Archive of Our Own

That evening was going, totally, great.

So great Charlie was ready to make a murder in the middle of the annual company party she invested all her energies arranging and threw her entire career up in the air.

Yep. Totally, utterly, great .

She took a deep breath, clenching her nails around the dark satin pochette held in one hand while trying to mentally choose which one of the '10 ways to calm your mind in stressful situations' would be most effective in that specific stressful one:

No. 10 'Get some fresh air' 

Finding herself in the open terrace at the top of a building, with spring breeze ruffling the side braid she took 40 minutes to make, it was quite safe to say that suggestion wasn't working very well.

Just as it hadn't the no. 3, 'try breathing exercises', or the quick meditation (no. 1) she had attempted just before in the bathroom.

She could just focus on her drinks like most were doing already, but since she was basically working it didn't seem like a great idea to end up wasted right at the beginning of the night.

Despite this, Charlie took a long sip from the glass of champagne she was holding and tried to review in her head the checklist of tasks for the evening: setups, suppliers, catering, and everything else was in place; the arrangement of the company terrace had never looked so good, there was enough alcohol at the bar to quench the entire town's thirst for several weeks, the appetizers were being devoured with gusto and the entertainment was getting half the diners dancing, while the other half was already tipsy enough to give their best in conversation. So now all she had left to do was just let things flow as they should and enjoy the evening. 

If only she could.

No. 7 'Try to think of something else'

and not that, since the moment Alastor Broussard got there that evening, he hadn't even approached for a word of celebration or a greeting for her work.
‘Cause he was busy. Chatting. 

With another - very touchy - woman.

– yeah, murder seemed increasingly unavoidable. 

It was quite clear that Charlie still hadn't fully processed the actual feelings she had toward her unnerving, evil, senior.

She had spent the entire year, from the moment she first started working in her father's company, to-not loving him-with the strength of a thousand suns, watching him posing at the desk next to her while stealing her best clients like a vulture, treating her like a naive teenager at every thrilling proposal she brought into meetings, and taking maximum recognition for work without the slightest effort, while everyone else suffered miserably from overtime and unmanageable projects. 

A year spent biting her tongue and rolling her eyes at the jokes he made about her messiness, physical and mental; a year arguing back at his jibes about ideas she proposed to their manager Carmilla that he found ridiculous; a year trying to ignore the heat she inexplicably felt rising in her chest-and in other parts- whenever she saw him approach her desk with some excuse.

Until something had changed.

Perhaps due to fate, or sloppy maintenance, for one evening the two of them hadn't just been two coworkers caught in the awkward silence of a stuck elevator cab, but they'd become something more.

She squeezed her thighs together remembering some specific moments they'd shared during that evening, like thinking of all the places his long fingers had touched and oh-so-his tongue... only to be back at the office the next Monday bickering over some mistake in a budget formula.

But she was okay with that. Sure, she wouldn't mind having another go if the opportunity arose, but it wasn't like she stood constantly thinking about how Alastor had fucked her stupid inside the cab of a stopped elevator (and later also several times at her home).

And she certainly hadn't spent the last evenings studying makeup and hairstyle tutorials on sinstagram, or trying on outfits for the party picturing how he would react at the sight of her in that dark red cocktail dress with straps she was wearing; one with a slit and neckline appropriate for a corporate setting with her father, but that at the same time emphasized her silhouette enough to– hopefully– make his head spin.

No, although nice, what happened between them meant nothing much for their relationship. And if it had only remained as a one-night stand Charlie would have been perfectly fine with that.

So Alastor could keep spending the next hour ignoring her as he was already doing and laughing and joking with their client– the perfect, elegant, gorgeous owner of Rosie's emporium– who, despite what he'd been saying, seemed to be way more than just a longtime friend to him.

Ignoring the vein that was starting to pulse powerfully at her temple, Charlie tried hard to let her gaze, so far focused on them, wander along with her mind to the rest of the room full with her coworkers and important clients, all dressed up for the evening talking about this or that project. 

Even if disguised as a party, those kind of dinners were basically a working evening like any other, only dressed better. One in which everyone was excused in talking crap, dancing till late, singing out of tune at karaoke, and to swallow huge amounts of alcohol. And, of course, that was the main reason why everyone looked forward to it during the year.

Witnessing the pitiful performances of their drunk managers was one of the few yearly pleasures the employees of that hellhole had. And Charlie was so distracted by that specific, still sober, asshole to be the only one who couldn't enjoy that.
For a single, very quick, second their gazes met and the world around her began to move a little bit slower while all the anger she wanted to scream at him was temporarily hushed, only before Alastor turned full attention back to his conversation partner. The usual grin slightly wider than before.

The screech her nail caused on the glass she was holding made few people nearby turn to look annoyed toward.

"What?" she hissed, beginning to tap her foot persistently against the floor then returning to sneak peeks the couple across the room; they'd been talking for at least forty-five minutes now, what on earth did they have to discuss for so long?

"Uhm– hon, are you… all right?"

Charlie had to blink a couple of times before being able to focus on the two coworkers who were standing in front of her, turning her gaze away from her senior who stood several yards behind them to shift to Vaggie's worried look and Anthony's amused smile.

"What– HI! Yes, of course I am! Why you asking?” She replied, the tone of her voice clearly higher than usual “It's a perfect evening, isn't it? The party is quite a success!"

Her fake, twitchy smile didn't seem to persuade either of her friends.

"Maybe 'cause ya keep givin’ us this same shit for like 30 minutes, toots? And I hope you didn't squeeze Mr. Creepy Smile's cock like that glass or–"

"WA– KEEP IT DOWN!" The high-pitched hush and attempt to cover Anthony's mouth with her hands drew more attention than she'd meant to; for a second she saw Alastor's gaze settle amusedly on them, before quickly turning back to his ‘date’. 

Not even three seconds of attention, huh?

Obviously, Vaggie didn't miss that last glance and turned to follow the trajectory of Charlie's gaze to find the object of her interest. Her eyebrow rose with an amused snort when spotted him, then shook her head swinging the hair styled in a ponytail tied with a bow.

"ooh, so that’s why you're as tense as a violin string tonight, even though 'everything's going great'?” she teased, mimicking her voice “porque your boyfriend right there is a little too...distracted?"
“Wait, what– NO! Stop it! He's not my…”
Without even attempting to go unnoticed, Anthony turned to look curiously toward the direction pointed by Vaggie. Then he burst out laughing when recognized their well-dressed senior, without even averting the interrogative look Alastor gave in response.
For fucks’ sake, that's why she never told anything to her friends. 

At this point they could have directly greeted him and they'd been less– oh lord , Anthony was actually doing it!
"Yep. Creepy stare, still hot as usual.” he stated, shaking a hand while bringing his drink to the lips “…but who is that tall bitch with him? Good shot, old ma– OUCH"
Vaggie’s elbow straight into his rib made him spit out some of that extra pink fancy cocktail.
"I mean– obviously not as good as you!" he added, coughing up colored vodka. 

Sinking her crimson face into the glass, Charlie just hoped that the ground would open and swallow her whole forever. 

"Okay guys, please, cut it out. You're making a whole movie by yourself– and stop looking at him!" she hissed, hitting Anthony’s hand that kept waving in Alastor direction. “I already told you, that stuff that happened between me and Alastor last week was an accident, and it ended there. Besides, we ain't even said hello tonight and he doesn't look like someone who's interested, so…"

Vaggie bent her head aside to stare back at the man with sharp eyes, pulling up the puffed sleeves of her mini dress.

"WHAT, he didn’t come congratulate for tonight?! Nena, shall I go kick that scumbag to repent? Just say the word."

Sweet, but still awkward.

"Oh please, no! I mean– I really, uhm, appreciate you wanting to force someone to give me attention, Vaggie, but… it’s not necessary." 

"Really, I'll drag him here in front of his woman to lick the soles of your shoes. If he wants to play such games I'll make him regret ever touching you..."

