Seductive Takeover Ch 02

Author's Disclaimer: All characters depicted are over 18, etc., etc. Enjoy!

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I started looking around the goth-themed clothing shop with some excitement. This was much more my vibe than those old stoggy business suits and anchor-woman clothes. After a minute of perusing the racks, I began wondering where my aunt had gone. Wasn't she right behind me?

Stepping to a spot where I could see out the front window, I located Claire talking on her phone. Who was she...? Did she just curl her hair around a finger? I smiled. Tawny, the cute waitress from last night, it must be. Unless Claire had some other love interest she hadn't mentioned. Just then, Claire looked up and noticed me watching her. She immediately ducked her head and turned away, embarrassed. I just smirked and continued shopping.

A minute or so later, Claire joined me, her face a pleasant rosy color. When the older woman didn't speak, I gave her a mischievous smile.

"Was that Tawny?" I asked.

"Yes," came the reply after a heartbeat's pause. Claire sounded like she was admitting to some deep secret, which made my smile widen. "She asked me out." The statement was almost a whisper.

"When?" I asked.

"How do you know I agreed to it?"

"It's written all over your blushing face and how hard your nipples are," I chuckled, glancing down at my aunt's chest.

Reflexively, Claire covered her breasts with her hands. Then, realizing how that could look, crossed her arms over her chest instead.

"Well, so what?" Claire retorted, looking around to see who else might have noticed her fumbling. "It's...been a while, okay?"

I settled into a less teasing demeanor, except for one corner of my mouth that I couldn't force down.

"A while since you've been on a date or a while since you've been with a woman?"

Claire grimaced before she answered.

"Both," she admitted. "And I've never actually dated a woman." Her voice lowered, and she stepped a little closer. "I messed around in college, but it was just making out and some light petting at parties."

The older woman seemed a little lost and looked at me with pleading eyes.

"What?" I asked, cocking my head. "What's that look for?"

"Well, I...I just thought maybe you could, I don't know, give me some advice." Claire looked around again, mostly to keep from making eye contact.

"For what? Dating women?" I said, amused at the assumption. "Why would it be any different than dating a man? Oh, you're right, sorry. You don't have to worry about guarding your drink or them thinking 'no' just means you're playing hard to get."

I realized too late that I had let a flash of anger seep into my tone. I corrected immediately, hoping Claire hadn't noticed.

"No, Claire, there's nothing different about dating a woman," I sighed. "The important question is, do you have something to wear? I don't think that drab blouse and skirt you had on yesterday exactly screams, 'fuck me'."

Claire's eyes flew open, and she looked like she wanted to cover my mouth with her hand.

"Nyx!" she exclaimed, checking for others listening in again. "I'm not going to...fuck her...on a first date!"

Oh, really? Alright, I could see

one

item I should probably warn her about.

"Okay, maybe there is something different about dating women," I began. "Two women are more likely to end up in bed at the end of a first date. If you click and the desire is there, why not? There's no possibility of an accident committing yourself to a lifelong relationship with this person, you know?"

Claire squeaked and put her face in her hands.

"Relax, Claire," I consoled, putting an arm around the older woman's shoulders. "I'm just teasing you." My aunt's hands lowered so she could look at me. "Kinda," I added.

Claire groaned and buried her face again. I laughed and wheeled around to face her, a hand on each of her upper arms.

"Don't worry," I said, as chipper as I could manage. "We're in the perfect place to get you something amazing for your date!"

Dropping her hands, Claire scanned the racks of black and variations of black. Her head tilted to the side and gave me an incredulous look.

"Not

here

, here," I clarified. "I meant the mall. These," I gestured to the displays around us, "aren't just clothes. These are an attitude. You could never pull it off."

Claire looked a little insulted, but she couldn't really argue and, to her credit, didn't try.

"I, on the other hand," I continued, pulling a dress I had been eyeing previously from a rack, "will kill in this!"

We...well, I spent the next thirty minutes picking out outfits, accessories, and shoes, then another thirty minutes trying things on while Claire watched and waited. She got bored and frustrated that I didn't come out and model for her, but I didn't want to tempt her anymore today than I already had.

