EXTRACT FOR
Office Domination
(Daisy Rose)

"As you might know already, Mr. Stone is an... eccentric man," she started, picking up her own glass from behind the counter. I couldn't help but stare at her shapely behind as she leaned over the counter to reach her glass.



She smiled at me when she turned around, her gaze dropping a little lower to study me in detail. I looked down at my unimpressive buttoned shirt and black slacks. Brock used to nag me about how I dressed like a man but he had long since given up. As long as I did good work behind the computer, it mattered little what I wore.



The soft music from the speakers calmed me, as did the smooth whiskey in the glass. I had assumed she poured me wine until the sharp bite of much stronger 80 proof alcohol reached my throat.



"I've heard of the rumors," I admitted. "It wouldn't matter though," I added hastily, worried that she had misjudged my reason for being here. "I'm not here to get some gossip about Mr. Stone. The only questions I am interested in are business related."



"Of course," she said, grabbing my wrists in a way that was both gentle and firm as she guided me to the seating area. "Have a seat."



I squirmed on the edge of my seat and stared at her perfect long legs as she crossed them. "One thing you should know getting in is that Mr. Stone never does favors without something in return."



My breath caught in my throat. If he was looking for monetary compensation, we weren't quite ready for that. I don't think our entire month's gross revenue was enough to cover his hourly fee. Perhaps I had bitten off more than I can chew when I agreed to this assignment.



Not only did I not have a background in journalism, I wasn't well-versed in negotiations either. I had came to the interview with the assumption that he would answer my questions and we would be done and over with.



"It's not money he's after," she continued, hitting the nail on the head, and I let out the breath I was holding. She smiled when she saw my look of relief. "Mr. Stone has more money than he knows what to do with."



"Then what is it?" I asked, feeling compelled to add to the conversation.



"Mr. Stone is curious about how much he can push a normal person over the edge," she explains cryptically.



"What exactly does that mean?" I didn't turn into a writer for a magazine by allowing people to be mysterious.



"It means, he would probably ask you to do a number of tasks that will challenge you both emotionally and physically..."