Aria
Ihopped across the foyer to answer the doorbell, placing my stiletto on my foot. Logan stood there, smiling.
“Hey, Logan. Yeah, I just need to get my bag from the kitchen.”
“I’ll be in the car.”
“Oh, you can come in.”
“No, it’s fine. I need to make a quick phone call anyway.” He smiled, then made his way to the car.
I hurried through and reached the kitchen, scanning the room for my bag. Jane appeared and held it up in front of me.
“Thank you, I completely forgot where I put it.” I took it from her. “Do you know if Sebastian came in at all last night?”
“No, I didn’t hear him.” She gave me a tight smile and left.
He hadn’t been home the last few days since Newroz.
Well, not that I’d seen, anyway. Still, he was coming home at some point in the night because I’d always end up falling asleep on the sofa, waiting for him, and then wake up in bed, so he was clearly taking me up and leaving again before I woke up.
It was like we’d ended up going from being glued to each other to two passing ships in the night.
He’d get Logan to take me home from work, saying he had things to do at the office, and then Logan would reappear in the morning to take me back in.
Most of the time, Sebastian would already be in the office when I arrived and make the excuse that he had work to do and never wanted to wake me, but it was starting to feel off again.
That he wasn’t being fully honest with me.
I made my way out of the house and got into the car just as Logan cut his call. He pulled off and started driving.
My fingers seemed to have a mind of their own as they started to rub my sleeve, and it took my brain a while to catch up. I shifted to stop myself, but those little knots were forming in the pit of my stomach.
Something was going on.
“Logan …”
“Yeah.”
“Is Sebastian already at the office?”
“I presume so, otherwise I wouldn’t be here,” he said, eyes fixed on the road.
“So you just randomly turn up at the house in case I need a ride?”
His eyes flicked over to me for a second and then back to the road. “He asked me to pick you up.”
“Oh, so he is at the office then.”
“Where else would he be?”
I gave him a half-smile. He was probably right, and I was just letting my mind wander. There’d be no reason for either of them to lie to me about any of it.
“Oh.” I started digging through my bag. “Happy birthday, by the way. I’ve got something for you.”
His face softened. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“It’s not much, really, but I didn’t want to not get you anything. I baked some cupcakes for you and your family.”
His face lit up. “That’s really kind of you. Zara, my little girl, will love them.”
It wasn’t long before Logan reached the office and dropped me off. I grabbed a cappuccino from the breakroom before heading to my desk. As I arrived, I placed my bag down and glanced through the window of Sebastian’s office.
There he was, sitting at his desk, which was still full of paperwork.
I placed my coffee on my desk and walked over to his office. He didn’t even look up.
“Sebastian?”
“Hmm,” he replied, eyes still fixed on the paperwork.
“Where have you been?”
He leaned back in his chair, throwing his pen on the paperwork and finally meeting my eyes. “Here.”
“You’re never at home anymore—”
He cut me off. “I told you, I’ve had work I’ve needed to stay late to do. Besides, I come home.”
“And you leave before I even wake up.”
“You really want me to drag you into the office at six in the morning?”
“Why are you even here at that time?”
He stood, making his way around to me, tentatively running his finger down my jawline, then tilted my chin to meet his bright blues.
“Nyx,” he whispered. The way he said my name had my knees weak, and my breathing became shallow. “I’ve got so much work I need to do. I’ve got investment plans that need to be sent out before lunchtime.”
“Ok,” was all I managed to get out.
“Do you think you could get me a coffee, please?” He then leaned in, kissing me softly.
“Uh-huh.” I nodded.
He leaned into my ear and whispered, “Good girl.”
I swallowed hard, turning on my heels and dragging myself out of the office, through the main area and into the breakroom. Leaning my hands against the counter, I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
Asshole.
Acid swirled in my stomach at the thought of him trying to use his charm and basically take advantage of the situation. I wasn’t going to let him make me feel that way.
I finished making his coffee and made my way back through to his office, placing it on his desk.
“Thanks, Nyx.” He winked at me.
I crossed my arms and shifted my weight to one side. “You can’t do that.”
“Do what?” he questioned, taking a sip of the coffee.
“Use your charm to get out of this conversation.”
His eyes lit up. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Just before I could open my mouth, Caspian strolled into the office, clearing his throat.
