Chapter Seven
LEONI
By the time the car pulls away, I feel like my nerves are shot.
My heart’s still hammering from whatever almost happened between Warren and me, and my head’s spinning with the conversation over lunch, the arrest, the awkward near kiss, the way he looked at me like he wanted to say something he couldn’t.
I need air. Space. Anything that isn’t him.
The moment I step into the lobby, Talia’s sharp voice cuts through the quiet hum of phones and printers. “Oh my God, Leoni! Please tell me I just saw that right.”
I close my eyes briefly before turning towards the front desk. Talia’s perched forward in her chair, eyes gleaming with gossip.
“Saw what right?” I ask, keeping my voice steady.
“You,” she says, dragging out the word with dramatic flair. “Getting out of Warren Baxter’s car. You’ve been in his car, together. At the same time.” She grins, waggling her brows. “Spill it, Lee. What’s going on?”
Of course she saw. Talia sees everything.
I give her my most casual smile, the one I save for clients who ask stupid questions. “If you must know, he dragged me to some boring lunch meeting. I didn’t have a choice.”
Talia gasps like I’ve just confessed to murder. “You went to lunch with him?”
“Against my will,” I add quickly. “It was torture. The man’s a nightmare. I honestly don’t get what anyone sees in him.”
Talia giggles, twirling a strand of her glossy hair around one finger. “Oh, come on, Leoni. He’s hot. In that terrifying, angry, throw-you-over-a-desk kind of way.”
I roll my eyes, but a flush creeps up my neck all the same.
“Yeah, well, you try working for him. He’s an arsehole ninety percent of the time and the other ten he’s just unbearable.
His coffee order alone sends me over the edge every fucking day.
I mean, it’s just coffee but the stuck-up bastard likes it from that bloody coffee house about a hundred miles away,” I exaggerate.
“And don’t get me started on his ‘diet’,” I add, using air quotes.
“And the company he keeps is beyond terrible. Posh twats with no real-life experience.”
“Hmm.” Talia leans forward, grinning. “Sounds like you’ve got the hots for him.”
Before I can respond, another voice cuts in from behind me. Smooth. Icy.
“Well, that’s interesting,” Nancy purrs. “Does Warren know how much you despise him?”
My stomach drops. I turn slowly to find her standing just inside the glass doors, designer sunglasses perched on her head and that smug, perfect smile plastered across her face.
She’s holding a folder against her chest like a weapon. “I’d be careful who you talk about in this building, sweetheart. You never know who’s listening.”
I clench my jaw, forcing a polite smile. “Don’t worry, Warren knows exactly how I feel, but feel free to run along and tell him anyway, I guess it makes you a little less boring when you’re giving him the office gossip.”
Her smirk falters for a fraction of a second, then she tilts her head, eyes glinting with malice.
“There are two kinds of people in this world, Liv,” she says with a scowl.
“One’s that are meant to succeed in life, with wealth and power, and then there’s you.
A nobody that fetches coffee and complains about it.
Some of us belong in his world. Others are just passing through. ”
“It’s Leoni,” I mutter feebly as she breezes past, her heels clicking across the marble floor like gunshots.
Talia exhales beside me. “God, she’s such a cow.”
“Yeah,” I mutter, staring after her. “Like I said, the company he keeps is questionable.”
I ride the elevator up feeling like my skin doesn’t quite fit. The lobby confrontation with Nancy is still replaying in my head—her voice, sugary and poisonous, sinking into my bones.
Some of us belong in his world. Others are just passing through.
The doors slide open. I step out, ready to head straight to my desk and bury myself in emails, but I freeze halfway across the floor.
Nancy is standing in front of Warren’s father, whispering something low, her hand resting lightly on his sleeve like she’s done it a thousand times.
They look comfortable. Familiar. Close even.
My stomach dips. It’s another reminder that what she said is true. She fits in his world and I don’t.
His father lifts his gaze first. Cold and assessing. Nancy follows line of sight and turns. When she sees me, her smirk sharpens. “I thought you’d be crying in the bathroom.”
“I need to get to work,” I mutter, moving to pass.
But Warren’s father steps forward, blocking my path with nothing more than presence; he’s the kind of man who doesn’t need to physically move to take over a room.
“Let’s continue this inside,” he says to Nancy. “Not here.”
They slip into Warren’s office and close the door behind them.
The blinds aren’t drawn, but they might as well be.
Their silhouettes move like ghosts, and somehow it feels…
off. Like whatever they’re up to is top secret.
