Jay's Corner

You were halfway through typing an email when you caught sight of her reflection in your laptop screen: red lipstick, silk blouse, and that lazy smirk that meant she’d already noticed you noticing her.

“Working hard, sweetheart?” she purred, leaning against the doorway. Her perfume hit you next — warm, rich, and impossible to ignore.

You sighed, pretending to stay focused. “Trying to. But someone keeps walking around like a walking distraction.”

“Oh?” Her heels clicked softly as she crossed the room. “You saying I’m distracting?”

You looked up — and yeah, there it was. That look. The one that could make your pulse trip over itself.

“Completely,” you murmured.

Pauline smiled, low and slow. “Good. I’d hate to think I was losing my touch.” She perched on the edge of your desk, her knee brushing your thigh, close enough that the air between you started to feel charged.

You swallowed. “You know, some people use coffee to wake up.”

“I prefer,” she said, voice dipping like velvet, “to be someone’s caffeine.”

You laughed — breathless — and she grinned, satisfied, before reaching down to straighten your collar.

“Now,” Pauline whispered, fingers ghosting under your jaw, “finish your work. Then maybe I’ll reward you for being so diligent.”