Don’t call her that

"Honestly– I knew he was a slut! You can tell a mile away."

" ¿Pero cómo? You and Cherri have been encouraging her for months! I TOLD you he was a total dickhead… Alastor enjoys teasing, you can't trust guys like that.”

"Okay that's enough now!" Charlie blurted out, no longer able to handle the discomfort. "Really, I don't care what he's doing tonight. He can spend his whole evening with Miss Levi, or any of his other clients if he wishes. I have much more to think about and I can't, I just can't, be distracted."

Hoping to distance herself from that talk, Charlie reach out to a waiter to exchange her empty glass for some of the mini burgers she'd been dreaming of eating all week.

No. 6 'Occupy your mind by using your hands'

She adored her friends, but really needed to stop thinking about that crap instead of getting even more upset about it.

By this point in the evening she really had no time to think about what Alastor was, or was not, trying to do with a client he assured he had no particular relationship with. Or maybe he didn't have in that moment but could possibly had in the past, or in the future... whatever! She had no right to stand there mulling it all over either; after all, they didn't owe anything to each other and she was perfectly fine with that… so Alastor was free to find himself a different partner for the party and lock themselves in the elevator or wherever else he liked doing that kind of stuff.

Also because she wasn't sure she'd make it alive through the evening, having to deal with the thousand polemical talks about her career that sooner or later her father would have come to fuss about as soon as he was more tipsy. In addition to having to ensure that Carmilla was completely satisfied with the party, entertaining the clients with whom she hoped to get new projects, giving directions to the waiters on the mini quiches... in short, too much to think about right now to lose her mind about–

A high-pitched laugh reached them from across the room, snapping her neck around to point her flaming gaze at the perfect little hand shamelessly resting on the chest of her boyfrie– well, friend or, rather, coworker .

Get the fuck off him now

Instead of murder, she'd have directly set the whole bar on fire with them standing beside it. Due to all the alcohol, they were gonna burn easily in a matter of seconds.

The big cheating scumbag and his hussy 'just a customer' woman.

"– at least spare the mini-burgers!"

She lowered her gaze to the crushed pastry in her hands hearing Anthony's squeal, the ketchup dripping through her fingers like the blood of her enemies. Another appetizer fallen to the unnecessary fury of a betrayed princess.

"oh… shit ."

What the heck was she doing?

She was too much of an adult for all that pointless bullshit. She was no longer in high school where people got jealous because the guy she'd spent 7 minutes in heaven with was ending the party hooking up with someone else; now she was a grown-up person with jobs, taxes, little free time, and none to play around. 

All of that was very not like her.

Sensing Charlie’s discomfort, Vaggie took a big breath and grabbed her shoulders to look straight in the eye, with frowning but firm gaze

"Okay, hon, let's start again. Look, I know that– even if you deny it– you do care; I can't really get why for such a guy, however, it's not important…” she waved her hand as to chase away something unnecessary "Anyway, if what you really want is to just forget about this matter between you two, that's totally fine; however, if you feel that something isn’t right and you’ll want to face the issue, you'll have all our backs. Right now, though, is your time; you've worked so much on it, so I know it's hard but try to focus and enjoy it, okay?”
Charlie blinked a couple of times toward her friend; beside her, Anthony nodded in agreement, grabbing a handkerchief to help her get rid of the appetizer corpse still in her hands.
“Shortie is right, Charlie, we're all here for ya. The evening is truly going great, thanks to ya, and Mr fucker, there, counts nothing” he cast a glance of disdain over her shoulder “So clean yourself up, say fuck him and enjoy your fucking deserved fame without getting shook up by all this bullshit."

"And, if you want, we’ll have time later to kick his moron ass."

The corners of Charlie’s mouth quickly bended into a smile; maybe her friends were a little noisy, but she could always count on them for an eye-opening talk when she needed it most. They were right, she had to get her shit together and think about what was important, like an evening with her friends she had amply deserved. 

Wrinkling her nose, Charlie nodded firmly and hugged them both tightly, putting aside momentarily all the thoughts that had haunted her until then.

"Thanks guys, I'll come to my senses."

"You're welcome, hon, anytime."

"Yeah, we're such amazing friends."

As soon as they loosened their embrace, Anthony made two new drinks filled with alcohol appear in his hands and placed them in front of their faces with an excited smile, making Vaggie roll her eyes as Charlie burst into a hearty laugh.

"Great, so for now let’s get drunk till we pass out." 

No. 9 ‘Spend time with those you love’
Indeed, she would get rid from the thought of her senior in no time.

_ __ ___ ____________ ___ __ _

On the second attempt to have a short futile meditation session in the bathroom Charlie had to question what was wrong with her.

Being careful not to ruin the makeup, she tossed her face a few splashes of ice-cold water running from the tap and then lifted to look at her reflected image.

She sighed, contemplating her figure; the blond braid adorning her hair still fell neatly over the shoulder, she still had perfect burgundy lipstick -since having eaten almost nothing- and her dress wasn't too creased from her nervously moving around the lounge. She wasn't used to complimenting herself, but that night her appearance was pretty decent all things considered.

Too bad the only thing she felt like doing at that moment was running home, slipping into flannel pajamas, and going to bed.

The good mood of an evening with friends faded at least by thirty minutes, when she had realized that by then almost all her friends were tipsy enough to enjoy dinner while she was still sober and nervous.

Though noble, Vaggie's attempt to distract her by having all of their colleagues compliment her for the evening had worked even less than Anthony's attempt to get her drunk, which at one point was also joined by Cherri trying to constantly refill her with vodka instead of water, as if it didn't smell entirely different.

She'd only had a brief moment of gratification when Carmilla approached her to congratulate for the great job on the evening-which she basically forced her to organize, but still-and for the first time she'd finally felt acknowledged by her manager after a year of hard work.

Too bad the bliss had lasted barely five minutes, then she'd found herself wandering again in her mind to the one-who-should-not-be-named and what the heck had meant for him that evening, while pretending to laugh with delight at the jokes of a group of guys from sales who Cherri wanted to approach, despite the fact that her jerk of an ex-boyfriend was also in the middle of the pack.

At another time, she would rather have jumped straight off the building than listen to another Seviathan's tale of the good ol' college days, but that night she decided to let him ramble on. Partly to give Cherri time to flirt with some guy with a lisp who seemed to like her quite a lot, and partly to make her father see her being on good terms with a Von Eldritch and at least stop hassling her to get them back together. And, to be perfectly honest, also a bit to probe out of the corner of her eye her senior's reaction. 

Except that Alastor hadn't even glanced over them the whole damn time, blatantly ignoring her presence, even when she'd let her ex's hand rest far too casually on her hip.

This had gotten her so nervous that she'd jilted her interlocutor on the spot, right in the middle of his story of a “crazy” evening they'd spent together at a sorority party where he'd performed with his band.

What a huge jerk.

Not that she expected someone like Alastor to be the kind of guy who'd make a scene there in front of everyone out of jealousy, but at least to give her an inquiring look! Instead, not even that.

All right, if he didn't want to deal with her he could stay right where he was with his gorgeous companion. She was done caring.

Charlie closed her eyes and counted to three, trying to get her heart rate to slow down as the sounds of music and chatter stayed locked out of that bathroom.

No. 4. 'Challenge your thoughts'

All right, she knew on her own that she was telling herself a bunch of crap.

It certainly wasn't that lack of greeting that infuriated her. Charlie knew well how demanding those business dinners could be when surrounded by clients and bosses, especially for a well-admired celebrity in the company as Alastor was. 

Nor was the far too much -though suspicious- closeness he held all evening with another woman that made her blood boil so much to want to tear down the entire party; however the obvious jealousy was consuming her soul.

It was rather the insecurity, the confusion, that Alastor was managing to cause her just by depriving her of attention for a few days. Especially after that night when he'd made her feel like the hottest, most desirable woman on earth.

And it was the knowledge that now it took only a moment without his gaze to make her feel so small and angry she'd throw away all her long-earned hard work.

