welcomed them, before ushering them into the dining room; privately relieved they all looked as good in real life as they had in their photos.
Exchanging pleasantries with the women, Anya could tell that both Clara and Jayne were a little apprehensive, but Elizabeth was in perfect command of herself. Anya began to fill the women in on the type of business Mark ran, about the conference lunches she’d learnt he often held, and reiterated the need to work not just here, but in the flat in London as well. Unable to talk about the flat she’d never seen, Anya expounded the virtues of the lovely mansion and gardens, talking up the tasteful dressing room and living area she would share with the successful candidate, and carefully refraining from mentioning the tiny, cramped bedroom.
The moment Mark walked in, however, the easy-going atmosphere in the room changed.
Suddenly it was all so obvious. There was something dangerously hypnotic about this man. Something mysterious and almost enchanted. It occurred to Anya that she had only really met him twice. Both occasions had been far from ordinary, and yet she already didn’t want to fail him. Here and now, as the three other women all observed Mark Parker with open interest, Anya knew she would stay; that she had forgiven his strange behaviour in the office. Maybe it’s because I can never resist a challenge? Reigning in her thoughts, Anya refocused on the job at hand; besides, she really didn’t want to analyse her feelings any further.
Appearing utterly relaxed, Mark introduced himself and launched into a brief speech about Parker Software, and the responsibilities, pay and hours that came with the housekeeper’s position.
Phasing out as Mark talked, Anya considered each candidate in turn. Could she imagine herself sleeping with any of them? The simple answer was yes. Both Jayne and Clara had an air of something indefinably sexy about them.
Jayne was dressed smartly in a skirted suit; russet, cropped hair framing her freckled face, making her appear younger than her 32 years, and the more Anya studied her, the more she speculated about what it might be like to be kissed by her lightly glossed lips.
Meanwhile, the equally smartly suited Clara’s ice-blue eyes were flicking from Mark to Anya and back again. Anya observed
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