Пятьдесят оттенков серого
Chapter 1
“Idon’tsubscribetoluckorchance,MissSteele.TheharderIworkthemoreluckIseemtohave.Itreallyisallabouthavingtherightpeopleonyourteamanddirectingtheirenergiesaccordingly.IthinkitwasHarveyFirestonewhosaid,‘Thegrowthanddevelopmentofpeopleisthehighestcallingofleadership.’”
“Yousoundlikeacontrolfreak.”ThewordsareoutofmymouthbeforeIcanstopthem.
“Oh,Iexercisecontrolinallthings,MissSteele,”hesayswithoutatraceofhumorinhissmile.Ilookathim,andheholdsmygazesteadily,impassive.Myheartbeatquickens,andmyfaceflushesagain.
Whydoeshehavesuchanunnervingeffectonme?Hisoverwhelminggoodlooksmaybe?Thewayhiseyesblazeatme?Thewayhestrokeshisindexfingeragainsthislowerlip?Iwishhe’dstopdoingthat.
“Besides,immensepowerisacquiredbyassuringyourselfinyoursecretreveriesthatyouwereborntocontrolthings,”hecontinues,hisvoicesoft.
“Doyoufeelthatyouhaveimmensepower?”Controlfreak.
“Iemployoverfortythousandpeople,MissSteele.Thatgivesmeacertainsenseofresponsibility—power,ifyouwill.IfIweretodecideIwasnolongerinterestedinthetelecommunicationsbusinessandsell,twentythousandpeoplewouldstruggletomaketheirmortgagepaymentsafteramonthorso.”
Mymouthdropsopen.Iamstaggeredbyhislackofhumility.
“Don’tyouhaveaboardtoanswerto?”Iask,disgusted.
“Iownmycompany.Idon’thavetoanswertoaboard.”Heraisesaneyebrowatme.Ofcourse,IwouldknowthisifIhaddonesomeresearch.