Since when had a gesture from him become more important than her work?

Charlie had no idea, but for some reason it was clear that being deprived was upsetting her more than she wanted to admit.

She might have kept telling her friends that 'they were just coworkers,' and that it had been just 'a one-night thing,' but deep down she knew very well she had been wanting something more from Alastor from the moment she'd sat down at her desk on the Monday after their adventure and found a steaming cup of coffee with a Post-it on it. 

She just didn't have the courage to face him head-on to find out if it was the same for him.

Charlie took another big breath, continuing to look at herself in the mirror with her hands resting on the sink as a few drops of water fell from her forehead.

The glance she got back through the reflection was pitiful.

To avoid it, she leaned toward the tissue dispenser to look for some to wipe her face, pressed the automatic button but nothing came out. Great. 

She tried pressing it one more time but the outcome didn't change, then a couple more insistently, before switching to hitting it with her fists to release on the small useless box all the suppressed feelings she'd been holding in for the past few hours. 

After all, it was better to practice on an object first, before ending up lashing out at the person directly concerned. 

“C'mon, work! You big son of a-”

“Oh my, here honey, I have one.”

Charlie gasped. Not having realized there was someone else in the bathroom. But before she could turn to thank the stranger's offer, she found herself staring into the mirror at Rosie Levi's kind smile handing her a paper handkerchief.

She froze for a few seconds, admiring her tall, slim figure in a stunning long black dress, her porcelain face framed by a bob of platinum blond hair; then she turned to reciprocate with a stretched smile.

"Uhm- hello, Miss Levi, and thank you."

"Please, just Rosie!"

She walked past her to set down her purse next to the sink, and pull out a red lipstick to fix her already perfect lips with, and a small portable blush to re-color her cheeks with; when she got to her hair, her gaze in the mirror turned to her.

"Is there a problem, darling?" she asked in a cheerful voice, fixing her hairstyle with a tiny retractable comb.

Yes, like you being a sexy giantess and me next to you looking like a teenager in middle school?

It was obvious who, among them, looked better by Alastor's side.

Charlie blushed, realizing that she'd been staring at her the whole time, and looked away to quickly wipe away the drops of water that remained on her forehead.

"What– no! Well, I'm sorry, it's just... I don't know if you remember me, but I'm–"

The woman chuckled, finishing adjusting her hairdo with her fingers 

"oh-oh, of course I remember. Charlie Magne, right? Ya’d been following the opening event of my new emporium for a while, if I'm not mistaken." 

"Yes, that's right, that's me! Thank you for remembering, but how did you– I mean, we've only been in touch by phone."

"Oh, I recognized you right away, m'dear, you're exactly like your father! But it was actually Alastor– I mean, Mr. Broussard– who showed me who you were tonight."

Wait, what? 

Their gaze met again in the mirror, Charlie's eyes open in amazement. 

"Oh...are you serious?"

"Yeah, you've got a very proud senior, Miss Magne, all through dinner he did nothing but praise your abilities! Pretty tiresome to hear on repeat, to be frank, if it wasn't something so unusual for someone like him: we've known each other for years and I've never heard him speak well of a single colleague!"

And certainly not of her! Was there perhaps another Charlie Magne in the company to whom he could refer?

"But from the bit I've been able to see, it's all well-deserved praise. This evening, indeed, is truly amazing, darlin'. Great, great job!"

"I– uhm, thank you?"

"You're welcome, it's just the truth." 

"So, you… well, you've known each other for a long time?" muttered Charlie, finding courage who knows where, her gaze fixed on her reflection, pretending to engage in her make-up as well "I mean, you and Mr– Broussard, of course. Are you, perhaps, friends?"

With her high-pitched voice and pepper-red cheeks, in another life Charlie would have made a terrible detective, or seller. Good thing she worked for her father.

Thankfully, Rosie didn't seem to notice anything unusual in her attitude, or at least she didn't give evidence of it. She merely smiled with an indecipherable look.

"That's right! Even before he came to work for your dad, when he was a dreamy young freelancer full of himself...really lovely, you should have seen him!"

Boy, she wished she had.

"I just can't really picture him..."

"Oh, and he was non-stop! Always running from one business to another, such incredible skills, close to superhuman. Everybody wanted to work with him, a true genius in his field! But in the end, even Alastor succumbed to the allure of comfort of the big machine, and ended up victim of the routine..." she sighed, putting her things back in her purse "you know, when he joined this company he lost some of his drive, in my opinion, as if boredom led him to stifle his talent... but I'm glad to find him full of steam again, lately he seems to be back to his old self. Don't you find that too?"

The tone she spoke in was gentle, friendly, like an old aunt worried that her loved ones were not eating enough. Charlie didn't quite know what kind of self-doubt she'd been projecting on them all evening, but she was beginning to think she might have been mistaken about their relationship.

Of course, she still couldn't get out of her head the image of her fixing Alastor’s tie while whispering things into each other's ears.

"I- I don't really know what you mean; for as long as I've known him he has always seemed sufficiently ... vigorous, in fact even too much so. But you probably know him best, since you've been friends for so long. We don't have that kind of relationship..."

Rosie burst out laughing and put a hand on her shoulder, helping to fix the braid falling back on her chest and the rebellious tufts of hair trying to escape.

The last time an older woman had given her such a motherly gesture was the nanny in eighth grade; and she had the same sweet, sly expression.

Charlie hated to admit it, but it was impossible not to feel comfortable with her.

"Maybe not, however, you have your own kind of relationship that works every day and that you have nurtured with care, even when he's likely being a crazy devil-may-care maniac and just deserves you to smack him around..." Her mischievous smile widened, "What I mean is, he's seemed to have changed a bit recently, and I was just curious to see why. Guess I know now. I'm glad our Alastor has found some new form of ... inspiration."

And on the last word she winked mischievously, immediately causing Charlie's cheeks to flush.

"Wait- I'm sorry...what?"

"Don't worry, darlin', I won't tell! But I'm glad I saw you. I've never seen him like this before-with anyone! My goodness, this is fun!"

good thing she was having fun, Charlie on the other hand felt numb and confused by that conversation, only maybe understanding about 55 % of its true meaning. 

Unable to formulate a response she just watched her giggle as she put her purse under arm and head for the door, stopping right on the doorframe

"Just a tip, Alastor can be a real fool. Give him a pass once in a while, he'll still be your loyal puppy."

And taking her hearty laugh along, she waved her hand in salutation before disappearing past the corner of the door.

Charlie stood frozen for a couple of seconds, staring at the passage through which she had just vanished, her brain trying to process the information.

What had happened, exactly? Was she perhaps more tipsy than she thought, or had the conversation with the client she'd been glaring at all evening just taken a surreal turn, almost to the point of.... receiving love advice? 

Oh lord, she really needed to talk to someone about this.

Quickly retrieving her purse abandoned on the sink, Charlie crossed the door with brisk stride to exit onto the small secluded hallway where the terrace bathrooms were located, intent on hurrying back to the party to find her still-not-quite-drunk friends with whom she could resume talking about-

"Greetings, my dear!"

Great, now she'd actually summoned him, too. Maybe while she was distracted they'd said his name three times.

Charlie turned her head sharply to search for the source of the voice; she spotted him not far from the door she'd just exited, leaning against a high table in the smoking area set at the end of that side alley.

And, judging by the complete absence of humans, children or animals nearby, he'd been smoking there for a while with that look of someone who'd had enough social interaction for the next six months.

"Oh, hey! – bye."

She gave him perhaps two seconds of her best fake smile, then turned on her heel and headed off, determined to leave him there by himself. She was certainly not going to settle for a casually tossed 'hello' at that point in the evening.

Before she could even take a couple of steps, however, two sharp fingers grazed the skin of her back, right down near the neckline of her dress.

"Are you enjoying the evening?" he hissed a few inches from her ear, as an electric shock went through her entire spine.

