Another Goddamn Bdsm Romance

It was Alexia's first day as the assistant district attorney in New York City and she was already late. She had precisely twenty minutes to make it through the hectic morning traffic, park her car, and somehow make the coffee stain on her white blouse disappear before she had to report to her new boss, the DA himself. As accident prone as she tended to be in heels, she honestly couldn't think of what had possessed her to buy a white blouse, let alone wear one on a day that was this important. She had waited too long for this transfer from Georgia to mess it all up on the first day.

She managed to find a decent parking spot in the parking deck, and she popped her trunk, desperately searching for another shirt she could wear. No luck. Alexia saw a woman approaching the car next to her, and she kept her head down, cheeks flaming. The woman looked over in sympathy.

"Spilled coffee?"

"Yes ma'am" Alexia admitted.

"You look about my size. I always bring an extra outfit. Would you like to borrow my extra shirt? Plus, I'm a judge. No one sees my clothes anyways." The lady laughed softly, an infectious melodic sound.

"Oh, please, if you don't mind. That would be wonderful."

"No problem honey. Someone has to show some kindness sometime. This city has a bad reputation for rudeness."

The unnamed judge handed her a blessedly not white, deep blue plunge neck blouse. Flirty, yet professional. It was just her style.

"What's your name, so I can get this back to you?"

"Judge Brooks, but please, call me Karen."

"I'm Alexia. Alexia Delsoto."

"Oh, how wonderful, you're the new ADA! I suppose we will be seeing a lot of each other. Have a good first day, give Nick Hell for me."

"Yes ma'am I will!"

Karen waved and got in her car and pulled away.

Alexia had no idea who Nick was, but assumed that he was her new boss. Did his name have to be Nick? She would never be able to say his name without thinking about... well that didn't matter now. It was all water under the bridge. What mattered most now was her career.

In all honesty, she had very little knowledge about the person she would be working under; all she knew was how glad she was to finally have left Atlanta, and all the painful memories, behind. Originally, she had had no desire to work in such an obnoxiously big city, but when her former boss let her know she was wanted in the Big Apple, she closed her eyes and jumped in feet first. She stayed in Atlanta until the lease on her overpriced apartment was up. Then she moved to an even smaller, even more overpriced apartment. Gotta love the cost of big city living, she thought.

Her heels clicked across the tile as she entered the courthouse. All she had to do was make it to the restroom, switch shirts, and find the right office. She now had only five minutes left. Alexia quickly found the restrooms, entered a stall, and stripped her blouse off and shoved it in her briefcase. She then donned the borrowed shirt, and was happy to discover that the color went well with her blazer and skirt. Thank goodness she had met that judge when she had. She looked down at her watch. She now had two minutes. She rushed from the bathroom and up to a bored looking security officer.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for the DA's office."

"Second floor, third door on your right" The man grumped.

Right. Of course she was on the wrong floor. She tried to keep a pace that seemed brisk and professional as she climbed the stairs. She tried not to appear as frantic as she felt. Being late always made her anxious.

She finally made it to the door that the security guard had mentioned. She gathered her courage and knocked softly.

"Come in." A voice said. A very familiar voice. No, it wasn't. It couldn't be.

She opened the door.

"Hi, sorry I'm la-." She stopped mid-sentence as the air whooshed out of her lungs.

There sat Nick, sitting behind his desk grinning for all that he was worth. Oh, how she used to love that smile. She used to see it every time she closed her eyes. This could not be happening.

"Surprised, Lexie?"

She stiffened. "Why did you want me here? I hardly think this is appropriate. And it is Ms. Delsoto to you. We are no longer on a first name basis."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down Lex- I mean Ms. Delsoto. Those are some harsh words considering I'm your new boss."

She opened her mouth and then snapped it shut. He had a point.

"Now, if you really don't want to be here, I know for a fact that Atlanta will take you back in a heartbeat. Great job on the Goldman case by the way." He said, referring back to the last case she had prosecuted and won in Atlanta.

"Mr. Harrison-"

"Call me Nick." He interjected.

"Mr. Harrison," she repeated, eyes ablaze with defiance. "I will stay here on the condition that you are aware that I am here only for this job. I will not be involved with you in any way outside of work. We will not have any kind of personal relationship, and you will not attempt to trifle with my feelings."