I finally declared that I was satisfied and took a large pile of clothing to the counter. Claire got a very curious look on her face when I pulled out a credit card, punched in a PIN, and paid for my purchase like it was nothing.

As we turned to leave with several bags of clothing, I ignored Aunt Claire's questioning stare. Finally, she couldn't restrain herself any longer and had to ask.

"Whose card was that?"

There was a long silence before I answered.

"Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to," I said flatly.

"Excuse me?" Claire replied, gearing up for a confrontation.

"I didn't steal it, if that's what you're thinking," I said, cutting off Claire's momentum before it could get started.

"Then where...?" Claire started to push, but I cut her off.

I stopped cold in the middle of the mall concourse, forcing Claire to turn around to face me. Our eyes met, and the older woman shivered.

"It's nothing illegal, and it's none of your business, Claire. Drop it."

I put steel into those last two words, hopefully leaving no room for violation. My aunt was left frozen, her mouth half open. I started walking again, leaving her behind.

"Fine," Claire recovered, turning to catch up. "As long as the police aren't going to show up at my door, it's...none of my business."

"Thank you," I replied with a quick glance over, as I forced my ire back down.

Like nothing ever happened, my eyes brightened, and I angled toward a new clothing store.

===========

I woke the next morning with my arm draped over Aunt Claire again. Damnit. Despite how much I wanted her, I had been trying to avoid having a sexual relationship with Claire. Unfortunately, my subconscious had other ideas. The repercussions of an infatuated aunt were not something I wanted to deal with. I needed to get her involved with someone else before my overly active libido made me do something...incredibly hot, but dangerous.

My hand moved up her torso of its own accord to touch the underside of her breast.

Fuck me! I groaned inwardly and forced myself to turn over and sit on the edge of the bed. Looking over my shoulder, I couldn't help tracing the lines of the beautiful woman in the bed next to me.

"Just fucking take her," Miriam's voice whispered in my head.

I turned away.

"That's how you beat them, Nyx, by making them beg to be crushed under you."

My hands pressed against my temples, trying to get rid of her voice. She had saved me once, but this was Aunt Claire; I didn't want to beat her or crush her.

"Nyx?" It was Claire waking up. "Are you okay?"

"J..just a little headache," I lied. "Do you have any Advil?"

"In the medicine cabinet in the bathroom," she instructed.

I rose, feeling her eyes taking in my naked twenty-year-old body, and padded across the small hall onto the tiles of the restroom. I went through the motions of finding the pills and taking one. Closing the mirrored door, I looked into my own eyes.

"Why are you still here, Nyx?" I silently asked myself. "You don't need some crappy internship; you know how to make real money."

"Make them beg." Miriam's words again.

I clenched my jaw at the memories. I told myself that I was just revealing their true selves, giving them what they most desired. I never hurt anyone. But that wasn't true. I showed them bliss, and then I ripped it from them.

Sometimes it felt like a superpower, but it was just empathy, for fuck's sake. So many people just need someone to care. I had done more than that, I had become the person they needed, the exact personality to fit into the missing pieces of their soul. I fulfilled needs they didn't even know they had, and they gave me lavish presents and cash in return. I never asked for

anything

, I never needed to.

I had my own reasons beyond the monetary that, I'm sure, some psychologist would have a field day with, but I didn't spend much time thinking about it. This was too much thinking already. Fuck introspection.

I turned to the shower and immersed myself in the morning routine. The bathroom wasn't large enough for a tub, so the shower was just a box with a clear glass door. With the warm water washing down my body, I noticed Claire come in. She had thrown on an oversized T-shirt and acted like I wasn't there. Well, she tried to. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed her glancing in my direction more than once.

I couldn't help myself; I posed while pretending I hadn't seen her come in. Claire's eyes lingered before turning away, rushing through her task, and scurrying out. I smiled then chastised myself for baiting her. That kind of behavior was not going to help the situation.

Hopefully, the date with Tawny would go well, or the tension between us would just keep rising. Speaking of tension, after my little display for my aunt, I was feeling that tension as a tingling between my legs. I put one hand against the wall and the other slid down my body, coming to rest where it could help that tingle. Closing my eyes, I let a finger circle my clit as I conjured up the image of my sexy aunt kneeling in the shower with her mouth pressed against my sex.