How on earth had he gotten to her so fast?

"A-AL! What..."

Her hand instinctively ran to cover her burning ear, turning back with wide eyes and red cheeks and hurrying to put distance between them. Fortunately, none of their colleagues were in the immediate surrounding and those further away were certainly not paying attention to them.

"-What do you want? I am, indeed, enjoying the evening. Shouldn't you, instead, be entertaining all our major customers?" without looking him in the eye, she waved him away, trying not to engage more than a few seconds with his eyes.

Obviously, her good intentions went up in smoke and her eyes lingered for way more than a few seconds on his slender figure. 

He was wearing a stunning burgundy suit complete with a vest over a black shirt, with a tie and handkerchief of the same color and adorned at the pocket with a small golden chain. His hair was groomed in the usual messy mop, and the look was one of someone who knew he was looking illegally good dressed like that.

Alastor returned her stare with an amused grin, letting her admire him as he took a long drag of the cigarette between his fingers. 

"Well, little Miss Princess, you know the drill," he tossed out the smoke with a puff, "When you know how to do your job, it's only natural to attract those who matter. I certainly can't waste my time on an evening like this with alcohol and nonsense between comrades..." and, without even hiding it too much, he cast a glance in the direction of his friends. The note of annoyance she'd seemed to notice in his gaze, slightly more evident on those last words.

Charlie rolled her eyes, crossing her arms stymiedly. 

"Oh c'mon, there's nothing wrong in enjoying a night of partying! We're not all the employee of the month surrounded by fans. Some of us are just thankful that we made it through another year without going completely burn out."

"Uh-huh, I have no doubt that's the case," he chuckled, not meaning it, "after all, why take advantage of the opportunity to learn something when you can spend it enjoying the open bar and doing karaoke with some guys from sales..."

There he went again, something about entertaining with karaoke at company parties had always driven him so crazy that he grumbled about it whenever he could. Not that it was classy, she had to admit, but if it were up to him, they would only be listening to jazz.

"We're hardly the first, or the only ones, who want to liven up the evening."

"Of course not! None of them have the same potential as you, though."

Charlie blinked a few times, surprised. Sometimes it was hard to tell when Alastor was praising her and when he was taunting her. Usually he just went both at the same time.

"Okay, thanks, I guess, but ... you know whose credit for tonight's success, right?"

"Oh but of course, m'dear. The entertainment is fun, karaoke aside, and set-up is really lovely, such a good girl we have," and Charlie was so starved for attention that she even gloated over a praise made in that mocking tone, before adding, "I was just talking to Mr. Goetia about it, you know that big client with a very lucrative project that was assigned to me since Miss Bomb had almost, pardon the pun, blown it up."

"Oh gosh, stop it, will ya? All right, we get it, you consider all this pointless and if it were up to you you'd set up a private meeting with just the clients you're interested in and a bottle of whiskey from I don't know what year - Alastor tried to interrupt her, probably to blather something about his favorite drink, but she shushed him - but there are people who, you know, just like to be with others! And after so much hard work they just want to enjoy the evening together. And if you, on the other hand, want to spend it lounging and gloating in your arrogance while completely ignoring me, that's perfectly fine, though..."

The grin plastered on his face widened uneasily

"Pardon me, doing what?"

Shit

Charlie's cheeks turned purple as his face leaned slightly over her towering with that amused look in his eyes. The smile opened to show two rows of sharp teeth, which seemed so ready to sink into something.

Hopefully, into her.

"Nobody, never mind. I have to-" she hadn't even tried to flit away, that found Alastor's chest pinning her between the hall and the wall. Not too close to touch, but close enough to prevent her escape.

The deep look in his eyes made her legs shake like jelly, bringing back memories of moments too dirty to be recalled during a corporate event. Looking up, she found him shaking his head while clucking his tongue in disapproval, "Tut-tut- no rush, my dear, go ahead. It's really important for me to properly fulfill my duty as a senior. Is there anything in my behavior tonight that didn't ... satisfy you?"

Bad choice of words, but Alastor seemed to be aware of it. He must be aware of what he was doing to her, the nagging he constantly gave her her and the even greater agony he put her through that night by not doing it. 

Charlie had long since realized that she didn't need to feel his hands on her to end up doing whatever he wanted. There was something between them, invisible threads that he was able to move without almost doing anything, that bound them tightly together and made her completely, hopelessly, at his mercy. 

Heavens, it was so frustrating to realize the power he had over her.

For most of her days Charlie's main instinct was to lash out at him, but all it would take was one raised eyebrow to send her to her knees, ready to do anything just to please him.

To feel him again.

And Alastor was clearly well aware of this, and enjoyed seeing his toy cracking piece by piece.

"Okay, seriously, what do you want?" She blurted out, turning her head to avoid his gaze and venting in a stammer the frustration she felt at her weakness to that demon. "I-I really don't have time for your bullshit right now! I have people waiting for me, and frankly, if you don't agree with the way we spend the evening-I don't give a damn. So if you want to keep messing with me, you can drop it right now."

"AH-ah. You know I like messing with you, especially when you give me that bratty attitude." he hissed with a mischievous grimace, sharp eyes while raising his hand in front of her neck. "But right now, I just want you to spill everything."

And, just for a second, Charlie feared he would grab her in the middle of the party to press her against the wall of that little alley, as he already did in that elevator. The thought terrified and aroused her hard at the same time. She had little hope of resisting him, even if she'd wanted to.

Instead, he merely spread his grin, his fingers raised to graze her bare shoulder while two burning eyes pinned her in place. 

"Alastor..." 

merely whispering,

"Yes, honey? Speak now."

And something inside her wanted to scream everything out. 

About how annoyed she'd felt feeling him distant for the whole week, as well as throughout the evening. And how his compliment had been the only one she'd wished to receive, or his greeting the first one she'd wanted to get.

How insecure, small, and jealous he had made her feel as she'd never been in her entire life, even knowing that she was ridiculous and childish for wanting him all to herself on such a night. But that that was simply how she felt.

And how she now just wanted his hands on her so she could feel again that craving to possess her that he'd shown her a week earlier.

Alastor waited, digging into her with his dark gaze until she felt completely naked. But she still couldn't utter a single breath.

So he made her.

"Ouch-!"

The little cry that escaped when she felt his fangs on her shoulder would have made several people turn if Alastor's hand hadn't been promptly on her mouth to muffle the sound. 

"What the heck-" she tried to shout, but her senior's hand wouldn't let her go on. Neither did his tone or the note of madness in his gaze, usually disguised by his mask of model employee.

"Stairs, in five minutes."

Her questioning look made Alastor roll his eyes as one does with a child pretending not to understand the order to go up to her room.

"I want to find you in front of the stairs in five minutes. We're going down to the office, we must talk."

And, without even giving her time to react, her senior gave her a poke on the chin and walked away, taking his indifferent grin with him to show to his audience.

Thankfully, Charlie was able to wait until he disappeared around the corner before letting her knees buckle.

Damn, it was hot for being on an uncovered terrace.

_ __ ___ ____________ ___ __ _

"Hey– hey, Al! Wait! Where in hell are we going?" 

Charlie attempted to object as Alastor dragged her walking across the hallway on the floor where their offices were located.

No. 5 ‘go for a walk (or move your body)’

The grip around her wrist tightened, without hurting her but enough to shut down any further questions. A mischievous grin given from over his shoulder sent an electric shock straight to her core, turning her legs to jelly and almost making her stumble on the spot; great , now he was making it hard to walk, too. 

When she reached him at the agreed spot shortly before, Alastor hadn't given her much explanation before starting to pull her behind him, merely telling her that they had some work to do. In vain had her protests about them being in the middle of a work party, that she had to check everything was going fine or that her friends were waiting for her… at the end, she had blindly followed him down some floors of stairs like a dumb moth attracted to a deadly light in summer.

