Going Up?

Edward Anthony Morgan was an asshole of the highest degree. That was the conclusion which Meredith Shaw had arrived at as she stared at the jumped-up little creep over the tea trolley.

´One or two lumps, dear?´

Meredith only half-registered Sally´s tremulous enquiry.

´Er, none,´ she mumbled to the elderly tea lady, still distracted by Morgan´s irritating swagger as he walked past the photocopier. ´I have sweetener.´

She slowly rose from her seat, ignoring Sally´s disapproving cluck of her tonge. Meredith was simply too angry right now to care about the old woman´s opinion that nothing could ever replace real sugar. Setting her full lips in a determined line, she marched resolutely towards Morgan who was laughing and flirting openly with one of the temps from the typing pool.

´Er, excuse me, Mister Morgan,´ she butted in, unable to keep the contempt she held him in from her tone.

Morgan only half-turned, as if he had merely been momentarily distracted by a fly that didn‘t deserve any more of his precious attention than a cursory glance. To Meredith´s rising annoyance, he continued to laugh like an overgrown schoolboy with the weary looking secretary.

´Mister Morgan!´

The words came out louder than even she had intended. A slight hush descended over the immediate vicinity of the large open-plan office, and Morgan turned to face her fully now. Raising himself to his full height, he looked down at her in patent disapproval, his face reddening a little in the sure sign of his irritation.

´Yes?´ he said slowly, like an headmaster addressing an impertinent student. And ordinarily, Meredith might have quavered beneath his glowering expression. But not now. Her anger made her impervious to any such effect!

She cleared her throat and tried to match Morgan´s attempt at exaggerating his stature by standing as tall as her high heels would allow her.

´I believe that you recently received an application from a friend of mine,´ she began. Morgan began to shake his head but Meredith added impatiently: ´Sarah Hardcastle?´

Morgan still looked nonplussed for a second or two, then recognition flickered across his face.

´Mm, yes, I remember now.´ He shrugged dismissively. ´And?´

Meredith silently fumed, although she knew that her anger must be showing on her face. ´And you didn´t even give her the courtesy of an interview,´ she replied.

Morgan´s eyes widened. ´And of what business is that to you? Do you expect me to consult you about every decision my department makes?´

Meredith shook her head. ´Of course not,´ she snapped. ´But Sarah has qualifications and experience by the bucketload. And the position of personal assistant is still being advertised!´

´Qualifications and experience aren´t everything, Miss Vernon,´ he growled, and began to walk away. ´Attitude is important too.´

Meredith frowned. That kind of excuse made no sense whatsoever. Sarah was one of the nicest and most conscientious people she had ever known. And she wasn´t just saying that because she was a friend.

But then it clicked, the implication of Morgan´s words, and she stared after him in loathing.

´You mean just because she was immune to your charms, you slimey creep,´ she murmured.

Well, she thought bitterly. When it came to that kind of immunity, Sarah wasn´t the only one!


***


Meredith spent the rest of the morning and all of her lunch hour getting progressively angrier about Morgan. He had the gall to accuse others of an attitude, when his positively stank! By the time she returned to her desk in the early afternoon, she felt like smashing the computer monitor over his head every time he sauntered past. She was glad when the hands on her watch finally crept round to 5.30 so that she could go home.

As she stood waiting for the elevator, she closed her eyes, dreaming of the long hot bath waiting for her at home which would help soak away the cares of the day. She looked forward to letting Morgan drain down the plughole!

She heard the tell-tale ping of the lift doors and opened her eyes.

And there stood Morgan!

Oh God, she thought, hesitating for a second. Not now!

She took a deep breath as she forced herself to get into the lift. She´d put up with the patronising bastard this far; another minute or so wouldn´t make any difference.

Meredith stared at her feet as the doors slid shut and the lift began to descend. She didn´t trust herself not to say anything if she diverted her gaze even a fraction in Morgan´s direction. She was trying to think of something to help take her mind off the fact that she was in the company of the biggest creep in the entire company when the lift suddenly ground to an unexpected halt. She snapped up her eyes to find Morgan with his hand hovering over the control panel.

She returned his stare, as coldly as she could possibly make it, which wasn´t hard after the day she´d had. ´Was that you?´ she asked

Morgan tilted his head to one side a little, like a dog. ´What exactly is your problem with me?´ he responded with a question of his own.

The totally unexpected riposte startled Meredith into momentary silence. She didn´t know what to say....

´It´s okay,´ Morgan assured her, leaning back against the lift wall and folding his arms. ´You can tell me. One hundred percent honesty with no consequences.´

Yeah, right, Meredith thought sceptically. He was just begging for an excuse to fire her, and she wasn´t about to hand it to him on a plate!

