Kyle's POV
"Mr Lodge!" My assistant Viola kept chasing behind me trying to keep up.
It's her first day.
My assistants have a history of either resigning that same day they start, or disappearing.
Obviously nobody really knows about that second part so we'll just have to keep that between you and I.
She had eventually caught up.
"Don't ever yell when trying to get my attention it won't work.And so won't you if you do that shit again." I said still facing forward and heading onto the escalator.
"I'm sorry sir"She apologised clearly embarrassed.
"What is it?" I snapped, still not looking at her.
"You have a new interview request for tonight, as well as a request to meet with your publisher."
"I'll accept whichever one you think is worth my time, so you decide.If you choose wrong...don't even bother apologising okay?Just don't show up tomorrow."
"Yes sir"
VIOLA'S POV:
What an ass.
Why should I be put under so much pressure when he clearly doesn't even deserve to have someone as hardworking as I am in his presence at all?
One would swear a man who wrote the beautiful book he did, would behave differently in person.
Instead he's just a "dumbass".
Damn it, that slipped.
As soon as those words left my mouth, Kyle stopped in his tracks and walked towards me.
"What's your name again?"
He's so intimidating, I don't even know what my name is right now, so I just stare at him blankly.
"I said, what is your..."he closed his eyes,zoned out and took a deep breath.
"Mr Lodge...is everything..."
He then took off his glasses and looked me in the eyes .
I don't think he even knew what I looked like until now, because he's known to never look at anyone this closely.
My knees feel like feathers all of a sudden.
"You smell…interesting."He said, without showing any emotion.
Before I could even respond, he put his glasses back on and walked away. I then snapped out of it, and continued following behind him trying not to drop the papers I was holding.
Soon we got into his office, and I left all the paperwork I was given to proof-read on his desk.
As I was on my way out, his business partner Marshall walked in, so I greeted and left faster than I was planning to.
Kyle's POV
What perfume was that? It smelt so…
"My man!"Marshall cheered.
"My man!" I stood from my seat, to do mine and Marshall's secret handshake.
Dave Marshall is my business partner, but also my brother,best friend,right hand man,and hit man.Talk about a full package.
We have different surnames because we both don't fw our dad, so we took each of our moms' surnames as soon as we were able to.
"Yo Kyle we've got a serious problem."
"What is it?"
"They raided one of our warehouses last night, but luckily is had fake product.But still.If they knew about the warehouse that means we have a mole.When I find them do you want me to kill them?"
Shit.
Now I know better than to let him handle it, because he doesn't think straight.He'll just shoot whoever looks guilty.
"Nah, let me handle it."
Viola's POV
I put down the phone with my hand shaking in fear. I was still connected to the office phone, because I wanted to ask Kyle something but instead...heard everything.
Remember the offices are see through.
When I looked up...we made eye contact and both couldn't look away.
"Wtf did I just get myself into?" I asked myself, barely making a sound.
Kyle's POV
The second she put the phone down, I felt the air leave the room. It wasn't the relief of a crisis averted…it was the cold certainty that a new, infinitely more complex crisis had just walked through my door.
I'd been running an operation built on secrecy and fear for years, but one whiff of her…that scent, a clean, bright, feminine citrus…and my whole body forgets its programming.
Forget the protocol, forget the cold calculation, forget the fact that she'd just heard Marshall and me discussing murder and a mole. All I could register was the overpowering urge to pull her closer and... and that line of thought is unacceptable.
I forced myself to slow down, to command Marshall to silence with just a hand gesture. He's my brother and my muscle, but he's a loudmouth. His commentary would only make this mess worse.
"Put the phone down, Viola." I hated that her name felt so good on my tongue, like a curse I didn't want to break.
She was shaking, her eyes wide like a frightened deer's. Good. Fear is manageable. It's what I use to control the world. But the stubborn refusal to break contact with my eyes... that was less manageable. I hadn't even looked at her properly until this moment. She was... sharp. Too alert.
Marshall's stupid, idiotic chuckle only poured gasoline on the fire. "Looks like you have two problems, Kyle. A mole, and a pretty little eavesdropper."
I didn't even acknowledge him. I slid the glass door open, stepping out to confront her. I needed to see if the fear was enough, if she was like all the others…all those vapid, forgettable women I write about but despise in reality.
"What exactly did you hear?" I demanded, pitching my voice low. The quieter I get, the more lethal I sound.
She didn't run. She didn't lie with a trembling, nervous giggle. She looked me straight in the eye and confessed. "Mole and a warehouse problem," she said. "And that Mr. Marshall here doesn't think straight and is too trigger-happy to handle it."
The audacity of this beautiful woman on her first day. The pure, unadulterated nerve.
A part of me wanted to smile. Not the charming smile I reserve for my book tours and conferences…the one where I wax poetic about "a gentleman's devotion to his lady"…but a genuine, dark amusement. She wasn't an idiot.
But that part of me is a liability. My immediate, trained response took over. I leaned in, crushing her with my presence, my low voice meant to put fear into her.
"Wrong answer," I murmured. "The only correct answer for an assistant, Viola,is 'I heard nothing but the click of my phone connecting.' Now you know my secret. And in this line of work, that's not exactly a promotion."
It was a clear threat. A promise of dismissal or something far worse. She didn't flinch, just stared back with that unnerving mixture of terror and challenge. The kind of look that makes me want to either choke her or kiss her.
I chose to retreat.
I turned my back, grabbing the door handle. I had to end the physical proximity before I did something completely stupid.
"So," I finished, my voice regaining its usual cold edge, "publisher or interview? Decide now. Your first decision has already proven to be disastrous, so make the second one count. And for goodness sake, do not spill your water on those papers. I'd hate to have to replace you and the documents on the same day."
I slid the door shut, cutting her off. I rubbed my face, trying to scrub away the lingering scent of citrus and the heat that was rising in my blood.
A mole is a problem. An eavesdropper is a problem. But an eavesdropper who smells that good and has that much defiance in her eyes? That's a fucking catastrophe.
She chose the publisher. A safe, predictable choice. Smart girl. But now, she has to actually manage the fallout of her poor decision in the hallway.