Tyler came to a stop outside a door that Isobel hadn’t noticed before. It was down the opposite end of the floor from the work stations, and there wasn’t a person in sight. Reaching into a pocket, he removed a key and then unlocked the door, pausing before he opened it to turn and look at Isobel.
“I want you to know that you can leave at any time,” he said, making her extremely curious and a little apprehensive. “I’ve been waiting for the perfect personal assistant, and I think you just might fit the bill. But, there are a few things I need to find out before I make it a permanent arrangement.”
“O-okay.” Isobel’s stomach had started to churn. Did that mean that the job wasn’t necessarily hers already? “W-what do you need to know?”
“I need to know if you can follow orders without question.” Isobel started to tell him that she could, but he held a single finger up to silence her. “I also need to know how open minded you are. As my personal assistant, you will probably have more than one occasion when you have to do things that you’re not completely comfortable with. I need to know that I can rely on you to do them anyway.”
“Didn’t yesterday prove that?” Isobel knew that the question was cheeky, but she also knew that it was valid; at least to her.
“Yesterday was a great start. But today I’m really going to put you to the test.” As he finished talking he opened the door and stood to one side, allowing Isobel to walk into the room in front of him.
She blinked her eyes, trying to adjust to the darkness of the room but not having much success. Was this another office, or a boardroom, maybe? It was really hard to tell. There weren’t even any windows to cast some kind of light in the room. Tyler flicked a switch and the wall lights came on. They were still very dim, but at least they cast some light.
She looked around her curiously, her eyes slowly adjusting to the dimness of the room. She couldn’t see much, but from what she could gather, there wasn’t much to see. A large piece of furniture that looked like a desk or a table stood right in the middle, but apart from some shelves with things on them that she couldn’t make out, there didn’t seem to be anything else in there.
She had a ‘light-bulb’ moment of clarity. “Oh! Is this the conference room?” He obviously wanted her help to get the place ready for a meeting.
“No, not exactly. Although that’s what we’ll call it from now on.” Tyler chuckled, amused by his own joke even though Isobel didn’t get it. “This is where I get to test just how loyal you are, and how good you are at following commands and orders.”
Isobel laughed. “It’s not the army, Tyler.”
Her laugh dried up when she noticed that he wasn’t laughing with her. “I’m well aware of that, Isobel. But, it is a serious thing to me.” He took her hand and walked her towards the center of the room where the desk was situated. “Before I say anything else, I want to let you know that you can stop me at any time, okay?”
This was obviously a serious matter for Tyler, and Isobel instinctively knew that whatever was going on here had the capacity to change everything. Her stomach was tight with nerves, but she had to at least hear him out. “Okay, I’m listening.”
“I like things that other men you know probably don’t.” He hesitated as though unsure of how to say what he wanted to. “Have you ever heard of BDSM, Isobel?”
She thought for a second and then nodded her head slowly. “I’ve heard of it, but I don’t really know what it is exactly.” She furrowed her brow in concentration, trying to rack her brain for any snippets it may have retained regarding the subject. “Isn’t it where people get off on hurting each other during sex?” Oh God, she hoped he wasn’t into that. She didn’t think she’d be able to handle being whipped or suffocated.
Tyler laughed again, and was quick to put her mind at ease and to enlighten her. “Not exactly, although there can be elements of pain involved, so long as both parties are willing. And it’s not so much the sex side of it, but the build-up; almost like extreme foreplay.” He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.