Her hands nervously shook as she took in her reflection. She already saw the sweat forming on her brow and took a sheet from the nearby paper towel dispenser to carefully dab it off. Lily couldn’t comprehend as to why she was so nervous. It wasn’t like this was her first job interview, and her college application showed that she was perfectly qualified for this position. She did not work this hard in school to just back out now and continue with her underpaid barista swag. She dabbed the remaining sweat from her face, smoothed down her skirt, and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Here goes nothing.”

Lily left the restroom and walked down the hall to the receptionist’s desk. Putting on her best conservative smile, she leaned forward to the receptionist, “Hi my name is Lily Taylor, I have an interview with Mr. Johnson at three.”

The ginger receptionist looked her up and down slowly, judgment written all over her face. Lily knew that look well, she had seen it all of her life, yet somehow she continued to let the judgment of others affect her.  The receptionist smiled tightly and told Lily to have a seat. After taking her seat, Lily noticed the two blonde ladies sitting to the right of her. They both wore skirts higher than what would be considered appropriate for a job interview and their lowly buttoned blouses left nothing to the imagination. Both of the women, sat perfectly poised, crossed legged, with their hands laced on their knee. Lily didn’t realize she was slouching until the sound of doors swinging open caused her to sit up straight and look alert.

William Johnson walked out of his office with another woman and shook her hand vigorously, commenting on the girl’s past achievements with other paralegal work. Lily winced at hearing that one of her competitors had actual field experience; the odds of her getting this job just became slim to none. Lily graduated only a month prior and didn’t have any other field experience other than working for a small firm that specialized in bankruptcy during her internship. She knew that applying to be a paralegal to the famed Southern California lawyer William Johnson would be a stretch, but she had to start somewhere and maybe William would take a chance on her.

Once the woman left, William brought his attention to the two blondes who were appreciably pushing their breasts out. He looked between the two with a huge grin plastered on his face, “So which one of you is Lily?” he asked.

Lily cleared her throat and raised her hand, “I am Sir.”

She didn’t miss the disappointment that flashed across his face, and prayed that the hurt she felt wasn’t visible on hers. William quickly recovered and clasped his hands together, “Well thank you Lily for being on time, punctuality is a vital trait to have, especially in this field. If you would follow me please,” William motioned for her to follow him and Lily stood up and followed him to his office.

William's office certainly wasn’t what she imagined; there were files scattered throughout, cans of red bull overflowing his small, expensive looking trash bin, and an open carton of Chinese food sitting on his desk.

“As you can see, I am in between paralegals, and I am actually looking for a few to help get me back on track from my latest case.”

Lily sat opposite William at his desk and swallowed her nerves, “Mr. Johnson I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet with me, and I want to let you know that even though I am sort of a fish out of water in this occupation, I learn fast and work my hardest when under pressure.”

William gave her a smile and flipped through Lily’s application, “Looking at all of your straight A’s, you are obviously a very bright young lady with a lot of potential, your volunteer work is also very noteworthy.”

“I think that giving back to the less fortunate is something that everyone should do. I especially like to work with hospitals.”

William smiled kindly and asked, “Now when you say fish out of water, what do you mean exactly?”

“Well I recently graduated with my associates degree and I have been looking for a stable job since. I greatly admire your work and your accomplishments so working here right after graduation would be a dream come true.”

“Miss Taylor, usually new paralegals tend to start out with the small, local firms and gradually work their way up, and unfortunately I’m looking for paralegals that have more experience.”

Lily nodded and smiled sadly, she knew this was a high possibility but still, firsthand rejection hurt like a bitch. “I understand.”

“Why don’t you apply to some of the smaller firms, get some experience working with them, and come back to see me in a few months, you are already a bright young lady and with the right amount of experience I know you will be an outstanding paralegal and a valuable addition to my team. And if you keep up with your studies, who knows, maybe you'll be a partner of mine."

Lily reached across the desk to shake his hand and thanked him for his time. As they exited his office William gave her a pat on the back and reminded her to come see him in a few months. She smiled at him and quickly rushed out of the firm. It was times like these when Lily wished she owned her own car instead of sharing one with her brother Owen, she couldn’t have a proper crying spell on the bus among a crew of strangers.

Lily took a seat on the bus bench and got out her phone to call her brother.

“How did it go? You got it right?! I knew you got i-“

“I didn’t get it.”

“Oh... It’s his loss anyway, you can do better.”

“Yeah I, the twenty year old Starbucks employee, am so much better than William Johnson, prestigious lawyer and entrepreneur,” Lily sneered sarcastically.

“Sarcasm doesn’t fit you sis, go find a tailor and get that shit adjusted.”

Lily snorted, “Whatever, I’m allowed to be bitchy right now Mister 'I already have my dream job at Teen Vogue'.”

