Perception
an excerpt

Shaw's mouth curled up in a mocking smile. He saw how uncomfortably she felt on her feet, sunk in the soft moquette. He saw how her hands moved nervously. She didn’t know what to do with them.
But suddenly she looked right at him and Shaw seemed to freeze on the spot.
She smiled the same smile that had become his trade mark, and raised her chin. Shaw’s eyes changed to warning slits and his mouth became a tight line.
She noticed nothing of it, and even if she did, she didn’t give a damn. She continued to look at him and stepped slowly towards him. Shaw tried to halt her with his gaze, but that did not seem to bother her at all. She still approached.
She stopped right in front of him. A couple of seconds, neither spoke. Both remained silent.
Shaw refused to give in. He resembled a statue, leaning against his table and unwilling to move even a centimeter. Miss Parker stood right in front of him, and she too, refused to give in and withdraw.
They continued to stare at each other. Tension filled the air with a warm glow.
Then, her smile changed, evolved to something more. It broke through completely. Her eyes seemed to sparkle and Shaw could do nothing else but swallow and stare back at her. She seemed to know that this victory belonged to her.
Yet Shaw remained perfectly still. And as said, he resembled a statue, with his cold, tight, and by a lot of people probably described as deadly, expression. But Miss Parker smiled as if she knew something about him. A secret, a certain knowledge. She seemed to want to play with him, very much like how a cat plays with a mouse. Shaw could easily picture her with pointy ears and a tail. He almost laughed, but in place of that, he lifted his eyebrow and looked at her askingly. She seemed to want something from him, but what?
Suddenly, she shoved her hand right under his nose.
“You have a deal, My Lord. From now on, I will be your new house keeper.”