Not Your Hero

Chapter 1

Gannix

“I don’t know what it is you want me to do about that?” I ask into the line as I stare at the screen in front of me. Being a businessman, I have to attend to business whether I like it or not. And most of the time, I don’t like it.

I took over this business from my father when he passed away years ago. I was a twenty-year-old man taking on an empire I had no business taking on. At first, I nearly ran it into the ground, but that nagging little voice in the back of my head, sounding just like my father, was too strong and loud for me to ignore.

I took on the role he left me, and from then on, I’ve been doing the best I can. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.

“Then send her a new agent! I don’t know why this is so difficult!” I snap before hanging the phone up. Security and night clubs. That’s all I deal with every single day. Although my father’s company was strictly security, I ventured into something I enjoyed, too.

The suit and tie shit isn’t for me. Never has been, but I play the role just to get the job done.

A knock on the door pulls me from my thoughts.

“Yeah, come in.” The door opens and in walks my secretary, Robin. She strolls over and lays a file on my desk before licking her lips. You’re probably thinking I’m the typical cliché who fucks his secretary, but you couldn’t be so wrong. As much as she wants it, no way that’s going to happen.

“Something else?” I ask when she doesn’t leave.

“I was wondering if you’d like to go to dinner with me tonight,” she blurts out. Awfully bold of her, considering I’ve turned her down at every chance I get.

“You already know the answer to that, Robin.”

“Come on, Gannix. Why can’t you just give us a chance?” she whines. I nearly roll my eyes as I shove out of my chair and stand.

“Us? There’s never been an us, and there never will be. I don’t know how much clearer I can make that for you.”

“You won’t even give it a chance.”

“There’s nothing to give a chance, Robin. You work for me. That’s it.”

“And if I didn’t work for you?”

“The answer would be the same,” I tell her. She huffs out a breath before turning and heading for the door. I watch her leave, closing the door a little harder than she needed, but that’s fine as long as she got the point.

I sigh as I walk over to the window and look outside. It’s nearly fall now. The summer heat will slowly slip away, and the leaves will begin to change. Not that I care. I don’t. That’s just about how I am most days. I don’t care about much.

Aside from her, it’s her who keeps me going. She sparks something inside of me. But she isn’t mine. She doesn’t know I exist. At least not yet.

But I see her. I see her nearly every single day; she just doesn’t realize it. While most stalkers are lowlife thugs, I’m not. I have money, power, and friends. I could easily swoop in and take her if that’s what I wanted, but it’s not. Not yet, anyway.

I like this game we play. The one where she doesn’t know I’m watching her. It makes it all the more intriguing to me. And for her? I get to see her at her most vulnerable. Like when she sat on the bench in the park crying, thinking no one could hear the soft sobs. I heard them.

Or when she bought herself flowers because her useless boyfriend forgot Valentine’s Day. Imagine her surprise when she arrived home that night to a living room full of white roses sent by me. The smile that lit up her face was priceless, although she couldn’t figure out where they came from.

You see, this game we play, where I send her gifts and she smiles? That’s the game I want to keep playing with her. The one where she has no idea what I look like. The one where she never has to see the monster deep down inside me. Like this? We’re perfect. We’re not like other couples. And for now, that’s how I want to keep it. As long as she’s happy, that’s all that matters to me.

Speaking of, I turn and walk back over to my desk and dial the florist, sending another bouquet of roses to her house. They should arrive around the same time she gets home from work today with a note attached this time.

I invited her to the club later on tonight. Of course, she isn’t going to know it’s me who has been sending her all this but the time for me to touch her, to feel her, has come.

Even if I can’t sleep with her, I want to know what she feels like beneath my palms. I want to see if her skin is as soft as I think it is. And tonight, I’ll finally find out.

Once the flowers are ordered, I grab my things and head for the door. The faster I get out of this stuffy office, the better.

I smile at a few of my employees as I pass and head for the elevator. That’s when Ren stops me.

“You got a minute?”

“No.”

“Really, Gannix?” he questions as I smirk at him.

“You know I only make time for you, Ren. What is it?” I ask as we step into the elevator.

“We have that pop star coming in next week.”

“I remember.”

“And she wants to meet you,” he adds. I nod.

“I remember that as well. She wanted my top security and I planned on putting you on the job,” I tell him.

“Were you planning on asking me?” Now I laugh.

“No. She wants my best guys, and you’re one of them, Ren.”

“You still could have asked,” he murmurs.

“Are you whining?” I ask as I glance over at him, my brows furrowed.

“Fuck you, Nix.” Now, I laugh harder.

“She wanted the best. I didn’t think you’d mind.”

“I don’t mind. Cheryl will.”

“You’re a man, Ren. You can handle Cheryl.”

“I know I can, but can you?” Just as I’m about to ask him what the hell he’s talking about, his wife comes storming toward me.

“Cheryl,” I greet her as she approaches.

“A pop star, Nix?” she asks, raising an eyebrow.

“She’s harmless.”

“She’s a pop star,” she argues.

“I’m well aware. She isn’t the first one I’ve put Ren on.”

“But she’s gorgeous,” she whines as I laugh and pull her into a hug.

“You’re gorgeous and if Ren so much as steps out of line, I will marry you myself.”

“Like fuck you will,” Ren snaps as I pull away from his wife.

“Couldn’t you put him on an ugly man?”

“Next time. I promise,” I tell her. She smiles before looking over at Ren. He just smiles back at her before he grabs her and pulls her against him.

I’ve known Ren since we were kids. He’s the only one who knows about my issues and the only one, aside from my brother, who ever will, as far as I’m concerned.

“You two come to Charlie’s tonight. VIP on me,” I say as I walk away from them. Charlie’s is one of my nightclubs and also the place I plan to get my hands on Emerson.