Post by Atticus & Sunday on Mar 11, 2022 14:29:18 GMT -8
Your time to make this decision is dwindling[/font][/i], Atticus Cassian signed, his fingers twitching through the words impatiently.
The dark haired young woman in front of him looked like she would rather claw her fingers into his throat and lay him open to bleed than acquiesce to him.
But she would.
Atticus knew she would because the fire banked behind her eyes when she dropped his gaze and stared down at the photos and papers he’d spread across the desk. He let her look. After all, it was he who controlled the time he allotted for her to make her decision. The time that he’d told her was dwindling… it was dwindling because he wanted her to hurry up and give him what he wanted from her so that he could go back to his day.
Not that she wasn’t beautiful to look at but he had absolutely no intention of fucking her. Not today and not tomorrow and not at any point in their working relationship. He had expectations of the women he brought to bed and the girl in front of him met none of them.
The women he brought to bed didn’t know American Sign Language, to begin with. It meant that he was spared the forced niceties of conversation afterward.
The woman in front of him…
Why me? she signed back at him. Her hands were beautiful. Long thin fingers that reminded him of hummingbirds the way they fluttered through the air. She spoke the words out loud while she signed. Atticus surreptitiously watched her lips move. It was rare to be caught off guard but when he realized that while she was signing “why me” she was saying “you ugly bald fuck” he was rendered speechless.
Fortunately, it was exceptionally hard to tell when a mute man was speechless.
The leverage he had over her alone should have cowed her. Humbled her. Had her groveling and scraping to do whatever it was he wanted. He hadn’t been above using his hulking size to intimidate her either. It wasn’t an idle threat.
He positioned the NDA and the contract in front of her. A silent, subtle reminder that he held all the cards and her time to make the right decision was running through her fingers.
Why. Me. she signed again, fingers stiff with impatience.
Atticus sighed under his breath. Thought about lying but she wasn’t stupid, which was part of why he wanted her in the first place. Stupid he took to bed. She was far more valuable than that to him.
You’re fluent in sign language. You know the business. You have a knack for words, a face men would love to fuck and this… a quick gesture at the papers and photos coveting the glossy mahogany desk top… ensures that you’ll be motivated to keep me happy.
Now he could tell he’d rendered her speechless. Her face flaming with either embarrassment, anger or some stomach churning mixture of the two. What he’d told her wasn’t a lie but it was a very condensed version of the truth. She was fluent in ASL which was necessary for their working relationship. She was incredibly good on the mic… he’d seen her in countless indie promotions, lurking in the back of dim high school gyms while he’d scouted her. She was attractive and aesthetically she would pair nicely with him.
She also had no close family or friends who would miss her. She was talented in the ring, not that she would be seeing much of it anymore. He wouldn’t be outshone by her, not just because his ego wouldn’t allow it but also because he knew how much taking that away would hurt her.
While this was about business it was also about revenge. It was why he’d chosen her, after all. Above and beyond all of her other assets and attributes, the control he would hold over her with a few quick signatures would be a revenge that had been worth waiting for.
She didn’t look up as she signed Fine. What do you want me to do?
Atticus stifled the satisfied smile and waited until she’d looked up, her expression steely, before he signed back: I am… unapproachable. Talent has gotten me into many doors but regrettably, this business is also built on words… something that I lack. It’s time that I explored other avenues to realize my goals. You will be incredibly busy but beyond keeping these secrets…
A gesture at the horrible things spread out on his desk.
I will compensate you monetarily with a weekly stipend. You’ll handle all business matters for me, appear with me in the ring and be my voice. In exchange… this…
Another gesture at the things that she’s doing her best not to look down at again.
This will stay a secret.
She was silent for a long time, glaring up at him with hard, cold eyes. The eyes of someone that he’d once known. For a moment, he worried. He worried that he was biting off more than he could chew with her. Was she really as stable as she seemed to be? Or was she more like the last person he’d run across with those eyes?
Fine.
She signed the word with stiff fingers. Impatience. Fear. He had her back up against the wall and they both knew it.