The moment he slam wide open the door to their office, she was still unsure what kind of work he had to show her in a friday night during a company dinner; they didn't even have their computer with them– but Alastor walked her past both of their desks, till they reach a small room at the end of the open space usually used as storage for stationery. And for copy-making.

Charlie's half-open mouth turned to stare at him as their feet stopped in front of the door. 

He had to be joking.

Sure, from the look he was giving her before, somewhere while she was being dragged down the emergency stairs it flashed through her mind that maybe they weren't really going to come down and talk about work. But something like that– with all their friends and coworkers dancing a few floors above– was way too nasty.

Besides, she still felt quite angry for the treatment he gave her earlier, so she wasn't going to give it up easily.

"What." she asked, raising her chin to face him.

" Enter ." Alastor ordered in response, letting go of her wrist to gesture her ahead as he pushed open the door of the dark little room.

"You're fuckin' crazy, I'm not going to–"

"May I repeat myself, my dear?" 

His voice was as sharp as the canines shown between his smirk; the shiver that crossed her back moved the legs inside the room.

"Good."

The space inside the room was not very large, barely enough to hold two photocopiers on the left with some other devices and a bookcase on the right, filled with stationery left so messy that it partly ended up on the floor. Straight across was a small desk with a chair, where occasionally someone would place to make some calls or edit the material to be printed or use it for something else. The center aisle left just enough room for a couple of people.

Holding her breath, Charlie heard her coworker enter after her and close the door behind. 

For a second it was dark, except for some red flashing lights coming from the several electronic devices in the room. The muffled sound of the party in the distance that served as the base for the only other sound of their two breaths, gasping from the tension in the air between them as they stood still facing each other.

With eyes adjusting to the little light she could see him smiling in the dark, surrounded by that soft red glow. His deep lit eyes made her tremble like a leaf, but she could hardly contain her impatience.

And now what? She wanted to ask.
Because, although he'd spent the past seven days pretending that elevator night had never happened, and the entire evening flirting with a client just to enjoy the show of her jealousy, it was written all over their faces what was going to happen.

And, truth be told, she’d been longing for it for the whole fucking week.

The princess bit her lip hard, letting out a whimper, and Alastor's devilish look darkened.

Oh, fuck it

When their lips met, Charlie didn't care much for the noise his back produced when she pushed him roughly against the bookcase, letting fall several blocks, pens, and post-its. Too busy indulging in the kiss she had so ferociously craved. 

Widening his eyes, Alastor stiffened just for a brief moment in surprise, hands hanging midair as she clutched his collar to draw his body toward her, opening her mouth to accept him whole. 

Then, without further ado, he spread his jaws to reciprocate the hunger he felt himself. Lowering his hands to grab her hips, tightening his nails hard as to reach her flesh through the satin of the dress, almost tearing it away in one stroke.

As their tongues danced together to the rhythm of their panting breaths, Charlie felt the world around her disappear. Hands running over their bodies to feel more, more – more – and never enough. Their lips sucking on each other seeking to quench a thirst they both seemed to have suppressed for too long, teeth sinking into their flesh that might feed the hunger of a lifetime.

With eagerness she pressed her breast against him, trying to make him sense the need as her hands rose to sink into his already messy hair, licking and biting his lower lip as she felt her hardened nipples rub against his chest through the fabric.

A long sigh escaped her mouth, leaving a trail of saliva between their tongues, when Alastor hand traced down her hip line to the slit of the dress. The direct sensation of his fingertips touching her skin made her already quite wet walls clench.

Charlie squeezed her arms around his neck, moaning in approval into his ear, as his caresses started venturing a path over her bare, smooth thighs; legs trembling like jelly the further up he went, brushing the inside of her legs toward her throbbing center.

Oh , she was so ready for him, so needy to finally feel his fingers inside and–

In just a heartbeat, she found herself pushed away, butt against a copier, as Alastor straightened his back and brought his hands back in plain view away from where she wanted them most.

“What– !”

The overt betrayed expression on her face made him burst into a hearty laugh. 

"What's the matter, Miss Magne?” he whispered from the half-light, lifting his chin with a devilish smile and stepping closer. “I thought I was completely crazy to drag you here at a time like this. There are your friends waiting for you, aren't they? Perhaps we'd better go back to the party."

Of course . 

Charlie knew full well how reasonable even if insincere that statement was. How that was her chance to turn on her heels and not get involved in that man's twisted games once and for all, and yet– 

“Yeah, sure, fuck off, Alastor! God, I really can't believe how much of an asshole you can be.”

“Ah-ah! Strong words for a princess. Do you want to go back to the party to cool your heels? Get a drink, have some bites to eat...”

His amused look made it clear he was just looking forward to see her break.

“Oh, shut up. Like you didn't wait for it! This is all on you!”

“What now? Sweetheart, I’m merely doing anything...”

“Exactly!” Charlie burst, pushing him back against the bookcase; the annoyed eyebrow that rose in response gave her a shudder that was ignored. 

But of course, she didn't care; once the box was open, it was unlikely that anything would hold it back.

“We fuck like animals for almost 24h hours and then you come back here acting like… nothing ever happened, barely showing you know who I am for a week. And you did the same this evening! You took almost two hours to come and greet me, then drag me here without an explanation just to– why the heck are you laughing now?!”

Alastor stifled a giggle, then lifted his shining gaze to run a hand through his hair, looking her straight in the eye. 

Just typical , she was having a breakdown and he was having a laugh.

What she liked about such a guy, she had yet to figure out.

“I'm sorry, my dear, it's just that I find you truly hilarious.” he snickered, leaning forward to bring their faces closer together “Honestly, I just tried to meet your wishes, Charlie. You wanted me to stop bothering you at your desk –remember? You've asked me so many times– so I did.”

“Yes, but–”

“ You made the decision to not discuss the meaning of that night, running away from my house without a word as soon as I got in the shower; and so I avoided mentioning it at work.”

Okay that was – partially true. Point for him.

“ You wanted to spend the week working on this event, despite the fact we’d already discussed –it seemed to me– the importance of getting rid of unnecessary additional tasks; and so I didn't come to bother you.” 

At every word Alastor uttered, the red lights reflected in his eyes seemed to flicker brighter, while his smile widened with every inch he got closer. 

With no space left to back away, Charlie brought her hand behind her, feeling completely stuck between a photocopier and Alastor's row of smiling teeth. Her breath becoming shorter, as if the air was being completely sucked out of her by his gaze.

Fuck . His look gave chills, but also hot flushes.

“And since, aside from casting murderous glances toward an old friend of mine, you showed no hint of wanting to talk to me but just to spend the evening getting your friends drunk and flirting with some folks from sales... it seemed more proper to let you enjoy your evening. Wasn't that what you wanted, Miss Magne?”

No. 2 'Talk it out' 

There was an annoyance that Charlie had been feeling in the background all evening. The feeling of being pulled closer and closer to a cliff by invisible threads, from which she couldn't free herself at all, that wanted to take her to the edge. And the certainty that at some point she would let herself fall.

She just hoped that he would catch her.

"…Gnnh– for fuck's sake Alastor, I just want you!"

Red lights flickered in the room, lighting up his cracked smile; at the very least, she'd managed to shut him up enough to talk.

"Fine. You want to hear me say that it bothered me to be ignored, is that what you want? All right, you win, you great, big, asshole!" she rumbled, feeling her cheeks turn red as the shades of the room, his gaze on her darkening into an indecipherable expression. "It's true, it was torture for me to think that for you that night it hadn't meant anything –while I kept thinking about it over and over. And then finding you here all the damn time with– someone else... It drove me crazy. I just wanted to smash the whole terrace, come and get you and–”

She covered her burning face with one hand, sensing his red glowing eyes staring at her, as words kept flowing out uncontrollably

“ – fuck ! I know you're happy to see me so lame… Is it just that I– I don't know what's going on in your head, or why that twisted mind of yours feels the need to torment me like this, or what you really want from me… but I want it all, Alastor."

She took a big breath, and reached forward to grab the collar of his jacket to pull him closer. 

