She keeps her cool and reminds him about her work

Kate couldn't believe what she was hearing. Here she was working late, working unpaid overtime, and Mr. Cowall decided to come in and impose himself on her... with an employee review of all things! Kate found herself steaming, but she knew that she was tired and probably prone to overreact. She didn't want to do anything rash and risk getting reprimanded. It took all of her self restraint to not immediately scowl at him, and she instead faked an expression on innocent shock.

"Oh, I'm not sure I really have time," she said, still unable to tear her gaze from his cold, chilling eyes. "I need to get the Bergeron account done tonight..." Her voice faltered while she watched his expression change from smug and confident to one of confusion. Why was he confused that she needed to finish the Bergeron account? Hadn't he-

"The Bergeron account can wait until Wednesday, don't you agree?"

Kate felt herself drawn further into his icy gaze, unable to free herself from its frosty pull. That made sense. She nodded slowly, keeping her eyes locked on his. Of course the Bergeron account could wait until Wednesday. wasn't due until Thursday after all. It would have made more sense to work on the Ramirez... Wait...

"And don't you agree that it's important to know how you can improve as an employee?" His confidence seemed to be renewed as his typical smarmy gravitas returned.

Kate nodded again. Of course it was important to... But wasn't it necessary to finish the Bergeron... But it could wait... Kate's head hurt. It was probably just from exhaustion and dehydration, but... She winced in pain, but she couldn't avert her gaze, she couldn't even blink. Her eyes felt tired and dry.

"And don't you agree that—"

"STOP!" she pleaded.

It was his voice that was giving her the headache. Every word he said made her head pound more and more.

"Stop," she whimpered.

His voice was doing something to her, like it was putting thoughts into her mind. She managed to rip her eyes away as she cowered in pain.

"Katie, look at me," he said.

But Kate couldn't—she wouldn't.

"Katie, don't you agree that you should follow my orders?" He seemed to be tripping over his words.

Kate brought her hands to her temples and shook her head. No, she didn't want to follow his orders... But he was her boss, and she was his employee. Didn't that mean it was her job to follow his orders? She continued to shake her head even as her inner voice convinced her otherwise.

"Katie, look at me," he said sternly.

Kate's head stopped shaking. She whimpered slightly but raised her head from her hands and looked at Mr. Cowall with teary, bloodshot eyes. His icy gaze enveloped her mind like a fog or frost over a wooded valley.

"What are you doing to me?" she asked weakly.

A momentary look of surprise crossed Mr. Cowall's face as his eyes widened, but he quickly steeled his resolve and reapplied his predatory gaze.

"I'm just molding you into my perfect employee," he said calmly.

"No," Kate stammered, "you're doing something to my head."

A sneer began to develop on his face. "Even if that was true," he said as his sneer morphed into a malicious smile, "you can't tell anyone, don't you agree?"

Kate sobbed, but her eyes stayed frozen. He was right. She wouldn't be able to tell anybody. Who would believe her? Who would believe that her boss could use mind control to rewrite her thoughts? She'd be a laughingstock. An embarrassment. She couldn't tell anyone. Without a thought to direct it, her head nodded in agreement.

"Good," he said, his face shifting into a smile of genuine pleasure. "Now be a good girl and sit there quietly while I review our conversation."

Mr. Cowall diverted his gaze to his computer monitor, freeing Kate from its icy grasp. She wanted to yell. She wanted to run. She wanted to get away. But something compelled her to sit in her seat and remain quiet. He had given her an order.

She was **** to sit and watch as he put in his earphones and clicked his mouse. She was **** to sit and watch as he listened with a look of deep contemplation. She was **** to watch as he planned what to do next.

It wasn’t long before he removed his earphones and turned to look at her once again. A smile of insidious glee was plastered on his face.

"It appears that it’s almost time for us to be done. But there’s just one more thing to address."