My Buttoned-Up Boss Wants To Be My Puppy

"Is this garbage really what you came up with? If you submit trash like this again next week, the entire team will lose this month's bonus, and you can all start packing." Victor's icy gaze swept over everyone in the room. Heads immediately dropped, and no one dared to make a sound. I sat at the far end of the conference table, keeping my head down and pretending to take notes. In reality, both my hands were under the table, typing furiously on my phone. I opened the chat with my online boyfriend, whom I'd saved as "K." I sent him a photo I'd taken the night before, a shot of my legs in black lace stockings. Then I sent two messages. "K, my cold-blooded boss lost it again today. He chewed me out until I wanted to cry. So annoying. I want to bite someone." He didn't keep me waiting. A second later, Victor suddenly stopped talking. He'd been in the middle of tearing into the planning director, who looked ready to hand in his resignation. His personal phone lit up beside him. Maybe I was imagining things, but I could've sworn Victor froze the moment he looked at the screen. This was the same CEO everyone knew as cold and untouchable. Yet now, the tips of his ears were turning bright red. He hurriedly flipped his phone face down, almost dropping it in the process. But I'd already caught a glimpse of the screen. There was a photo of a pair of legs in black lace stockings, along with the message. They were exactly what I'd just sent. My brain short-circuited. Wait. The online boyfriend who checked on me every night, obediently sent me pictures of his abs, and begged me to look at him a little longer is Victor? My boss? The same man who chewed me out every single day?! Chapter 1 Now that I thought about it, Victor being K wasn't that far-fetched. I'd met K in the most ridiculous way possible. Six months ago, Victor had been brought in to run the New York head office as the new CEO. He was a perfectionist and a workaholic. His high-pressure management made every day miserable. I ended up hiding in a bathroom stall to cry almost every day. To vent, I downloaded a dating app that matched people anonymously by voice. One day, I sat there with my headphones on, crying and ranting about my emotionless robot of a boss. That was when I matched with K. His profile picture showed a perfect set of abs. His bio simply read, "Yes, they're mine." I added him out of curiosity. Unlike the other guys on the app, K didn't ask for photos or hit me with creepy pickup lines. He simply listened in silence while I ranted for half an hour. Then his deep voice came through my headphones: "Baby, don't cry. Don't ruin your health over some workaholic jerk who doesn't know how to treat people." The way he called me "Baby" in that low, husky voice went straight to my heart. After that, we started dating online. He became my only comfort at night after Victor spent all day tearing me apart. We got along surprisingly well. Mostly because K would do almost anything I asked. With a screen safely between us, I got bolder. I made him call me "master" and send me photos that left me blushing. He always acted shy, but he never refused. Who would've thought my obedient boy toy was Victor? At work, he could look me straight in the face and tell me my work was so useless I might as well have done nothing. Then at night, he'd message me all sorts of flirtatious things. The same man was behind both. Victor, you pervert! Chapter 2 After the meeting, everyone hurried out as usual. I clutched my laptop, my legs heavy as lead, and stared at Victor, who was still sitting at the head of the table. He was in no hurry to leave. His head was down, and his fingers flew across his phone. Two seconds later, the phone in my pocket buzzed. I hid in the break room and opened our chat with shaking hands. K wrote, "Baby, calm down. Your boss is a lunatic no woman would ever want. Don't waste your energy on him." "My poor baby. Mwah, mwah." "Your legs are so pale. I already saved the photo. Blushing.jpg." I stared at the shameless messages, then pictured Victor's murderous face in the meeting room. I nearly spat out my coffee. He was calling himself a lunatic? The CEO of a multinational company was secretly a horny pervert who saved pictures of his online girlfriend's legs? Once the shock wore off, Victor didn't seem nearly as intimidating anymore. If anything, I wanted to tease Mr. Ice even more. Besides, as long as I didn't go too far, he probably wouldn't fire me. After six months of getting chewed out, how could I pass up an opportunity like this? I leaned against the break-room wall, a smile tugging at my lips. My fingers flew across the screen as I typed, "But K, I'm still so upset. I don't think I can stay at this company much longer. If you send me a photo right now of you in your white shirt with the top three buttons undone, I'll feel a little better. It's fine if you don't want to. I'm going back to work." Sent. I closed the chat, crept to the corner of the office corridor, and peeked around it. Sure enough, less than thirty seconds later, the meeting-room door flew open. Victor strode out, looking grim, and headed straight for the executive washroom at the end of the corridor. Several employees greeted him nervously along the way, but he didn't even nod. His face was tense and stern. Knowing what our terrifying CEO was about to do in the washroom almost made me laugh out loud. I started counting down in my head. Three, two, one. My phone buzzed. K sent a photo. I opened it and stared. He'd taken it in front of the washroom mirror and carefully cropped out his face. It was exactly what I'd asked for. Three buttons of his expensive white shirt were undone, exposing his collarbones and sculpted chest. With his pale skin and the harsh bathroom lighting, the sight instantly made my mouth go dry. The message read, "Three buttons. Are you happy, baby? Don't ignore me," followed by a pleading-face emoji. I took a deep breath and forced my racing heart to settle. Then I grabbed my mug and casually headed toward the washroom. As I passed the men's room, I nearly collided with Victor on his way out. His hands flew to his collar, quickly fastening the buttons. Even the Windsor knot in his usually immaculate tie was slightly crooked. He saw me. Panic flashed across his face. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to explain, then thought better of it. "Ahem." Victor quickly lowered his hands and put his usual icy expression back on. He gave me a sharp look. "Ella, why are you wandering around during work hours? Don't you have anything to do?" I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing at his perfectly serious expression. I lowered my head meekly and said with exaggerated respect, "I'm sorry, boss. I'll revise the plan right away." Victor snorted and strode past me. I watched his broad back disappear down the hall, laughing hysterically inside. Go on. Keep pretending. Chapter 3 Once I discovered Victor's secret, the job I'd hated suddenly became a lot more exciting. Late that afternoon, Victor sent my plan back again. He tagged me in the group chat and tore into me without mercy: "Ella, this competitor analysis looks like an intern's homework. Do it again. If you can't turn it in by the end of the day, you'll spend the weekend at the office." I looked at the screen and scowled. He chewed me out again? Fine. I quietly took out my phone and switched to our chat. "K, that psychotic CEO rejected my plan again. He's making me work this weekend! I'm furious. If he talks to me like that again, no matter how well he treats me, I'll quit." Ten seconds later, he replied, "Baby, don't be angry. Once I've saved enough money, I'll buy your company and make him serve you all day." I nearly doubled over trying not to laugh. Then I went in for the kill. "You're the best, hotshot." "By the way, I went shopping yesterday and bought you a pair of stockings for men. The tracking says they were just delivered. They're pink with polka dots and little bears." "Will you wear them under your suit at tomorrow's meeting? I want to know if you'll think about me every second you're wearing them." Two full minutes passed with no reply. I could almost picture Victor sitting in his office, staring at the words "pink polka dots and little bears" in horror. The man was obsessed with perfect tailoring and expensive clothes. This had to be torture. Finally, K replied hesitantly, "Baby... could we try a different pair? Would black do?" Hmph! He barked at me in the office, and now he wants me to cut him some slack. Not a chance. I immediately turned up the pressure. "No. If you don't wear them, it means you don't love me. If you don't love me, I'll dump you and block you. You've been warned." K's survival instinct kicked in. He instantly replied, "I'll wear them! Don't be angry, baby. I promise I'll wear them tomorrow!" I knew he wouldn't back out. K always kept his promises. The next morning was the company-wide quarterly review meeting. Victor sat at the head of the enormous oval table. He wore a sharp charcoal three-piece suit, with every strand of hair perfectly combed back. His entire presence screamed, "Stay away." But something was definitely off. Normally, Victor sat through meetings with his legs crossed, looking relaxed and arrogant as he listened to everyone's reports. Today, he kept both legs stiffly together. Every few minutes, he shifted uncomfortably. His brows were furrowed and his lips pressed into a thin line, as if he were suffering in silence. I sat nearby, struggling to keep a straight face. When it was my turn to present, I stood up and deliberately dropped my pen beside Victor's chair. "Sorry, boss. Let me get my pen." I crouched down. Hidden by the table, I glanced straight at Victor's ankle. He'd shifted just enough for his trouser leg to ride up. Between the dark-gray fabric of his trousers and his black sock garter was a bright flash of pink. I could even see one tiny cartoon bear ear peeking out. "Pfft." A laugh escaped before I could stop it. Victor's body went rigid. He jerked his leg back, his shoe scraping sharply across the carpet. "Does picking up a pen take this long?" His icy voice came from above me, each word forced through clenched teeth. I picked up the pen, stood, and met his icy gaze. He was ready to eat me alive. But I could see the red slowly spreading from his neck to his ears. "I'm sorry, boss." I kept a perfectly straight face, though my eyes were full of laughter. "It's just that your socks are very vibrant." Victor stopped breathing for a second. He stared hard at me. His throat bobbed, and his grip tightened around his pen until his knuckles turned white. At work, he worked me to the bone. Online, I made him wear pink bears. I'd won, hands down. Chapter 4 I had Victor completely under my thumb. He did whatever I asked without question online. But at the office, he was still the same intimidating CEO who expected everyone to obey him. One day, we nearly blew our cover in front of the entire office. It happened during lunch. The office was quiet, with most people napping at their desks. I'd just finished eating and was bored, so I decided to mess with Victor. "K, I can't sleep. Send me a voice message and help me fall asleep. Use that deep voice of yours and tell me you want to kiss me." A minute later, a three-second voice message popped up. I opened it, delighted. I'd forgotten that putting my earbuds back in their case had disconnected them from my phone. Victor's deep, husky voice suddenly blasted through the silent office at full volume: "Baby, I want to kiss you." His voice was low and breathy, making the words sound dangerously seductive. The entire office went dead silent. Several sleeping colleagues jerked awake and stared around in shock. "Oh my God! Why does that voice sound so hot?" "Wait, doesn't that sound exactly like our boss?" "No way! Victor is an iceberg. I can picture him killing someone, but calling someone 'baby'? Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps!" I nearly jumped out of my skin and scrambled to turn down the volume, wishing I could disappear into the floor. What a disaster! Before I could recover, the office door swung open. Victor walked in holding a file, apparently looking for the planning department director. Everyone's gaze immediately darted between us. Victor stopped short. He'd just sent that message from his office. The moment he heard his own voice playing from my phone, he knew exactly what had happened. His usually stern face turned bright red. For once, even the perfectly put-together Victor looked completely flustered. He gripped the file tightly and took a deep breath. Then he forced his usual cold expression back into place and shot me a sharp look. I gave him an apologetic look. He obviously couldn't confront me about the voice message without exposing himself, so he settled for a generic reprimand: "Ella! Don't play that kind of stuff out loud in the office, even during lunch. You're disturbing everyone! It's completely unprofessional!" With that, he apparently forgot all about the director. He turned and marched straight back out. My colleagues breathed a collective sigh of relief. "That scared me half to death. I told you it must've been from an audio drama. The way the boss looked at us nearly gave me a heart attack." I stared at the voice message on my screen. Then I remembered Victor's bright-red ears. This was more exciting than any roller coaster I'd ever ridden.