It was do or die.

"Because it wasn't enough for me that night, and it won't be until I can feel you again."

She could barely finish the sentence before their lips collided again and both of their tongues explored each other between moans, in a hungry fight of saliva and teeth. Biting, sucking, exploring so they could devour each other completely as the temperature of the room grew hotter.

Never in her entire life had Charlie felt such a strong desire, such an uncontrollable need to feel another person's hands on her telling her how much she was wanted. 

And Alastor was the kind of man that was telling her everything with his hands.

While her fingers indulged in surrender in his hair, he made his way on her hips sinking through the fabric of the dress into every inch of skin he could. Making a low growl he reached down to grab her thick thighs under her dress, only to lift her without warning off the floor and carry her to the small desk across the room, silencing with a bite the little cry of protest triggered. 

In a few seconds his hands were finally all over her body and his lips descended to devour her neck, her collarbone, her chest... all the way down to sucking her turgid nipples through the satin while his fingers were lifting the hem of her dress to make their way between her legs and reach – oh.

When had she gotten so wet? Probably as soon as she'd caught him outside that bathroom with a cigarette in hand smiling handsomely with that suit, that hair... and that ravenous look.

She'd never really stood a chance.

Alastor at first began to caress her folds slowly, moving in circles through the fabric of her tiny panties –put on hoping he would see them– then started to move more firmly, generating even more fluids that wet the inside of her thighs. 

Not for a moment, as his other hand urged to spread her thighs wide for him, Charlie worried about the mess she would make of all that desk.

For all she cared, they could just move in there permanently. Sure, they would have to come up with something for food, water, and other needs after the first 48h of fuck, and figure out how to handle coworkers' requests to access, but she would gladly accept a demotion to copy girl if it meant spending every hour at work in that room with Alastor touching her like that.

"My lovely, perfect, Charlie. You are such a doll..."

She heard him growl against her breasts as his free hand hungrily lowered her shoulder strap to free a bare breast from the wet fabric that still covered them.

"It would almost be a shame to ruin you, here in this filthy closet."

A prayerful moan escaped her mouth to feel his teeth make their way across her skin, leaving more marks than she could have asked for. With each bite, Charlie felt she was closer to breakdown.

"What are all the guests of this wonderful, incredible, evening going to think of you afterwards? Everyone admires you thinking you're the pure, perfect, innocent little princess of the Magne empire, instead you're here spreading your legs and spilling fluids on the office furniture like a slutty commoner..." 

His words were like honey on his tongue, but the tone was as sharp as the teeth in his open smile. Meanwhile, his hand had moved the hem of her underwear to the side and a finger had engaged in exploration; first gently, then soon ruthlessly, going to tease her already hardened clit with a fingertip. 

Charlie arched her back, clenching her fingers against that small desk's edge until her knuckles turned white, breath getting short.

"That's all you've been talking about all week, there's no way you don't care; tell me, did everything go as you expected? You were overwhelmed by a sea of compliments –I heard– it was what you wanted, wasn't it?"

As he spoke, a finger entered and began to move in rhythm with her breaths. Then a second joined in the dance, massaging her walls soaked with wetness while his thumb continued to flick her clit.

She just couldn't hold back a moan.

"A– Alastor!..." 

"No, really Charlie, please tell me." he grinned against her ear, bending over to press her between his chest and the wooden surface of the small desk. His other hand sinking into her hairline "What was it like to be surrounded by so many thrilled people who fully recognize the brilliant potential, which I had always seen in you? To receive so much recognition from this flood of ordinary people, but totally enraptured by your magnificence? It must have been truly amazing!"

A groan louder than the others left her mouth as a sharp stroke of his finger reached the fucking right spot.

"...Wasn't it?"

She shook her head, gasping, "You know that! I was looking and thinking of you the whole fucking– ah! …time"

"Behave." Alastor chuckled, lifting his head to plant eyes in hers, an indecipherable expression in his dark glance. Passion and hunger combined with something darker. "Is that really? Then explain to me, dear, why I lost sight of you for a second and found you intent on being groped by some scion of your father's friend's company."

"What? ...no! – Nothing happened!"

But his fingers were in no mood for bullshit as they continued to move in her

"Liar."

"I'm not! We were just–talking! With some friends, who–"

One, two, three strokes, increasingly faster

"Al, I wasn't trying to piss y- NNNGH! "

"Yes?"

"Okay– Okay! I was trying to piss you off, just… a little, but– oh, fuck " 

It was difficult to even try to formulate a thought as his hand made her see stars she had never reached with her own; while feeling him playing with her hungry little bud, her soaked walls tightened around his fingers at the growing heat in her belly.

Charlie gasped, searching for air, while his nose rubbed against her cheek and made her feel even more pathetic and aroused.

"I thought– I thought you weren't jealous. You didn’t bat an eye..."

"In fact, I'm not. He is nothing and you are mine. But do you think I don't care if someone so pitiful tries to put his filthy hands on such a perfect girl?" she flinched at his statement, as he whispered in her ear, sliding his hand and sinking his nails into the skin of her hip right where Seviathan had touched her, triggering very different reactions.

"Do you think I haven't imagined more than 15 different painful ways to remove his limbs to make him regret having even thought he could look at you – let alone touch you like that again?"

Oh my goodness. 

She felt his other hand getting bolder and bolder between her legs, deeper and faster, and knew she wouldn't last much longer, especially while he was talking like that. There was something wrong with her, clearly, if thinking that another man had made him even the slightest bit as jealous as she had been made her feel so...satisfied. 

"Do you think I didn't foretaste ... deeply the moment when I would drag you into such a space to discipline you for letting him act undisturbed?"

"Wait, but I–"

"...you knew very well what you were doing. Do you really think you can make me jealous, you lovely little princess? At least, without consequences?"

She shook her head, her gaze beginning to cloud and fill with tears. The heat growing pulsing in her center, strong and bursting.

"Answer me, Charlie." he growled, moving in and out with his fingers ever faster

"N-No, oh god , AL! I'm so sorry, I–I just need..."

She felt so small and pathetic begging him like that, but at the same time she could not deny that she was completely at his mercy. She was his; completely, truly as his doll, waiting for him to do what he wanted with her.

A shiver of exhilaration ran down her spine on feeling his tongue run all over her neck with a grin, and she tipped her head back to give him more space. Every point his breath touched was directly connected to her throbbing core, an indication that she was about to reach her climax.

"Ah, understood, you'd like your release, I guess? You think you deserve it, huh?"

"Y-yes, I do. C'mon, I've been waiting so long, Al.... I'M–"

But when she finally felt the wave of pleasure ready to overwhelm her completely, Alastor's fingers slowed down to return to stroking with frustrating slowness the outer walls of her humor-covered cunt.

"Yes, you certainly had. I don't know, though – I'm not sure you're ready yet."

Charlie would have wanted to scream, as she felt the promise of her climax fading away.

"Oh, holy hell, I am! What more do you want, now?!"

A chuckle sank against her neck, before he sank his teeth into the flesh not quite hard enough to hurt her. Probably restraining himself.

"I want to see this bratty attitude crumble. And I want you to acknowledge that if you decide to stay here with me and go along, nothing will be able to save you from this closet and all that comes after. Do you understand, my charming, overworked, belle?" 

She would have liked to retort with something shrewd, but the hand that rose from her hips to reach up and graze her shoulder, tracing a path across her collarbone to her neck, blew any good intentions she might have had.

"What do you want me to say?" she managed to breathe out, with barely a whisper.

"What is your guess?"

His sharp fingers tightened around her neck, sinking into the skin in lifting her chin up to look into his eyes. He ran his tongue over his lips still swollen from their kisses, spreading his flame-filled gaze completely lost in her.
"You – want me to beg?" Charlie gasped, bringing both hands on his one, starting to feel dizzy from arousal. 