He nudged the contract and the NDA closer to her, slid a pen across the desk and grinned.
The dark haired young woman in front of him looked like she would rather claw her fingers into his throat and lay him open to bleed than acquiesce to him.
But she would.
Atticus knew she would because the fire banked behind her eyes when she dropped his gaze and stared down at the photos and papers he’d spread across the desk. He let her look. After all, it was he who controlled the time he allotted for her to make her decision. The time that he’d told her was dwindling… it was dwindling because he wanted her to hurry up and give him what he wanted from her so that he could go back to his day.
Not that she wasn’t beautiful to look at but he had absolutely no intention of fucking her. Not today and not tomorrow and not at any point in their working relationship. He had expectations of the women he brought to bed and the girl in front of him met none of them.
The women he brought to bed didn’t know American Sign Language, to begin with. It meant that he was spared the forced niceties of conversation afterward.
The woman in front of him…
Why me? she signed back at him. Her hands were beautiful. Long thin fingers that reminded him of hummingbirds the way they fluttered through the air. She spoke the words out loud while she signed. Atticus surreptitiously watched her lips move. It was rare to be caught off guard but when he realized that while she was signing “why me” she was saying “you ugly bald fuck” he was rendered speechless.
Fortunately, it was exceptionally hard to tell when a mute man was speechless.
The leverage he had over her alone should have cowed her. Humbled her. Had her groveling and scraping to do whatever it was he wanted. He hadn’t been above using his hulking size to intimidate her either. It wasn’t an idle threat.
He positioned the NDA and the contract in front of her. A silent, subtle reminder that he held all the cards and her time to make the right decision was running through her fingers.
Why. Me. she signed again, fingers stiff with impatience.
Atticus sighed under his breath. Thought about lying but she wasn’t stupid, which was part of why he wanted her in the first place. Stupid he took to bed. She was far more valuable than that to him.
You’re fluent in sign language. You know the business. You have a knack for words, a face men would love to fuck and this… a quick gesture at the papers and photos coveting the glossy mahogany desk top… ensures that you’ll be motivated to keep me happy.
Now he could tell he’d rendered her speechless. Her face flaming with either embarrassment, anger or some stomach churning mixture of the two. What he’d told her wasn’t a lie but it was a very condensed version of the truth. She was fluent in ASL which was necessary for their working relationship. She was incredibly good on the mic… he’d seen her in countless indie promotions, lurking in the back of dim high school gyms while he’d scouted her. She was attractive and aesthetically she would pair nicely with him.
She also had no close family or friends who would miss her. She was talented in the ring, not that she would be seeing much of it anymore. He wouldn’t be outshone by her, not just because his ego wouldn’t allow it but also because he knew how much taking that away would hurt her.
While this was about business it was also about revenge. It was why he’d chosen her, after all. Above and beyond all of her other assets and attributes, the control he would hold over her with a few quick signatures would be a revenge that had been worth waiting for.
She didn’t look up as she signed Fine. What do you want me to do?
Atticus stifled the satisfied smile and waited until she’d looked up, her expression steely, before he signed back: I am… unapproachable. Talent has gotten me into many doors but regrettably, this business is also built on words… something that I lack. It’s time that I explored other avenues to realize my goals. You will be incredibly busy but beyond keeping these secrets…
A gesture at the horrible things spread out on his desk.
I will compensate you monetarily with a weekly stipend. You’ll handle all business matters for me, appear with me in the ring and be my voice. In exchange… this…
Another gesture at the things that she’s doing her best not to look down at again.
This will stay a secret.
She was silent for a long time, glaring up at him with hard, cold eyes. The eyes of someone that he’d once known. For a moment, he worried. He worried that he was biting off more than he could chew with her. Was she really as stable as she seemed to be? Or was she more like the last person he’d run across with those eyes?
Fine.
She signed the word with stiff fingers. Impatience. Fear. He had her back up against the wall and they both knew it.
He nudged the contract and the NDA closer to her, slid a pen across the desk and grinned.