Anthology Two Presents
Victoria Burke:
"A Day In The Life..."
By Brent Lambert

Victoria laid her head on the desk and took in a deep breath. She had placed her head on her desk for a few reasons. First, she had a killer headache that felt like someone had just dropped a bag of bricks on her head...twice. Second, she was hoping with all her might that people might think she was asleep and leave her the hell alone. Third, she figured she'd need a little rest before her visitor came to have his meeting with her.

As she laid her head on her paper-covered desk she reached out and played with a red pen. Twirling it around and around in her hands bought her a little comfort. By putting her concentration into the pen she found just a tiny bit of relief from the stresses of her always busy day. She especially needed to get herself at ease if this guy she was meeting was as bad as people claimed he was. Neil described the man in a very specific manner, "He's a male version of you with a stick the size of the Sydney Opera House stuck up his ass. Plus he's American."

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Victoria quickly jerked up from her desk at the sound of the knocks on her door. After her initial jumpiness a sick feeling set itself deep in the woman's stomach. The feeling made its way from Victoria's stomach to the rest of her body. Burke felt a tingle all across her body. She knew what was coming. Her only business meeting of the day was here. Now Victoria had wished she had given the man lousy directions to her building. Desperately wished.

There came two more knocks and Victoria slowly rose up from her black plush leather chair. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and sprayed on some perfume that was on the corner of her desk next to the pencil sharpener. "I'm coming. Hold on a second please."

Victoria seriously thought about using that second to jump out of the window. She honestly did not feel like being bothered with assholes today. Especially an American asshole at that.

Opening the door Victoria saw the face of Adonis. Every inch of this man's face was perfectly sculpted. Victoria had to keep herself from falling out. She had hardly expected the American asshole to be such a piece of work. What she had expected was a slob of a man. Someone in their 40s who looked like he was 70. That's what Victoria had been expecting. Never this piece of man that was in front of her. His light blue eyes held such an aura of innocence that Victoria wanted to melt right then and there. The man's blonde hair was like looking at a masterpiece. She could find no flaws in that smooth, beautifully tanned face.

"Hello Ms. Burke. My name is Daniel Tan. I'm Mr. Newton's assistant. He couldn't be here for this meeting so he sent me. You don't mind do you?" Daniel said with a smile that devoured Victoria's heart. Just when she thought her day couldn't get any worse this blessing came along and brightened up everything. Maybe the rest of the day wouldn't be quite so bad after all.

"Oh I don't mind at all! Come in and take a seat. We have so much to discuss," Victoria replied as pleasantly as she possibly could. As Daniel walked in and in front of her Victoria couldn't help but to take a glance at the assistant's rear end. It wasn't all what she expected, but she could deal with it.

Get a grip Victoria! You just met this guy. Can you be that hormonal? Sheesh and can you stop staring at the back of his head, Victoria thought to herself.

Before Daniel had a chance to get comfortable in his seat Victoria was already pulling out documents full of figures and sales caps. She had to get down to business quick or she'd just stare at Daniel forever. Though she couldn't exactly say that staring into those baby blue eyes would be a bad thing. A vision of Neil constantly bitching came into Victoria's mind on that thought. On second thought maybe staring into her little Adonis's eyes could be more harmful than she thought.

"So let's get down to business. I hear your company, Tuvoi Cosmetics, wants to arrange some type of joint business deal. Care to give me the details?" Victoria asked as she bit down on the nearest pen she could get within the reach of her mouth. Leaning back in her seat she tried her hardest to keep her mind distracted from the sight of Daniel. With every glance of him she had to fight the urge to jump over the desk and take the man in a passionate embrace.

Daniel smiled at Victoria in a tortuous way for the woman. That smile made her feel as if he knew all of her feelings and just how much she was lusting for him at that moment. It was a smile of telling and it made Victoria cringe inside.

"Well, according to our research your company is one of the top selling fashion lines in all of Australia and Southeast Asia. Tuvoi Cosmetics is one of the strongest cosmetic lines in all of North America. I know that you want to spread your company's influence in America just as Tuvoi wants to extend itself into your region. A joint deal between us could prove to be quite profitable," Daniel said. Victoria was struggling to maintain her composure and business sense. With Daniel's first word Burke had wanted to say yes to his little deal. She couldn't let her emotions utterly rule her. She wouldn't let them allow her to make bad business decisions. Victoria was going to think things through.

"And what exactly would this joint deal between our two companies entail?" Victoria inquired with a slight tremble in her voice. For all her might she couldn't help, but to be mesmerized by this man. Had it been that long since she had a relationship with another man? Or was it just that Daniel looked that good?

"It's rather simple Ms. Burke. You promote our cosmetics during your fashion shows and in the local store chains that support your line. We'll do the same for your company in America. It'll allow both of our products to reach a larger audience. Plus if people begin to associate our two companies together people won't buy one without buying the other," Daniel explained as he leaned closer in towards his potential business partner's desk.

"Couldn't this deal be detrimental as well? Especially if someone likes my products, but not Tuvoi and vice versa," Victoria said finally gaining some sense of control over herself. Though the feeling of control was almost saddening for the woman. For a while she had enjoyed the high she felt from Daniel being around her.

"Perhaps, but I think short term loss compared to major long term gain is a worthy risk. I'm sure a fiery woman like you isn't afraid to take chances," Daniel complimented hoping to make Victoria a little more susceptible to liking his boss's deal. He was only Mr. Newton's assistant, but snagging a deal with Burke's company could finally land Daniel a nice, fat paycheck. Something he's been trying to get since his days in the mailroom.

"Short term profit is the name of the game in the business world these days Mr. Tan," Victoria said bluntly. She sincerely hoped that Daniel was all looks and no brains. The woman could only have eye candy for so long. Though she had to admit he was the type of eye candy you could get use to.

"Then let's change the game," Daniel grinned mischievously.

Seeing the spunk in Daniel she couldn't help, but to laugh a little. Maybe there was more to Daniel than just his sexy body, "You play hardball. I'll give you my decision tonight...say over dinner."

"You got a deal. Anywhere in particular you plan on taking me?"

"I was thinking my house."

Daniel coughed a little bit and loosened up his red tie. He felt like the air had been suddenly sucked out of the room. He wasn't a fool. The man knew exactly where Victoria was going with her invitation. He found her to be an attractive woman, but not that attractive. Just how far was he willing to go to seal the deal?

"What's wrong Mr. Tan?" Victoria asked with a smirk. This time she was in charge of the game and not having to sit in the outfield waiting for the ball to come her way. "Nothing at all. It just got hot in here all of a sudden. That's all. Nothing major," Daniel replied as he was still in the process of loosening his tie.

"Well, do you want me to turn on the air?" Victoria asked as she was about to rise from seat to make Daniel more comfortable.

A quickly risen hand from Daniel made Victoria stop her upward motion and subsequent walk to the thermostat that was halfway across the office. "Really no trouble Ms. Burke. I was just about to leave anyway."

"Oh...well see you tonight then," Victoria smiled as she helped Daniel out of his seat.

"It's a date," Dan winked as he closed the door of Victoria's office behind him.

"Talk about a little meeting. And this little rendevouz is just getting started," Victoria smiled as she walked over and slumped down in her seat.