His fingers were like fire on her skin and for him she felt like clay, completely ready to be shaped as his will. Nothing ever had the power to make her feel that way; fully drunk like after the craziest of nights out and more stunned than after hours of overtime. 

"Oh, we're way beyond that," he hissed into her ear, grazing with the tip of his tongue one of her lobes "I don't want to hear you beg; I want you to submit your soul completely to me to show each and every one of your deep, devious sides. I want to see you break and rebuild you with my bare hands, yielding to my fingers as if that were all they knew ... and I know you want the same, because otherwise you wouldn't be here and you wouldn't be looking at me like that."

Charlie began to tremble violently, feeling her strength leave her, but the grip of his fingers continued to support her as their lips brushed within millimeters of each other. Electric discharges in the air all around them, the voices of the party getting farther and farther away as, inside her, the realization grew that she could never escape this man again.

And that for nothing on earth would she want to.

"Surrender yourself completely to me, Charlie. Forget everything that's out there, everything you think is important ... look at me, listen to me, feel only me. Be mine, and I swear you won't fucking regret it."

Oh, she was so sure of that.

She squeezed her legs together, and when his teeth sank on her chin, she held what little breath was left.

"Answer me, Charlie," he roared against her skin, his mouth wide open ready to swallow her whole as she felt every part of herself enveloped by him.

Charlie knew well, somewhere, that it would be very wise for her to quickly run away without looking back before falling completely into his net. But she wasn't a wise woman.

So she gave in.

And that wild smirk that spread in response sent a sting of pleasure directly to her womb.

"Good girl." 

Heaven help me.

"Now, bend over."

_ __ ___ ____________ ___ __ _

Charlie Magne believed she was living an upstanding working life.

She had never started work a minute late, never faked a sick day, never brought any office supplies home or taken longer breaks; always the first to offer when there was extra work to be done or coworkers to help, even if it meant being the last to leave the desk and the first to get there.

She was no doubt perceived as a model employee. And not just for being the daughter of the big boss, but cause it was clear to everyone that the little miss perfect wasn’t the kind of girl to break any rules.

The kind to get fucked in the office copy room by a senior during a company dinner, for example.

"MMNGH! OH MY–" 

A harder thrust than the others made her eyes roll over as Alastor’s raw cock reached so deep in her, cutting off their breath altogether. 

Her insides were so ready to receive him completely, having waited for nothing but to feel him all the way in for days but – damn – she'd forgotten how big he was. 

And yet so perfect for her.

Fuck, he seemed made just to perfectly fill her needy emptiness.

"Al, holy… ghn ! Just– just hold on a sec–"

His laughter echoed in the tiny space of the copy room.

"Not a chance!"

As to reinforce the point, his sharp hands tightened around her buttocks to open them fully and make himself more room to keep sinking harder inside her, gaining inches with each stroke and slowly increasing the frequency of the thrusts between grunts.

Barely stifling high-pitched moans in the palm of one hand, Charlie sank her face forward against the surface of the desk as her bare ass began to move on its own to meet the thrusts of her senior's hips, joining a rhythm of wet sounds emitted by their skins slapping against each other.

She bit the inside of her mouth until she felt the iron taste of blood to try to maintain a hint of clarity as the daze of pleasure threatened to make her pass out; dammit, she wasn't going to last long this way.

Alastor had only been inside her for a few seconds and she already felt the walls of her cunt twitch for the growing waves of pleasure, stimulated also by the motion of her turgid nipples exposed by her dress rubbing against the wooden surface.

With each stroke she felt the heat in her womb become more intense, and the more her lips clenched around his cock, the more aggressive Alastor became in raising the pace of their dance, pushing her further and further to the edge till she was on the verge of the precipice...only to slow down and bring her back away from it.

It was the closest to torture Charlie had ever experienced; hadn't she been so desperate, she would have totally smacked him.

"Why...?" she whined, after being teased again.

Alastor's hand wandered up from her buttocks to caress her back left exposed by the neckline of the dress, clucking his tongue

"Well sweetheart, with such a delicious feast right in front of me you wouldn't think I was going to waste it by finishing it too quickly, would you?"

She didn't have time to process the metaphor that felt the heat of his rough tongue travel up her entire spine to the base of her neck, where he lingered with his mouth open, sharp teeth grazing her skin.

"If only you knew the things I want to do you, Charlie..." he groaned low from his throat, hips starting moving again against her as his fingernails sank into every flap of flesh.

"Oh, please, yes–" her moan was breathless as she threw her pleasure-clouded head back, arms stiffened forward against the desk to push herself even closer to him, pacing his restless thrusts.

"Don't say that, you really have no idea what you've gotten yourself into–do you think taking you in a closet is enough, Charlie? From now on I'm going to make you mine day by day in every corner of this building. You thought you were full of work by now? I'll fuck you so stupid to the point you won't even be able to do a sum formula on an excel sheet..."

Oh, that sounded like a working life she would have gladly signed up for. 

She didn't even need to be paid, Charlie was more than ready to sell her soul to the devil if in return she could hear Alastor talk dirty in her ears like that every day as his fat cock sunk inch by inch into her belly to completely reshape her insides.

"What about this, Charlie, are you ready to become my perfect personal doll? I promise you that work will be so much more appealing!"

He matched the last word with a wild laugh and a hard slap to her round asscheek, triggering a shriek of pleasure for the electric shock sent right to her belly; her walls involuntarily squeeze so ready to achieve the climax they'd been craving now for far, far too long.

The burst of pleasure she felt rising in her was beyond anything she'd ever experienced before, an overwhelming sensation that scared her so much it was uncontrollable.

Good Lord, so this was how it was going to end for her: fucked to death in a copy room by her sadistic senior.

Her father would have killed him.

"P-please Al, just... wait! Shit, I'm already gonna c–"

"Oh no m'dear, be a good girl and hold on a little longer."

A firm deep blow against her core let out another particularly pitiful cry and shake her legs like jelly.

"Oh, fuuuck..."

"Now, now... if you behave, 'm gonna reward you!"

Holy shit, that prasing wasn't helping her at all. In fact, it only made her more turned on and even closer to coming!

How the hell was it possible that everything he did seemed to be purposely done to push her even closer to her climax?

Right then, everything was managing to add to her already bursting horniness: his grunts held between teeth, his fingernails claiming her flesh and leaving scratches all around her body, the sound of their juices echoing in that small room while in the distance the noise of the party continued to echo. 

To be fair, it would have been a lie to say she'd never daydreamed about being screwed in the workplace, but none of her wild fantasies had ever reached the high levels of perversion they were sharing in that room, on fucking like two beasts in heat over office furniture while all their coworkers were just a few floors above.

Oh, but maybe that's why everyone kept babbling about that goddamn copy room; there had to be something in the tainted air of that storage closet to make anyone who entered it so much horny. Otherwise she would have never let herself be banged like that during a business dinner with... fuck, who was she fooling. 

When Alastor stared at her that way she would have let him do anything; even get blindfolded and screwed completely naked in the middle of the ballroom with all the guests commenting on their performance, if he'd asked her to.

Picturing that scene was as disturbing as teasing, Charlie felt her insides clench in arousal, and he didn't miss it.

"Oh my, we're not getting distracted are we?" he grinned near one ear, bending to grab her braid with one hand to pull her head closer, while the other remained firmly on her hips as he slowed his sinking into her. 

"What kind of thought has just captivated my twisted little princess, would you mind to share?" he asked, hot breath against her neck like the throbbing craving in her belly. With a groan of protest Charlie tried to urge a few thrusts but Alastor's fingers held her hips still where they were. 

"Oh, fuck y–" she whimpered, but one strong smack was enough to completely cut off her breath and dispel any desire to object.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," he hissed, tightening the grip on her braid to hold them closer.

Perhaps Charlie should have been feeling humiliated by that situation, held on a leash like a filly without her even having control over her own movements...but she had to admit that more rough Alastor became the more something primal was breaking free in her. 