"Jesus Christ," Nick muttered. "You really think that I ever meant to trifle with your feelings? And furthermore, my requesting your transfer had absolutely nothing to do with any personal history we have, and everything to do with a case that our office could really use your insight on."

"Alright, perfect. Email me the details if you would. If you will excuse me for a moment, I need to go get settled in my office. Where is it?"

"The door directly across the hall. And Ms. Delsoto? I would watch that tone if I were you. I know you remember what happened the last time you spoke to me in that manner.

Her face flushed the same bright shade as her hair as she slammed the door behind her. Of course she remembered. How could she ever forget?

Alexia did everything she could to halt the sudden flood of memories. She had to compose herself. Under no circumstances could she let on that even after all this time, he still got to her. She met him seven years prior, while she was still in her second year of law school at Emory. He worked in her stepfather's law firm at the time, helping the big companies and corporations save a few bucks. Nick once admitted to her that helping the rich get richer as a career was slowly eating away at his soul, and that's probably why he ended up leaving the firm and corporate law all together. But not before making Alexia break every rule she had by falling in love with a married man. Not before awaking a part of herself that she had not known existed. Not before breaking every promise he had ever made to her by one day disappearing from her life without a word, never to be seen or heard from again. He may have claimed that he had never meant to trifle with her feelings, and it might be true. However, that did not ease the pain of the reality of it one bit, and for that, she could not find it in her heart to forgive him.

She opened the door to her office and stepped inside. She gasped. Everything was perfect, from the color scheme, to the artwork on the wall, and the books on the shelf. Even after all this time, he still knew her. Alexia mused. He had known that she would stay. She plopped her briefcase down and sat down at her desk, and opened all the drawers to see if there were any more surprises. After all, she knew quite a bit about him too. Sure enough, in the top drawer there was an envelope with her name embossed across it. She sighed and opened it. Nick's neat handwriting flowed across the paper. It read:

Dearest Lexie,

I know that you are most likely angry with me, and rightfully so. And I really did not bring you here to hash out the past. But, I do believe you deserve an explanation, so we have dinner plans tonight. I have already made the reservation and you know that I will not take no for an answer. And don't try to tell me that you already have plans because you don't cook, and you don't know anyone here yet. I have kept in contact with your stepfather, who has told me about all the things you have achieved and I am so proud. I always knew that you had a brilliant legal mind. We really do need your help here. I'm so sorry about what happened to your husband. If you ever need to talk, I am here, although I expect that you will want our relationship to be as platonic and professional as possible. Report back to my office at the end of the day, and then we will leave for dinner. And Lexie, that is an order.

Sincerely,

Nick

Lexie fumed. Who the hell did he think he was? He couldn't just waltz back in her life and order her around. So what if he was her boss. And never, not once in the last five years had he called her, texted her, emailed her, or contacted in any way whatsoever. But he had stayed in contact with Gary, her stepdad? Had Nick been sleeping with him, too? She thought sardonically. And what gave him the right to even mention her late husband? She idly rubbed the place on her left hand where her wedding band had once been proudly displayed. A lot could happen in five years. She sighed.

She wanted to march back across the hallway and slap the smug look Nick was undoubtedly wearing right off of his pretty face. But she knew she wouldn't. She knew she would go to dinner that night. Not only because she wanted to see what the hell he could possibly come up with to explain away what happened, but because he had ordered her to go. The reason that the flame between them had once burned so bright was simply that he brought out the submissive in her, a part of her that was always otherwise hidden under her cool and professional façade. Even after five years, the compulsion to obey this man hadn't faded in the slightest. Although the rational portion of her brain insisted that she shouldn't make it so easy for him, one thing she had always found irresistible about the man was the way he commanded power. When Nick walked into a room, everyone automatically assumed that he was in charge. He was the closest thing she had ever seen to dominance personified, while still being a down to earth, lovable person. Even after all this time, she was playing right into his hands, all over again. Lexie sighed. This was just dinner, she told herself. Nothing more. So what if she had been ordered to go. She was going because she wanted to, and for no other reason. She allowed herself to take a stroll down memory lane momentarily, smirking when she remembered how the feminist within her had wanted to scream when Nick had initially tried to exert his power over her. She had even accused him of being a "chauvinist pig" and "the reason that the patriarchy still exists" before she really knew him. She had later come to regret those accusations, but that particular memory was far too painful for her to revisit.