"That's it, Claire," my voice encouraged in my imagination. "I'll train you to be such a good pussy licker."

I moaned out loud as my fingers played the role of my aunt's imaginary tongue.

"A little faster...good girl...aaaahhhh...almost there..."

A quickly muffled squeak interrupted my impending orgasm. My eyes flew open to see Claire with her hand over her mouth, still staring at the hand wedged between my legs. No way was I going to act embarrassed.

"What the fuck, Claire?" I yelled. "I don't mind you watching, just don't interrupt! Now you ruined it!"

The shocked and confused look on her face was almost worth it. Almost. She stammered like she was going to apologize, but rushed out instead. Damnit, maybe I should give that clerk a call after all. I hadn't intended to, but I was going to need a diversion. What was her name? Megan?

I finished rinsing, shut off the water, and grabbed a towel. My original plan of wrapping myself and being modest got thrown into the floor with the wet towel. Once again, I was brazenly marching through Claire's apartment without a stitch on. Let her be as uncomfortable as I was frustrated.

"Look, I...," she started to say until she turned and saw me.

I ignored her and retrieved one of my new outfits from the closet. She recovered and continued.

"I'm s..sorry for...you know..."

I turned around and she spun to look at the wall.

"W..we should probably d..discuss how to have some privacy." Her eyes glanced over at me and then back at the wall. "S..so that doesn't happen again."

I stepped into my underwear, watching her fidget. It was cute.

"Or you could stop being a prude," I shot back.

I stood straight and peered at her. She was still trying not to look at me, but at my words, she turned to face me, acting like my body had no effect on her. I smirked, noticing how much effort it was taking for her to focus on my face.

"I'm not a prude!" Claire returned, indignant.

Without breaking eye contact, I licked one finger and started to circle it around one nipple. The nub quickly hardened and became quite pronounced. Claire's strained face held my gaze for a few seconds before relenting and staring right at my glistening tip.

"Stop it!" she hissed.

"Prude," I smiled and gave her a kissy face.

"Brat," my aunt mumbled at just a high enough volume for me to hear as she turned away to finish getting dressed.

Chuckling to myself, I went back to my own task of getting dressed. For my first day, I had chosen a black, pleated A-line dress that came to mid-thigh with a bodice that looked like a cross between a vest and a corset. It had a double line of gold buttons from just below my breasts to my navel. Above the breasts was black lace that split but then was tied with a bow around my neck. The three-quarter-length arms were puffy at the shoulders and just before the cuffs. To that, I added a black pair of fine fishnet hose with a subtle rose pattern along with some black Mary Janes. Finally, some bold eyeliner ending in an upward swoosh on the outsides.

I walked out to look at myself in the full-length mirror just outside the bedroom door. I was goth business sexy. Jenna Ortega, eat your heart out! This look was guaranteed to get attention. It said quirky but confident, just the image I wanted to propagate in this new life.

Claire squeezed by me while I preened. She was already wearing part of the outfit I had convinced her to wear on her date that night. It was simple, but she looked good in it. The part that Claire was already wearing was a tan vest that fit her curves perfectly while showing a hint of cleavage. For work, she had matched it with a black pair of slacks, which would get swapped for a loose black miniskirt for the date. She had nice legs that I knew Tawny would appreciate, but convincing my aunt of that had taken some finesse.

But that was later. Right now, I had to get through my first day at my first corporate job. Ha! Me, corporate! That was an irony that was not lost on me, but I was determined to make the best of it.

===========

Forty-five minutes later, we were pulling into a parking lot beside a seven-story brick rectangle with windows. The only change in the architecture was a huge archway opening on the side of the building nearest to us. A passage went all the way through the building, making me wonder if the Hogwarts Express was coming through at some point.

Claire must have seen my curiosity and explained.

"This used to be a warehouse for some shipping company, I think. Train tracks went right through the building. Cool, huh?"

"Yeah, cool," I agreed without conviction.

As we got out of the car and got closer, it looked like a restaurant had turned the area into outdoor seating and had even put a large stage across the gap. Okay, that was cooler.

We went up a flight of external stairs, swiped a card, and ended up in a lounge area with TVs, couches, and even an arcade table.