“Fine, how about we have Chinese tonight and then you can bitch all you want.”

“With a special guest appearance from Mr. Grey Goose?”

“You still have your fake ID?”

“Of course.”

“Then Mr. Goose and Miss Margarita are invited to tag along. I’m done with classes for the day and the only thing I have left to do is color coordinate these fabric swatches-woohoo party over here-anyway I’ll pick up the food and head home.”

“I’ll make the liquor run now and make your usual. I think I'll put some extra effort into mine.”

“Lily we moved to L.A. to follow our dreams, not to become raging alcoholics, I’ll see you in a couple of hours, ciao!”

“Adios.”

Lily put her phone into her purse and stood when she saw her bus pulling up. She and Owen agreed that he could use the car more because he was still in school and had to commute to Wilshire Boulevard for his job. Their parents wanted to get them another used car, but didn’t have the means to afford it. As Lily sat staring out of the bus window she thought about her parents, wondering what they were doing at the moment. Not being able to see her parents daily was one of the toughest things about living in L.A.

Although Lily was abandoned by her biological parents as a newborn, she never felt the absence of love from her adoptive parents Greg and Carol. Carol was working as the chief RN the night she found a tiny wrapped up Lily inside a picnic basket, with Lily’s birth certificate attached. The names of the mother and father were blacked out and Carol immediately placed herself as head nurse over Lily’s care. Carol quickly became attached to the abandoned infant and over the next few months, Carol and Greg took the necessary measures with the adoption agency and eventually became the adopted parents of Lily. Greg and Carol’s son Owen had no trouble bonding with his new sister and the duo became inseperable with each passing year.

Lily, pretty much being the only person of color around and Owen, being the only openly gay kid gained the attention of their peers, more often negative than positive. The duo promised each other that if they made it alive through high school they would follow their aspirations and move to L.A. where Owen could pursue his dreams in fashion and Lily could pursue her dreams in the legal circuit. They Taylor Sibings both attended college, and kept minimum wage jobs at Starbucks to co-pay for their apartment. Two years after moving to L.A., Lily graduated with her associates degree in paralegal studies and Owen obtained a paid internship with Teen Vogue. Currently Lily was zero for eight in her quest to becoming an employed paralegal, nine when she added William Johnson.

After getting the much-needed liquor, Lily arrived at her and Owen’s apartment and quickly ridded herself of those constricting professional clothes. She hopped into her black leggings, threw on her oversized red flannel shirt, walked into their living room to turn on their television, and began to straighten up the room. 

She heard the irksome voice of Kim Kardashian and rolled her eyes. Of course Owen would leave the channel on E!. She turned on msnbc and continued to straighten up. The news anchor was currently talking about the high profile court case of world famous actor Chase Greene. Greene was being charged with drug possession, five counts of disorderly conduct, two counts of first-degree assault, and one count on second-degree sexual assault. When Lily had first heard of this case, she knew Chase was royally fucked, but that was until he revealed his lawyer; Aiden Hawkins. Aiden representing Chase in court basically meant that he would get off scot-free. Aiden Hawkins was the Johnnie Cochran of Lily’s generation and he wasn’t even ten years older than her. She knew all about Aiden, from his beginnings as a court appointed lawyer to the poor, to his first high profile case and so on. He was a tall handsome man, who gained the attention of the celebrity starlets who needed a lawyer to make their DUI charges disappear, to the nationally respected head honchos in pretty much every profession. Everyone with a seven-figure salary wanted him and every aspiring legal persona wanted to be him...or be with him. 

As Aiden appeared on her television screen, Lily bit her bottom lip and felt the heat rush to her cheeks. Her NC-17 thoughts were interrupted by her brother's sudden loud voice, “Who wants chow mein and spring rolls!”

Lily jumped up and mocked excitement, “This loser!”

Owen threw her a look, “Just make the drinks.”

Lily set up the bottles on the counter and grabbed two cups from the small dishwasher. She was about to make Owen’s margarita when she realized she forgot the grab triple sec, no thanks to her self-loathing, “Shit!”

Owen looked at her alarmed, “What’s wrong?”

“I forgot your triple sec, I’ll have to go back and get some.”

“You don’t have to, I can have a cranberry vodka too.”

WIth her purse already thrown around her shoulders, Lily was halfway out the door when she called out, “No I’ll go, and you better not eat all the spring rolls while I’m gone!”

Owen waited for the door to close before muttering, "Not promising anything."

When Lily entered the liquor store, she ignored the suspicious look from the cashier and went to get what she came for. 

There was only one bottle of triple sec left and she reached for it just as someone else grabbed it. Annoyed, she looked up to see the very source of her naughty court fantasies-Aiden Hawkins. Lily stood still, wide-eyed, as her idol gave her a once over, annoyance immediately transforming to awe.

