LA
of the internal phone is a summons, a leash being yanked. I close my eyes for a f
. Professio
nderson speaking." My voice i
aham's voice comes through the speaker, low and devo
lease, no thank y
deliberate, cruel game to watch me fail on my first day. Panic, cold and familiar, tries to c
hrobbing ache that starts in my lower back and radiates down my thighs. I ignore it. My min
puter screen ticks
en two massive reports. It feels different. Heavier. I pull it out. The co
inute
from crying out. My new heels click a frantic rhythm on the marble floor as I hurry towards the
let. He doesn't look up. His office is like him-vast, cold, and intimidating
till on the screen. He taps a manicured fi
ollar of my blouse, slightly askew from my rush, reveals the very top of
ick up. Just for a second. His gaze is sharp, ca
ing smirk tou
m, Ms. Henderson," he says, his voice a lo
ttering the papers inside. "This is a mess. The data needs to be re-collated a
nd suffocating. He's enjoyin
on't say a word. I just nod, turn, and walk out, the
es turn white. My nails dig into the polished surface. I wan
it down and
As I stare at the glowing screen, the numbers and words
d drif
od with his arm wrapped around Penelope Sharpe. She pointed at me and laughed, and he looked away. That was
bind it, and brew a cup of black coffee, just how the file on his preferences said
offee, his fingers brushing mine. A jolt, like a spark of ele
cup. He doesn't say anything about the report. He just stares, his gaze in
dule for the week," I stammer, d
me off. "The Blackwood gala.
ipping out before I can stop t
ungs ache. It's his Alpha aura, a silent, crushing force. "The contract, Ms. Henderson.
He's reminding me
hair falling forward to hide my face.
ure lifts. "A car will be
I feel like a fly caught in a spider's web
mble as I open my purse and take out a small bottle of ibuprofen. I
jamin, from the legal department. We'd exchanged a few words when I first started, nothing more
rn as she takes in my pale face and the bottle of pills in my h
I present the image of a simple girl, overwhelmed but g
neck, where the concealer must be failing to fully hide the marks. Her eye
r voice stripped of the casual chatter she'd sta
t's been so long since anyone offered me anything with
s my arm gently, and l
ew York sky. I came here for revenge. I wa
jumped into
out, my heart sinking as I see the name on the screen. A n
sentence that makes the cold
was catching up. And I was
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