"Not going to answer me, young lady?" he intimated, another squeeze to her hair, another thrust with his hips. Charlie gasped, arching her back in excitement and bending her head slightly to look behind.

"I was just– thinking of something..."

"Oh, no kidding!" he teased her in a cheerful tone "maybe what was going on down here wasn't of your interest then, I guess..."

And, keeping her still against the desk with one hand on her back, he began to pull out his dick from her wet walls. The sudden emptiness she felt between her legs quickly engendered a moment of panic and confusion.

"N-no! You fuck-- c'mon, Alastor..."

"What, dear?" 

Oh, what a big asshole.

"Please, please, don't stop! I-I was just thinking about-"

Only the tip was left playing with her lips, while his big hand continued to keep her pinned down in a whimper of crimson shame. 

"...other people hearing- watching, you and me doing this! And that made my hornier, happy now?!"

The answer must have been to his liking, since in a flash his hand was down to lift one of her thighs and spread it open over the desk to gain access to his length, that quicly was fully inside her again to make her tits restart dancing all over the table; his inflamed laugh echoing remotely in the back of her head as she felt him reach new points with each thrust.

"Holy smokes, Charlie! What a lovely naughty princess of mine... you always find new ways to amaze me, don't you?" he roared in elation as he sank into her with his fat cock, which if possible seemed to have grown even bigger "Don't worry, I'm going to fulfill every wildest fantasy -and even more- that little head of yours can possibly conceive. I would fuck you in front of the whole office, if it would serve to make it clear that you are mine, mine alone-do you hear?"

A stroke of hip urged a response, as the complete daze of her rising climax made its way back into her.

"Y-yes –nnghhh– oh god, yes! Al, I'm close, please, oh please , make me come!"

" 'Yes'... what? Come on love, delight me like you did last time." 

"Yes I- I I'm yours, I'm only yours, sir- I am– 

"Good girl, now you can come for me."

“ooh shit, I’m gonna – YES! ImcummingImcumming–I’M –- CUMMIN’NNGH” 

And so with his teeth sinking into her shoulder to claim her, Charlie came without holding back any longer, spraying the fluids of her orgasm all over that desk. Multiple waves of heat overwhelmed her body as he continued to ride her orgasm getting his cock milked by her throbbing, fully soaked cunt.

Alastor grunted, feeling his release approaching as well and grabbed her thick thighs with both hands to thrust even deeper into her, who kept on coming like a whimpering mess fully lying over that little table.

"You are so delicious when you climax” he roared in her ears “feeling you tighten around me like that... I just can't get enough! Ooooh fffu– great, I'm so close… Charlie, I'm gonna-!"

"Oh yes, I want it, sir - give me it all! " she screamed against her palm, pussy squeezing herself tightly around him hungrily seeking for cum, quickly bringing Alastor to his peak as well.

"ahaHAHAh!-- oh yeess nnnGHNNN--"

He rode out his orgasm with a couple of last deep thrusts in her, their groans mingling together as her insides were filled way beyond the peak with his hot sticky seed; both remained stunned and gasping motionless, staring at the dark wall in front of them, completely shattered by the strength of that whole performance.

With the few functioning neural cells left, Charlie couldn't help but wonder if she had ever really experienced sex at all before then.

Anything less than what they had seemed completely insignificant now.

When long enough moments had passed to let the dizziness of arousal wear off, Alastor gently made his way out of her cavity, trying not to make a mess over all the furniture with their mixed cum dripping down her legs.

Not that there was much to be done about it now, anyone using that room after them over the next few days would have very little doubt about what had happened in it.

Charlie could only hope that before Monday a team of janitors would come and completely tear it down to rebuild the closet anew. Otherwise she would have called in sick a week and pretended not to know they had a copy room in the office if someone asked her something.

She already had some good uses in mind for those days at home.

Boy, she was never going to be full of him.

Adjusting the earl of her dress back in place, Charlie pulled herself upright attempting to stand up straight on legs that still seemed made of jelly. Feeling Alastor's indecipherable gaze on her as he leaned against the desk, shirt and vest unbuttoned and hair ruffled.

"What now?" she mumbled in a half-smile, her cheeks flushed as she futilely tried to fix her hairstyle without a mirror.

Now that the closet drug had faded, the more rational part of her mind began to remind her where they were and what her duties actually were. Even so, the urge to completely rip his clothes off was still strong, especially when he kept giving her that look that… oh lord .

"You didn't ask."

"...what?"

Alastor reached out to grab her hand and draw her between his legs, wrapping his arms around her waist while his toothy smile staring up at her.

"About the night in the elevator... You simply didn't ask what it meant for me. After running away, on Monday you showed up here all flustered trying so desperately to act as if nothing had happened - oh, you were really quite adorable. I thought you needed time, so I waited for you to figure out by yourself what you wanted."

Cause he'd seen clearly the way she looked at him each day since that fateful night; the arousal so obvious in her eyes that made it hard to concentrate on anything else, the urge to take her and put on a show on his desk in front of the whole damn office. 

And then she had come to him trembling in arousal, eyes wet with lust pleading with him to make a mess of her.

That week had been torture for both of them, but seeing her so desperate all evening had been such a sweet reward. As much as seeing her finally surrender to him.

Charlie's flaming cheeks turned the same color as the led lights that were still dancing around them, the world in the distance seemingly suspended only to allow her to open up.

"I, I was confused and ... scared by what had happened. But I always knew what I wanted." she settled an unruly strand of hair behind her ear, plucking up the courage to sink her gaze into his dark eyes. As expected, he quickly managed to take her breath away "I-I just... I couldn't figure out what you were thinking about that, what I was for you... and that stopped me from talking about it."

His fingers went up to brush her arms with ease, still with that carnivorous look of a hunt in front of his prey.

"I'm pretty certain I've always been quite explicit about what I wanted from you, my dear."

Of course, that he wanted her was very clear, and Charlie would probably never get used to that way of being looked at. But there was something more...

"Yes, a little, but how on earth was I supposed to know that what happened in the elevator had any other meaning for you? On Monday you went back to your usual behavior!"

"Actually, I'm the one who approached you, I honestly thought you had figured it out."

"Alastor, a post-it note saying 'you got this' is not the right way to let me know what the heck is on your mind. You could have just asked me out, for example."

For a second, Alastor froze, as if the idea of having a normal relationship evolution that didn't include married-couple bickering over work silliness and beastly fucking inside the office building hadn't even crossed his mind. Then he bent his head aside, squinting his eyes.

"Yeah, well-- I,  suppose, you're right." 

With a fingernail he traced the line of her shoulder until he reached up to grab one of her straps to put it back in place, managing to make even the gesture of dressing her somehow sexy.

"Darling, would you like now to g-"

"Not right now!"

He rolled his eyes in annoyance, as if running away from the corporate event of the year was the most reasonable thing to do, then curled his lip into an amused sign of surrender and bent over her to bring their noses closer together.

"All right, all right. Charlie, may I have the pleasure of having you join me for dinner, at 7 o'clock, tomorrow night?"

They were both half-dressed and sweaty, leaning against a dirty desk in the middle of a closet -which also served as a copy room- that reeked of sex in the middle of a corporate event, yet Charlie couldn't have pictured a more perfect moment.

Although a part of herself would have liked to tease him a little, she couldn't hold back a smile, nor the heat on her cheeks; so she simply lifted herself up on her tips to settle a light kiss on his lips.

"Yes, Alastor, very glad-"

BUM BUM BUM

The sudden bangs on the door made them both jump in place and hold their breath motionless for a few seconds, before Anthony's squeaky voice reached them.

"OH C'MON! Who the fuck has been taking up this room for two fucking hours?! Ain't y'all the only ones who want to screw tonight!"

As uncontrollable laughter inevitably grew in her throat, Charlie made a mental note that she had to soon email the magazine of "10 Ways to Calm Your Mind in Stressful Situations" to suggest one last tip to add the list.

No 11. 'Get laid in the copy room at your office'

Her word, the success was assured.