Aiden held up the bottle and looked down to her, “Did you want this?” he asked

Lily blinked herself out of her trance and nodded her head quickly.

“Are you mute?”

Lily’s eyebrows rose at the clipped tone of his voice, he sounded rude but she answered, “Yeah, I-I wanted that.”

Aiden faintly chuckled, "You look like you should be in a tenth grade geography classroom instead of here, how old are you?"

"Twenty-one," she answered, too fast to be seen as the truth. 

She watched Aiden as his eyes looked her over once more, "You're a horrible liar."

At least she could admit she tried, "Twenty," she said honestly and embarrassed. It was no wonder this man was the best of the best, he could make anyone crack in under a minute. 

When he slightly smiled, Lily became mesmerized, he was so handsome. 

Aiden looked at her intrigued and decided to play with this girl some more. Holding up the bottle again, he looked down at her, “What are you going to give me for this?” he asked, less unmannerly than before. 

Lily subtly pinched her hand to ensure that she wasn’t dreaming. “I don’t think I have anything you would want.”

“Tell me your name.”

"Lily Taylor, Sir.”

Aiden’s eyebrow rose, he leaned down to her, closer to her face, “Nice to meet you Lily.” He took her hand firmly and kissed it, “My name is-“

“Aiden Hawkins," she finished automatically for him. 

“You know who I am?” he asked, humor in his voice.

“Of course Sir, you’re like amazing!” Lily looked away, embarrassed that she just fangirled in front of him.

Aiden used his pointer finger to turn her head back to him, “Are you an aspiring lawyer?”

Lily shook her head, “Maybe in the future, right now I’m only an aspiring paralegal.”

“What do you mean?”

She sighed, “I’m trying to find a stable paralegal job but I’m not having much luck with it.”

“I need a paralegal."

He mentioned it so passively under his breath, Lily didn't know if he was insinuating what she thought he was.

She decided to take a chance.

“I could do it! I mean, you need a paralegal and I need a lawyer so-”

“I don’t normally interview paras in liquor stores," he said, interrupting her. "Come to my office tomorrow morning nine sharp for a proper interview. If you are going to be late then don’t waste my time.”

Aiden took out his wallet and handed her his business card with a twenty-dollar bill. He then handed her the triple sec, “Have a good night Miss Taylor. Drink responsibly."

“Mr. Hawkins Sir I can’t take your money-“

Lily silenced herself when Aiden held up is hand and put his pointer finger to his lips.

Aiden couldn’t stop thinking about his newest para on the way home. He already knew he was going to hire her; all she had to do was obey his orders and be on time. Lily would be perfect for him right now. The other paras he hired never lasted more than two cases-they either got hurt feelings and quit or he got bored and fired them. Almost all of them were never lookers either-Aiden never mixed business with pleasure, he wouldn't risk his success over that prized possession between a woman's legs.

In all honesty Aiden didn’t need a paralegal; every file he had on the Greene case was perfectly handled by him, he only wanted Lily around to fulfill his visual fancy and boredom. He would not break his rule on business and pleasure, but Miss Taylor, with her eager eyes, mouth-watering skin, and the innocent yet sultry way she called him ‘Sir’ had Aiden questioning his protocol. By their two-minute conversation Aiden already knew she would be a good submissive-even though she tried lying to him, she quickly corrected herself and even looked ashamed after the fact. Aiden loved to dominate more than anything, and the thought of Lily with her hands bounded behind her back, totally submissive and willing to whatever he wanted was making an impression underneath his slacks at the red light. The only thing Aiden didn’t like about her was her obvious lack of self-esteem-the way she spoke so unsurely about the proposition.  A sub with no confidence was a disaster waiting to happen, though maybe her diffidence was his blessing in disguise. A reminder that he was not to touch her. For as long as Aiden could remember he had always been a control freak. As a child his obsession for control started with always being the captain of whatever sports team or school project he was in. In high school his need to have perfect grades liaised with his need to take the lead in whatever activity he was in, including whenever he did anything sexual with his girlfriends, more so playmates to him. Aiden never dwelled into why he liked the things he liked. He just knew what he liked and actively pursued it, like a natural predator. His attraction to dominate led him to the underground and taboo world of BDSM and as soon as Aiden moved out of his small Tennessee town and into Los Angeles for law school, he experimented with bondage and controlling willing women, the fact that the women got off on giving themselves to him wholly gave him more pleasre. He wasn't into the rape-play, the saidistic crap, or anything that involved blood. He also never switched roles-he was the alpha male and learned through his years in law school and following that having a sub, or two, or more released a great deal of stress, along with cooking. 

