with their day.
Barbara laughed, her blond hair falling against her back in a perfect imitation of an actress. “Goodness! You don’t even call him by his first name! How precious.”
Helen bristled and started to move around the annoying woman. “I don’t see why my professional relationship with my employer is so humorous to you.”
Barbara wouldn’t let her pass. She stepped to the left, effectively blocking Helen once again. “Because it’s not just a professional relationship, is it? You’re in love with your boss!”
Helen gasped. “I am not!” she said.
Her smile was triumphant. “Of course you are,” she said, chuckling maliciously. “But you’ll never catch his interest dressed like a school marm.” Barbara smoothed her black, figure hugging dress down over her hips and wriggled slightly. “Dimitri is a strong man and likes women who know what they’re doing…in bed. Do you have any idea of what you’re doing?” Barbara asked, her brown eyes moving over Helen’s figure, “In or out of bed?”
Helen wanted to spit in the woman’s eye but she ignored that impulse, lifting her chin and pushing past her. “I don’t think that question is appropriate.”
Barbara only laughed out loud. “I figured as much,” she said and grabbed one of Helen’s arms, pulling her back. Barbara bent down and whispered in Helen’s ear. “Poor, virgin secretary,” she mocked. “Don’t let your heart get broken when he keeps moving to a real woman who can satisfy his needs. It wouldn’t look good on your resume,” she said. With a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, she said, “Get some man to show you what to do and you’ll be in a much better position to catch a husband. No man wants to deal with a virgin in his bed. Too awkward and embarrassing,” she explained, chuckling at the idea.
Helen wrenched her arm free of the woman’s red clawed grip and moved down the hallway as quickly as she could.
As soon as she approached her desk, Helen’s heart sank. Dimitri was standing at her desk reading a contract instead of being in his office where he should be. She was supposed to be able to reach the sanctuary of her desk and calm her anger before he spotted her.
No such luck.
As soon as she walked in, Dimitri’s eyes looked up. His eyes narrowed as he took in her pale face and shaking hands.
“What happened?” he demanded, his eyes moving from her to the doorway, wondering if he could catch whoever had done this to her.
Helen’s mind thought frantically. “Oh, nothing. I just decided to take the stairs instead of the elevators,” she lied. “I guess I need to get to the gym more often. My heart doesn’t seem to like the exercise.”
“I thought you were down in accounting,” he asked, looking at the file containing several invoices.
“I was,” she said, smiling brightly to cover her nervousness.
“That’s thirteen floors down,” he said, putting his hands on his hips. “Helen, what’s going on? This morning, you’d obviously been crying and now someone has made you so angry you’re shaking. Talk to me,” he said softly, his deep voice like a caress as his green eyes softened to liquid pools of understanding.
Helen took a deep breath, trying to steady her breathing and shaking fingers. “I’m okay,” she lied again. “I’m just a little frustrated about some things but I’ll figure out a way to fix them. I promise.”
His lips smoothed into a grim line of frustration. “And you’re not going to give me any idea on what that problem is?”
Helen shook her head, soft wisps of curls dancing around her temples. She smoothed them back a little frantically, then looked back up at Dimitri, smiling brightly in an effort to hide her anger. Helen shook her head firmly. “I can fix it although I appreciate your support,” she said primly.
The afternoon wore on and Helen’s mood went from bad to worse. Rain started falling around four o’clock and her computer crashed. She called computer support to fix it but they were slow and didn’t finish until after six o’clock. That meant she wasn’t able to finish the report Dimitri needed in the morning and she was so hungry, she spilled coffee all over a pile of contracts.
By the time Dimitri stepped out of his office to leave, Helen had a headache and her feet ached.
Stopping by her desk, he looked down at her frazzled appearance with concern. “Come along, Helen. I’m driving you home.”
Helen glanced up from her computer wearily. “I’m sorry?” she