Falling For My Playboy Boss
Chapter 11

Collins POV

last week.

Something is different today, but I can't put my finger on what it is, and it is starting to frustrate me a little bit. I was happy that Cora had come back, not for myself, but because Catherine likes her. Also, Dalton and Nicolas had both told me that I had lost her most likely through my actions at work, and I wanted to prove them both wrong. She averted her eyes from me when I came in this morning but did greet me. Catherine greeted me when I arrived, but I could tell that she was still not happy with me over what happened I already knew what the problem was, and I would make sure it didn't happen again, at least at work. Nicolas was right, and he wasn't just my friend, he was my lawyer too, and if he said that she could sue me and win, I believed him, so I wouldn't let it happen again. I will tell Catherine that later today, or this week, so she will be happy with me again. I will also have to tell Maddie too. She thought Cora's expression of horror was hilarious, but I was embarrassed at being walked in on. It isn't because of my equipment, I have never had a complaint, it's because I am actually a pretty private person. I don't want people seeing me in any way other than what I want to present to the world. I want people to see a professional business person, with a gift for finance, a man who works hard for his clients. So many things can go wrong in the financial world, and I don't want someone leaving my company and it being less prosperous under my rule than when my father ran it, or his father when he ran it. I am probably vainer about my work ethic than even my own appearance, and we all know I am picky about my appearance.

"I have those reports you requested right here Sir. Where do you want me to place them?" I heard Cora ask me and I looked up.

"Just put them on the corner and put a paperweight on them so I know to deal with them next," I told her. I glance at the door and see Catherine standing there, and I wonder if she is scared to let Cora in here by herself, or if Cora is scared to be here with me in my office after the last time that she was there.

"Catherine, could you enter and shut the door please?" I asked her.

"Sure, what would you like to discuss, Collin?" Catherine asked me.

"I am going to apologize to both you and Cora for what happened last week. It will not happen again, and I am sorry for blaming you for Maddie not locking the door when she entered. I was wrong to yell at you both, and I am sorry" I said to them both, but I was looking at Catherine when I was speaking because it was really more for her than the new girl. I assume that Maddie is kind of an exhibitionist, as she really didn't mind getting caught having s*x with me in my office. I don't know why she would be doing that, but I will speak with her as well.

"I appreciate you apologizing to us both, Collin, but Cora is not used to that type of behavior, and it shocked her. In me not correcting you when you first started doing that puts it on me too. It is very unprofessional, and I could say that since I never saw you in the middle of it, I had deniability in it, but I should have told you to stop it before she became involved. I have known you your whole life and I should have said to you to stop it, but I didn't. I am quite sure that Cora will never set foot in your office again, without waiting for you to allow her to enter. I know that she was really quite shocked by your behavior", Catherine tells me. I have a lot of respect for Catherine as I have known her since I was young. She worked for both my grandfather for a little over 12 years, and then for my father for the 27 years he worked there, before I took over about 5 years ago, at 24. So, she has been with the company for almost 45 years now, if she were to make it to the end of the year.

"I am sorry, Cora, it won't happen again," I told her, and looked her in her face while I told her that.

"I will not enter without getting your approval to enter again, Sir," Cora tells me, and I can sense the stiffness in her voice when she speaks to me. When she speaks to anyone else, even my own friends, she has an almost breathy tone to her voice. When she speaks to me, she is much more abrupt, and her tone is louder too. I guess I haven't been a particularly good boss, and I will give her a chance to stay my PA, and be more professional in my dealings with her. I will try harder to be nice to her as well and not just to Catherine.

"I am sorry for not being a nicer person and I will give you another chance to start fresh, as I was in the wrong too, if that is ok with you, Cora?" I tell her.

I got no response and I looked up from the report I was reading and saw her standing there with her mouth wide open looking at me. I see her focus on closing her mouth before I hear her say, "Thank you, Sir, I would appreciate the re-do". "That was it, Catherine, we are done with the conversation. I just wanted to clear the air between us", I told them and motioned to them that they could leave.