I shudder. Maybe she’s telling him what she overheard, and he’s about to fire me.
Good. But my pulse won’t slow down, and I can’t chase away this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
A few minutes later, the lift pings again, and Warren steps out. He spots me instantly, walking over with his hands in his pockets, like he’s trying to appear casual.
“About earlier,” he starts. “Outside. With the car.”
I cross my arms defensively over my chest. “Don’t worry about it. I get it.”
“No,” he says, shaking his head, stepping closer. “That’s not what I… I wasn’t embarrassed. I just didn’t want people—”
“Talking?” I finish for him.
He nods once. “Yes.”
I force a smile. “Too late for that.”
For a heartbeat, he looks like he might say something else. Something honest. But the office door opens, and his father and Nancy step out.
Everything in Warren’s face changes in an instant, like shutters slamming down. His jaw clenches, and his shoulders stiffen, locking into place and making him look taller somehow. The warmth I’d just seen flickers out like a match in the wind.
“Ah,” his father says smoothly, “speaking of lunch. How did your date go?”
Nancy’s smile tightens; it’s as brittle as glass, and I almost want to give her a smug smile.
But then Warren bristles so obviously that she smirks. “It wasn’t a date,” he snaps, the words cutting sharp and fast. “It was something you insisted on. Neither of us had a choice.”
The room tilts. I feel the words hit. They’re loud, pointed, and too public.He could’ve just corrected him.
He didn’t have to reject the idea as if it was disgusting.
My cheeks burn hot, humiliation crawling up my throat.
I stare down at my desk, so no one sees my face, but Nancy’s satisfaction radiates like her over-priced perfume.
His father watches me, not with pity, not with concern, but with interest. Like I’ve just revealed something valuable, and I inwardly curse my mother again for giving me that gene where every emotion plays out on my face for all to witness.
Warren doesn’t notice. Of course he doesn’t. His words have always been cold and cutting. Why did I think that would change? No, this is just another reminder that I do not belong in his world. And I certainly don’t need him to offer me his time like I’m a charity case.
I’ve never felt smaller.
My chair scrapes softly across the floor as I stand. Three pairs of eyes land on me at once. My skin prickles hot.
“I just… I need the bathroom,” I manage, my voice small and tight.
Nancy’s smile curves, sharp and sugary. “Of course you do,” she purrs. “Let those emotions go, Liv. A cry will do you the world of good. Do you need a hug?”
I keep my gaze fixed straight ahead, shaking my head, but the humiliation still burns, glowing across my face like an amber beacon. She knows what she’s doing. She wants me to break right here. A typical mean girl.
My throat burns with a mix of embarrassment and rage.
Warren’s expression changes slightly. His brows pulling together, eyes narrowing, something that resembles concern flickering before he hides it. And for a second, I feel like he’s going to come after me, but Nancy places a hand on his arm.
“Warren, can I speak to you in your office?” she asks, sweetly, with a flutter of her long lashes.
He hesitates. Just long enough for me to notice. Then he nods stiffly and lets her lead him away.
It hurts more than I want to admit.
I turn and head for the corridor and walk straight into someone’s chest. Large. Solid. Unmovable. Strong hands close around my upper arms, steadying me before I fall backwards.
Erik.
Warren’s brother. The dangerous one. The one with the sharp, hungry grin and the reputation to match.
We’ve barely spoken. A nod here, a look there. But right now, his presence feels… anchoring.
“You alright?” he asks, his voice low but laced with concern. The unexpected kindness is unbearable. My eyes sting, and before I can stop it, one tear slips loose.
He sees it, and his jaw flexes. “Hard day?” he almost whispers.
I laugh, a broken, wet sound. “Something like that.”
He releases one shoulder only to slide his hand down to the small of my back, steering me away from the main hallway. “Come on. Don’t walk through the main office, they’ll thrive on the gossip.”
“I just need the bathroom,” I whisper, wiping my cheek with the back of my sleeve.
“You need to not let the entire office watch you fall apart,” he says simply. “Come to my office. No one will look for you there.”
I hesitate.
Erik tilts his head, studying me. “Leoni, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just giving you a place to breathe.”
Maybe it’s the embarrassment. Maybe it’s the week I’ve had. Maybe it’s the fact I can’t stand the idea of Nancy smirking while I cry in a cubicle.
But I nod.
His hand stays on my back as he leads me down a quieter corridor, steps slow enough that I don’t feel rushed, even though my heart is racing.