Morgan must have sensed her cynicism and he held up his hands. ´No consequences,´ he repeated slowly.

Meredith opened her mouth to speak, closed it again, then gave it to him with both barrels as the last of her reticence abandoned her!

´All right, Mister Morgan, you asked,´ she began, eyeing her superior up and down with undisguised distaste. ´You are the most...arrogant...sexist... and...conceited man I have ever had the misfortune to work with. And those are just your good points!´

She was breathing heavily and hadn´t realised that she had taken a step forward and was jabbing her finger at Morgan accusingly. She cleared her throat self-consciously as she noticed Morgan´s mouth curling slightly at the corners. But there was nothing bombastic or sarastic about the humour it suggested. He seemed genuinely amused by her tirade!

´Please, Ms Vernon, don´t mince your words,´ he said, unable to suppress a small laugh.
He fell into silence again after a few seconds and held her in his gaze. Despite herself, Meredith was unable to separate her eyes from his.....

´So I suppose dinner is out of the question?´ he said, his brown eyes twinkling.

´With you?´

Meredith had been unable to stop herself. God, she thought. The very idea!

Morgan moved and took a step forward of his own so that they were only inches apart. She could smell the subtle fragrance of aftershave and hated herself for the way his presence was causing her heart to race!

´Well, do you see anyone else in here right now?´ he asked softly.

´God, you are so full of yourself,´ she croaked, looking up into his face and not understanding why her loathing was melting away like ice before the sun. His eyes locked onto hers again so that she felt as though she was being hypnotized, drawn into their magnetic lure....

The first kiss was gentle. Soft, warm lips teasing her own ever so lightly. She closed her eyes tightly, resolving to resist the temptation to....

Hungrily she responded, with an unexpected force and passion. Morgan stumbled back against the elevator wall as she ate ravenously into the kiss. He pushed the coat from her shoulders and she felt his hands slip to her waist where they began to work upwards, undoing the long line of buttons that secured her blouse. As his fingers arrived at the last of them, Meredith shifted her body  impatiently, shrugging off the loose blouse so that it fell in a heap to the lift floor.

Reaching behind her back, he unclasped her bra, which surrendered her breasts to his grasp. She caught her breath, first as his fingers fastened firmly over them, then again as he lowered his head and raised them to  his mouth in turn. Her heart racing madly, she bit on her lip, thrilling to the tingle like electricity which his soft lips were generating as he drew on each hardening nipple.

She was trembling like a leaf when he finally lifted his head, silencing her quick breaths with another deep, lingering kiss as he pushed her back now against the opposite wall. His hand instinctively reached for the zip to her skirt and in seconds it was sliding down Meredith´s smooth thighs. Her hands sought the belt of his trousers in turn, and she swallowed in amazement at the obvious effect her body was having on him as she reached inside....

And then, slowly and deliberately, he took her!

Her mouth fastened onto his as he slipped into her with a groan and settled his body into a rhythm that disconnected Meredith´s mind completely from everything apart from this moment! The world could have ended, but nothing would have intruded upon the bliss with which each movement of Morgan´s hips was enveloping her whole body! His hands sought her breasts, cupping them and squeezing them with the kind of reverence one might have reserved for some holy relic, leading Meredith ever closer to that point of inevitability, where she would be thrust completely into mindless abandon!

She reached it sooner rather than later! Grasping Morgan´s shoulders, she cried out and threw back her head to surrender her throat to his kisses! The climax struck her like a tidal wave, crashing over her whole body and leaving her gasping for hair and soaked in sweat....

And then he came too, lured into his release by the bucking of her own body against his. Moaning softly into her neck, he thrust deeper, and Meredith held onto him as he emptied his desire completely into her before slumping , spent, into her arms just seconds later.

´So is that a yes?´ he mumbled breathlessly.

´Sorry?´ Meredith asked, still trying to steady her own breathing.

Morgan lifted his head and smiled. ´Dinner,´ he reminded her. ´Only I know this great little Mexican number not too far away. Or....´

His eyes sparkled suggestively and Meredith smiled back. ´Or...?´ she asked, widening her large green eyes in mock innocence.

He kissed her again slowly. ´Or we could just skip straight to the dessert,´ he whispered softly as he pulled out of the caress, and Meredith laughed.

´I´ve heard it´s the only way to eat dinner, she replied. She pursed her lips. ´Just one condition.´

Morgan sighed and nodded. ´I know, I know,´ he conceded. ´Tell your friend that she can start first thing Monday morning.´