“Have you forgotten you’re meant to be in a meeting with Mr Burridge?”
Sebastian looked at his watch and jolted to his feet. “Shit. We’ll speak when I get back,” he said, then grabbed the files and rushed out of the office.
Great.
“Aria,” Caspian said, and I turned around to face him. “Can I see you in my office in twenty minutes, please?”
“Of course, Mr Whitmore. Is everything ok?”
“Twenty minutes.” He smiled, then strolled back out.
I threw my hands in the air. These two were going to test my patience today, I could tell. I made my way back to my desk and I plonked myself in the chair, crossing my legs and taking a sip of my coffee. It felt like I was going to need it.
Twenty minutes came around far too quickly, and I was soon standing outside Caspian’s office, knocking at the door.
“Come in.”
I slowly pulled the handle down and stepped inside.
“You wanted to see me.”
“Yes, Aria. Please sit down.” He gestured to the seat in front of him.
I gave him a tight smile and sat down as he requested. Silence filled the room as his eyes roamed about my face. My eyes darted around, trying not to make eye contact. Then he leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk.
“How long have you been here now?”
“Erm, nearly a year.”
He started flicking through some paperwork, then looked up again.
“But you were originally hired as an administrator?”
Confusion ran through my mind as I shifted in the chair. I wasn’t quite sure where he was going with this.
“Yes.”
“So, how does a woman such as yourself, with no qualifications, end up being the CEO’s PA on her first day?”
And that’s where he was going. What an asshole. No, I wasn’t qualified, but I was more than capable of doing my job, and I was pretty good at it.
“I’m unsure of what you are trying to imply, Mr Whitmore.”
“I’m just trying to establish how you managed to get the job.”
“Well, I’m sure you can see it was all above board from the paperwork sitting in front of you.” I smiled politely.
“Is it because of your personal relationship with Sebastian?”
I nearly choked. “I really don’t think my personal life has anything to do with my work.”
“You do realise that it looks like you only got the position because of him?”
I cleared my throat. “I can assure you, Mr Whitmore, Sebastian and I were not in a relationship when I started.”
It wasn’t a lie. It probably had helped that we had a past, but Sebastian knew what I was capable of. He wouldn’t have done it otherwise. He was a businessman, after all.
“If you were in a personal relationship, you know it would need to be declared?”
Was this Stephen’s doing? Was he trying to make it look like Sebastian didn’t know how to run the business due to personal conflicts?
“I understand, but I don’t see how my personal life affects my ability to do my job. I’m extremely good at what I do. That has nothing to do with Sebastian.”
“I’ve been doing checks on all personnel to make sure all procedures and policies are being followed correctly. If you are in a personal relationship, now would be a good time to declare it.”
Oh, yes, Mr Whitmore, of course, I understand. You carry on being a pompous asshole and questioning my ability to do my job.
“Yes, Mr Whitmore. Is that all?”
“You can go.”
I gave him my best fake smile, rose from the chair, and hurried out of the office before he had a chance to say anything else. What the hell was his problem?
As I walked past the meeting room, I looked through the windows and noticed Sebastian wasn’t in there. Had he finished already? He wasn’t in his office, either.
Great. Where the hell had he gone? Guess we weren’t going to finish our conversation after all.
I needed some air.
I stepped outside the main office building and took a deep breath to try to calm the frustration swirling around in my stomach. Sebastian was gone, and Caspian was questioning my employment.
“Aria.” I heard that voice I knew too well and turned around.
Callum stood in front of me with a big smile on his face, a coffee in one hand and a bouquet of purple roses in the other.
“What are you doing here?”
“I thought I’d surprise you with coffee and flowers.” He handed me the cup and roses.
“I need it. These are beautiful.”
He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest, and his dark musk smell hit me, allowing that frustration to leave me.
“You look a little stressed.”
“It’s been a day.”
He gave me a small smile. “How about I take you out for dinner? Maybe it’ll save the rest of it.”
“I’d love to. It’ll be a nice change from staring at the walls,” I joked, pulling away from his embrace.
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
He took hold of my hands. “You know you can tell me anything.”
“I know. We’ll talk about it tonight. I’d better get back in.”
“I’ll pick you up from here at five.”
“I can’t wait.”