That was when I noticed what was different. When Cora turned around to leave, I couldn't look back down at my report. I followed her a*s out with my eyes. She didn't look like that last week. I frown as the door shuts quietly after her. No, she definitely didn't look like that last week. I would have noticed, yes, she had that boxy jacket and pants set on, but it was clearly bigger than she needed it to be. She had taken her jacket off last week while she was working, and both her skirt and her pants were too big for her like she was trying to hide in her clothing and now I know why. She was hiding her figure, so what was different now? Ah, yes, me and Maddie, talking badly about her and her clothes and how dowdy and frumpy she looked. I remember my conversation with Nicolas the other day when I told him what I had said. If he sees her in those clothes, he might swallow his tongue, and Dalton too. They are going to tease me forever about what I said. I may need to call them and tell them they can skip coming in this Friday, as I don't need them to start hanging out at my office trying to pick up my PA and I know they would. I narrowed my eyes to look at her again. Her outfit is genuinely nice, almost like it was made for her. How did her clothing do a complete 180? That looks like a designer outfit. Why was she dressed like she was in her big sisters' clothes last week if she had this in her closet? What is up with this complete turnaround?

I couldn't help myself and glance out the open blinds into her office and watch her interact with Catherine. They are completely joined at the hip and laughing and talking at the desk. I haven't seen Catherine this relaxed in a long time. She has full and complete confidence in Cora, so I guess I need to as well. Catherine is a great judge of character, and she always does an excellent job. I can trust in her to get the job done, so why am I hitting the breaks when it comes to Cora? If Catherine is convinced that she is the one, and Catherine is usually right, why am I fighting it? I have never in all four or five of the women that came through here, Catherine never gave any one of them a compliment, but she is full of them with Cora. We hadn't even re-posted the job vacancy yet, but when she found Cora, she took it upon herself to poach another person's potential hire, and she had never done that ever before. So, either Catherine has complete faith in Cora, or she just really wants to retire, or maybe both.

I couldn't help myself and glance out the open blinds into her office and watch her interact with Catherine. They are completely joined at the hip and laughing and talking at the desk. I haven't seen Catherine this relaxed in a long time. She has full and complete confidence in Cora, so I guess I need to as well. Catherine is a great judge of character, and she always does an excellent job. I can trust in her to get the job done, so why am I hitting the breaks when it comes to Cora? If Catherine is convinced that she is the one, and Catherine is usually right, why am I fighting it? I have never in all four or five of the women that came through here, Catherine never gave any one of them a compliment, but she is full of them with Cora. We hadn't even re-posted the job vacancy yet, but when she found Cora, she took it upon herself to poach another person's potential hire, and she had never done that ever before. So, either Catherine has complete faith in Cora, or she just really wants to retire, or maybe both. I glance out there again and see Cora bending over to pick up a fallen file folder from the floor, and I am reminded that it had been a long time since I had seen an a*s that nice. There is no way around it, that isn't a butt. The word alone doesn't do it justice, she has an a*s and a really nice one. Why am I just now noticing that? You know Maddie is also a beautiful woman, but with her model's body, she is tall and thin, and she really doesn't have an a*s, the clothes need to hang on her, and she has no need for a bra either, which helps her on the runway, in whatever she is wearing. I catch myself looking at Cora again, she is back in her chair, and I look at her face. There is still something different about her. She doesn't even wear makeup, and she is really just beautiful without it even. How did I not notice that last week? Was it because Catherine just unexpectedly hired her, and started her at $10,000 higher than the starting pay was listed at? Was I so angry at her for coming into my office and not knocking, that I just ignored everything about her in my anger? I actually wasn't angry at her, I was angry with Maddie, for not locking the door, but I sure took it out on Cora. How did I not notice that before? That explains a lot, how Coleman is always looking over at her desk, how Gerald Siler's son, Christian, walked up and spoke to her twice last week, how my own friends were flirting with her, and Dalton had the gall to kiss her hand. She is my PA, not his girlfriend, he needs to keep his hands to himself, I think to myself, suddenly surprised at how I am acting like a jealous schoolchild. It is not like that at all, and I have Maddie. She is who I want. I push Cora to the back of my mind and go over to close my blinds so I can work and not be distracted by Cora anymore.