He raised an eyebrow at her initial answer, though he was sure he was taking the words wrong. She meant at work. She followed orders to a T at work. That was hardly noteworthy. Lots of people took great pains to do exactly as they were told, especially under Alex. His instructions were always quite specific, as he wanted people to do exactly what she just indicated.<br/><br/>Still, his mind couldn't quite accept that she had meant it like that. A particularly vivid image flashed across his mind, of her following every instruction he could give her. He could imagine her slipping out of her clothing and locking the door, then...<br/><br/>He forced himself to push the thought from his mind, though it was no simple task. He was reading too much into this. He had to be. Still, there was just something about her that made him think she had a hidden longing to submit, one that he could happily satisfy. Her use of the word sir as she clarified her earlier statement somehow added to that belief. He could imagine her saying that word in a very different context.<br/><br/>"That seems like more of an asset than a weakness," he noted, though he wondered if he would have said that had he not been thinking so unprofessionally. "Others in the department have noticed how you keep your nose to the grindstone. Your file references any number of situations where someone will come in hours after closing time to still find you tied to your desk." He had to struggle not to blink in surprise as he processed the word he had picked. Was he trying to goad her, to see if she would reveal anything?