Upon arriving home, Aiden loosened his tie and checked his messages. He saw that he had a missed phone call from Julian, his father-good riddance, he wasn’t in the mood to talk to that man right now especially in his current condition. Aiden adjusted the bulge in his pants, and went into his room to get his black book. He needed someone to take care of this problem-now; maybe then he would have a clear head during his interview in the morning. 

Aiden flipped through his book and picked a name at random. He dialed her number and said as soon as she answered, “Come over. Now”

He hung up without giving her a chance to respond and grabbed his flogger on his way out of the room.

Lily took in her reflection in the mirror.

“Owen are you sure this isn’t a little much?”

Owen chose her interview outfit, a black silk pencil skirt with a loose bow eccentric midnight blue blouse; the only thing that Lily was comfortable with was her pair of black pumps. Owen was currently curling her hair and ignoring her questions on his attire choices.

“There, finished. Makeup time!”

Lily scrunched her nose as Owen applied blush, he told her to close her eyes so he could do her eye makeup. “Are you sure I look professional?” she asked concerned.

“Lily, he told you to come in for a interview, no questions asked, in a liquor store. If that doesn’t guarantee you this job then what is the meaning of life?”

“I hope you’re right.”

Owen applied her lipstick, “Of course I’m right, now roll your lips and smile big, I have to make sure I didn’t get any on your teeth.”

Lily smiled and put her hands on her hips,“Would you hire me?”

Owen hugged her tightly, “You don’t even have to ask, and if he doesn’t give you the job, well then he’s a moron and I hope he loses his case.”

Lily gasped and swatted his arm. 

“Just sayin, now are you sure you don’t want to use the car? I can take the bus to school.”

“No no, just drop me off at his office and I’ll take the bus home, now let’s go before I wuss out and lose my nerve!”

Owen dropped Lily off at Aiden’s firm five minutes to nine and Lily waited anxiously in the waiting area by the receptionist desk, twiddling her thumbs. Her anxiety prior to Johnson's interview didn’t compare to how she was feeling now. She took deep calming breaths until Aiden emerged from his office at nine sharp. Lily immediately stood to her feet.

He gave her a classic Hollywood smile, right on time, he noted. 

Aiden ushered her into his office with his hand on her back, sneaking a peek at her ass as he closed his door. He pulled out her chair and told her to sit.

“I brought my-“

Aiden held up his finger to silence her. He was looking through his file selection and pulled one out. He set it on his desk and sat opposite Lily, “Continue," he said looking right into her eyes. 

Lily cleared her parched throat and managed to say, “I brought my resume.”

She handed it to Aiden and he looked through it. He only saw A’s looking through her school transcripts, and nodded in admiration, brains and beauty. He didn’t bother looking at anything else, she was already hired but he wanted to play with her a bit before she knew that.

Aiden kept his eyes on hers and he could see he was slowly making her skittish.

“Miss Taylor why do you want to work for me?”

 “Well, Mr. Hawkins I want to let you know that even though I am sort of a fish out of water in this occupation but I learn fast and-“

Aiden cut her off, “And you work your hardest and or best when under pressure?”

“Um, well I do, but-“

“No buts. Skip the basic model applicant bullshit and really tell me why you want to work for me.”

The switch of energy in the room took Lily aback. This man was so hot and cold, one minute he was giving her this boyish grin and now he was badgering her.

“While we’re young Miss Taylor.”

Lily said the first thing that came to mind, “When you talk everyone listens, when you walk into a room people automatically show you respect…when I walk into a room people don’t notice and when they do it’s usually because they’re judging me. I want what you have, and it would be an honor to work for one of the most prestigious and accomplished lawyers in the country. That’s why I want to work for you.”

Aiden took in the woman opposite him. Though she was a timid one, he could tell she could get valiant when she wanted to. He didn’t say anything; he wanted to see how long she would last against his stare. They all backed down sooner or later.

He continued to brazenly stare at her until she looked down at her hands, good girl.

Aiden slid the red file in front of her. When she looked back up at him he said, “You are to make three copies of the witnesses statements, and draft every document from the two previous court hearings. When you are finished go see my receptionist Grant, he’ll tell you how this firm works and I’m sure he has something for you to do until I need you again.”

Lily sat flabbergasted as he gave her orders, she didn’t know she was open-mouthed staring at him until he snapped, “Are you deaf? Get to work!”

Lily promptly took the folder and left for the door. Right before she opened the door she turned around to say, “Thank you Mr. Hawkins.”

She opened the door just as Aiden called behind her,“Miss Taylor.”

She turned around again to face him.

“Call me Sir.”

Lily Taylor-Kylie Bunbury 

Aiden Hawkins-Atesh Salih

Owen Taylor-Grant Gustin