"You can come down here to get away when you have time unless some other company has reserved the space for some function," Claire said. "This is a communal area for all of the tenants. We don't own the building, we just lease the top two floors."

Claire angled away from the obvious path and sat down on one of the couches, indicating that I should join her. After I sat, a little curious, she shifted to face me more directly.

"Okay," she started, holding up her hands like she was about to apologize for something. "I need you to wait here for a few minutes before coming up."

My eyebrows rose, but I waited for her to continue.

"While not strictly against the rules, hiring a family member, especially as an underling, is frowned upon."

"Oh, this just keeps getting better," I grumbled, shaking my head and looking to the side.

"So we just need to keep that part on the DL," Claire continued, ignoring my comment.

"Someone is going to see us driving away or arriving together," I pointed out, exasperated.

"Oh, yeah. I should have thought of that," Claire said more to herself. "You'll have to start taking public transit, I guess."

"What?!" Did I just hear what I thought I heard? "Oh, fuck no. Look, I'm all for public transit, but that's not what this city has. What you've got is a bike trail someone decided to build a train on."

"Hey! That's not true! We have a nice subway," she retorted, but without conviction.

I was fed up. Rising, I moved for the inner glass doors leading to the lobby.

"Where are you...?" Claire said behind me, but I cut her off.

"What floor is your office on?" I asked without turning around.

"Seven, but I should..."

"It will look even better if I get there before you." I turned with my hand on the door. "You wait," I ordered, not even trying to soften my tone.

"But...," was all I heard from Claire before the door was closing behind me.

I rode the elevator up to the top floor. The doors opened to an interesting mix of modern furnishings and decor amongst large wooden beams that harkened back to the building's use as a warehouse. Just to the left was a quarter-circle reception desk with an older but pleasant-enough-looking woman sitting behind it.

"Can I help you?" she greeted as I approached.

There was a slightly derisive tone as her eyes took me in, like she was sure I was in the wrong place.

"Maybe. I'm here to start an internship with Claire Beechum."

"An intern?" The woman's brows rose, and her tone changed to one much more welcoming. "I didn't know we had an internship program. Well, I haven't seen Claire come in yet. You'll need to sign in, and I'll need to print you a visitor badge anyway."

She lifted a binder onto the raised counter and handed me a pen.

"Your name?" the receptionist asked with her hands poised over a keyboard.

"Nyx...sorry, Angel Rodrigo, but I go by Nyx, N-Y-X," I answered while filling in the ledger.

The woman sighed but typed. Moments later, a printer came to life and spat out a stiff card with 'Nyx' in large bold letters and 'Rodrigo' in a smaller font below it. It was a small detail, but I appreciated what that implied about expecting people to be addressed by their first names.

The woman slipped the card into a plastic sheath with a lanyard attached and handed it to me.

"You can just have a seat..." she began when the elevator door opened and Claire came out.

"Oh, you're on time," Claire said, sounding surprised.

Really? I glared at her but held my expression in check.

"Yes, ma'am," I intoned sweetly. "Can't be late the first day."

"I see you've met Gloria," Claire indicated the receptionist.

"Yeah," I acknowledged, "she's been great."

The older woman gave us a smile that failed to reach her eyes.

"Follow me, then. I'll give you the tour and show you where your desk is," Claire announced.

She walked around a corner on the left, and I took a few quick steps to catch up. We went down a wide path with glass-walled offices on the left. Several eyes looked up and followed us for a few moments, but I ignored them.

"These are manager offices," Claire was saying as we passed.

"Which one is yours?"

"Oh, I don't have an office," she answered. "I prefer to sit with my team."

Just then, the corridor emptied into a huge open space. Even the ceiling stretched above us high enough for another floor, but was just open rafters of the same aged but sturdy wood as the rest of the frame. I could see clear to the other side of the building with just thick wooden columns spaced evenly through the room. While there were no walls, except on some rooms along two of the sides, the area was roughly divided by large whiteboards and corkboard panels.

Where the managers we had passed all seemed to be dressed in business casual, the people in what I would learn was referred to as the team area were all in jeans and T-shirts. I would have fit right in here! Why had Aunt Claire insisted I dress more professionally?