Boss's Sweet Secretary

"Knock, knock!"

"Come in!"

Her footsteps were a little dull, and she stood at the door of the study carefully holding a plate of food.

"The mushroom soup tastes good. Nancy also made some snacks for supper. You haven't eaten much at dinner. Would you like some?"

Behind the desk, Hans was focused on an artist training contract. He didn't look up, as if he didn't hear what Jennifer said.

Jennifer pursed her lips and said shyly, "But you don't eat supper right? Then I... I'd better take it back..."

"Leave it here."

His cold voice interrupted Jennifer's passiveness.

"Huh?" Surprise flashed across her face, and she even thought that she had heard him wrong.

Hans lifted his head from his desk. The gold frame of his glasses had lessened the sharpness in his eyes. His entire being seemed a little bookish as if they had returned to the time when he sat in the study to help her modify her final year thesis.

"Are you deaf? I told you to leave it first, I need to finish reading this contract."

"Oh... Okay..." She suddenly came to her senses and avoided his eyes in a panic.

Jennifer put the plate on the tea table lightly but it still made a clanking noise. Jennifer subconsciously turned to look at Hans, afraid of disturbing him. She noticed that he was frowning and looking in her direction.

Their gazes collided in the air. It was too late for her to retract her gaze and she did not dare to look straight at him. So they just stared at each other for a long time.

Hans was looking deep into her eyes. He was in a daze for a moment, as if everything had gone back to the time right before she graduated a few years ago when she edited her thesis day and night at home. She was so confused and didn't even know how to change the format of the thesis.

"Ahem..." Hans was the first to react. He coughed and lowered his head with his hand covering his mouth. He shifted his eyes back to the contract.

Jennifer also looked embarrassed, and there was a hint of awkwardness in the room.

In the past half a year, their physical intimacy had not allowed them to be closer emotionally. Besides the necessary interaction at work, their most frequent interaction was the abuse and humiliation Hans hurled at her for no reason. It had been more than half a year since they last had a proper conversation.

Apart from what they did in bed, they were just superior and subordinate, or maybe even strangers.

Putting down the plate, she stood in the study with some hesitation. Looking at the books covering the wall, she had a thought. "Can I borrow a book?"

She vaguely remembered that a famous writer once said that a good relationship always started with borrowing books, one after another, to and fro. It was the seed of love, and it was where love developed. Although Jennifer did not have high hope that a book could improve her relationship with Hans, at least it could reduce her embarrassment at the moment. It was the best choice to take a book and then leave the study.

Behind her was Hans saying casually, "If you'd like."

The whole wall was full of books and it seemed to be a bit troublesome to look for just one book. After a cursory glance, there were books in French, some were in finance, and some were in business management. It seemed that there were no books suitable for her.

"Did you find anything?" A voice came from behind.

She panicked and picked up a book from the bookshelf. Then she turned around and waved her hand.

"Found it. I will take this one. I... I'll go first..."

"Wait a minute." Hans took off his glasses and stood up from behind the desk. He frowned and looked at the book in her hand. "You've been looking for a long time and this is the book you found?" Jennifer was taken aback and she quickly looked at the book in her hand. Slightly above her thumb was the translated English title in bold letters, "The Sex Analysis".

When she saw the title clearly and the way she was holding it, she could feel all her blood rushing to her face. Her face was burning hot as and she wanted to throw the book out of the window immediately. A trace of ridicule flashed through Hans's eyes. He glanced at her and said, "If you like this kind of book, you should find an English translation. You should know your French level is not good enough." Jennifer swallowed her saliva and stammered, "I... recently feel that studying French could be helpful for work, and this kind of medical... books are beneficial to physical and mental health." The more she tried to explain, the worse it got. The moment she said it, she wanted to slap herself.

"Oh?" Hans dragged out his tone, leaning against the bookcase. He slightly leaned back and the way he raised his chin made him look prideful and distinguished. When he looked at Jennifer, there was contempt in his eyes.

"Beneficial to physical and mental health?" He repeated word by word, looking at Jennifer's bloodshot face. "Then why are you blushing?"

"I..." She touched her cheek instinctively. It was burning, and she couldn't decide whether to throw the book or just take it with her. She was suddenly at a loss.

In her panic, she seemed to hear Hans chuckle, and then his footsteps gradually approached. As soon as she looked up, she was greeted by his chest and the familiar smell of tobacco on him. She quivered and wanted to dodge, but her legs were unable to move, as if they were filled with lead. Hans stood in front of her, and reached over her shoulders and encircled her in his embrace. It was getting harder for her to breathe.

She could feel his chin rubbing her head and his breath gently brushing past her hair. He leaned forward slightly and his chest brushed against her nose. The faint but clear smell of men's perfume rushed into her nose, mixed with a trace of tobacco smell. She felt like it had been too long since she smelled it and she felt a little something.

It was the smell that she was used to every single night before. She was only avoiding him for the past few days and she had already missed it.

Hans who was standing in front of her moved closer to her. She suddenly lost her balance, let out a cry and fell backward. "Ah..."

The back of her head hit something but it wasn't as painful as she expected. Her hands instinctively held onto the corner of the bookshelf behind her to prevent herself from falling. Hans, with one hand over her shoulder, leaned his upper body slightly, and his delicate face was so near to hers that it became out of focus again. His nose touched Jennifer's cheeks and she felt a spark spreading all over her body. A look of astonishment appeared in his widened eyes before he could hide it.

She maintained this position for a long time and many thoughts flashed through her head. Her heart was pounding so fast she felt like it would leap out of her chest.

"Get up now, or are you planning on lying on my hand for the rest of your life?"

His cold voice pulled her out of her deep thoughts. She suddenly came to her senses and balanced herself with the help of the bookshelf. At this time, the object at the back of her head was suddenly pulled out and appeared in front of her eyes.0000000