Obsessed with My Assistant by Cassie Cassell

 

1

Amy

“How’s your salad?”my coworker Crystal asks, pointing at the bowl of mixed greens in front of me.

“Not that exciting,” I say, picking on the leaves with a plastic fork. I could have gone out for delicious chicken tacos, but today, there was no time. I was late coming in, and didn’t want to go too far from the office in case Grant needed me.

Grant Lewis, my temporary boss while my cousin Terri is on vacation. When she offered me her place in Dallas for four weeks so she could finally go on a Christian led mission trip to Africa with her longtime husband, I said yes immediately.

You mean I have weeks away from my dead-end job as a grocery store cashier in my itty-bitty East Texas town? Hell yes. This could be the most exciting opportunity in my twenty-one years alive.

I started a week ago.

Grant is the head of the technology department at Sugar & Silk, a high-end sugar baby agency that pairs rich men with trophy girlfriends. The website and the app have been mentioned in different media outlets and even though the idea seems a bit transgressive for some, Sugar & Silk has been known for its curated process and high quality. They do background checks and don’t accept just anyone—hoping the practice will make it safer for everyone.

I sigh.

Grant is a tall, muscly wall of a man whose good looks and sexy smile should be criminal. If that was the case, I wouldn’t mind a day or two at the big house. Forty-three years old and with the body of a thirty-something personal trainer, it’s the streaks of gray in his otherwise brown hair that give him the sexy daddy energy. My mom would call him a silver fox. I mean, seriously, the man is—

“Have you heard about your boss?” Crystal asks.

“No, what?” I lean closer. Whenever I hear anything related to Grant, my body comes alive. The mention of his name sends thrills down my spine, goose bumps on my arms. Sad, but true.

“He broke up with his sugar baby.”

“Oh,” I say, and a small part of me rejoices. I know I’m not woman enough for him, that he probably never looked at me that way… but knowing that he’s available is like the petty measure of happiness I get when a hot celebrity returns to the dating pool.

“Yeah I saw her posts online.”

“I’m sure he’ll find another one soon enough,” I say, making my best effort to act like I don’t give a shit. I enjoy Crystal, but if I tell her that I have a forbidden crush on Grant, she’ll spread that gossip quicker than a wildfire on a dry summer day.

Crystal fixes her curtain bangs. “Yeah. I wish he looked at me. But so far, he doesn’t date anyone from the company. Probably because we aren’t allowed to join the website.”

“Yes,” I say. I remember Terri telling me one of the reasons why she recommended me was because she knew an experience in the big city would be good for me—and also it’s not like I’d ever be able to be anyone’s sugar baby, as per company policy. Not that that’s what I wanted… I’d like to be Grant’s sugar anything though. I sigh.

But a man like him probably wouldn’t want a woman like me. I’m a virgin, and plan on staying that way until marriage. Yes, old fashioned and lame, I know. That’s really one of the few things my conservative parents ingrained in me that really stuck. I don’t know… I want my first time with a man to be special. No one in my town ever made me want to break that promise, so that certainly helped.

Doesn’t mean, of course, that I can’t date and learn other things. Other dirty, sinful things.

During these weeks in Dallas, I’d love to go on dates. No one in my town would know—there would be no pressure from family or friends. Just fun. But how would I find a guy willing to date me for a while without fucking?

Since I can’t have Grant, I’d like to date at least someone else. Someone who could show me a world different than the one I come from. I give Crystal a look, then straighten my shoulders. “Crystal… how’s the dating scene here in Dallas? I mean, you go out a lot, right?”

Crystal rolls her eyes. “Oh girl. A nightmare. Guys can be such assholes.”

My shoulders slump a notch. Oh, great. “How do you meet them? Don’t these dating apps help?” I downloaded an app once, back home, but ended up being matched to my second-cousin Anthony, who was using a picture so different from what he really looked like, I didn’t recognize him until we Facetimed. Needless to say, I deleted the app instantly.

“I’m on every dating app there is… but most of them are just good for a lay.”

“Oh.” That’d go against my wishes. I don’t want to be a cock tease, but how can I build a relationship in which I trust the other person enough to tell him what my boundaries are? If I announce I’m a virgin to some rando online, that could be dangerous.

Crystal leans in, interested. “Why?”

I wave her off, feigning casualness, in another Emma Stone worthy performance. “No reason… just wondering how the dating life here in Dallas is compared to my hometown.”

Shit. How am I going to find someone to have fun and not go all the way?