Cassandra's POV
"This isn't what you think it is," I began, my voice trembling as I searched for the right words, desperate to piece together an explanation that might calm the storm brewing before me. My heart raced, the weight of the situation pressing heavily on my chest.
"I was choking on my food, and I clearly needed his help. What else was I supposed to do?" I glanced at Nathaniel, hoping my words would sink in. "Would you rather I sit there gasping for air until I black out?" I let out a frustrated sigh and rolled my eyes, but the tension in the air only thickened.
Killian's expression, once animated, hardened into a mask of irritation. His tone was sharp, each word clipped with a cool finality. "Yeah, that's what happened." He leaned back slightly, crossing his arms as if he were done entertaining the conversation. "Now, since we're not finished eating, can we just proceed and finish in peace?"
But peace wasn't something Nathaniel seemed willing to grant. "No," he said, his voice firm and unyielding. He didn't so much as blink before adding, "We can't continue. I need my secretary back in my office." His tone grew colder, sharper. "You've already wasted twenty minutes flirting instead of eating."
Flirting? The word struck me like a slap across the face. I opened my mouth to protest, but Nathaniel was quicker. Before I could even process his accusation, he grabbed my wrist in a grip that felt unyielding, like iron shackles locking me in place.
"Wait, what? I haven't even eaten anything!" I exclaimed, struggling against his hold, but his hand only tightened. The pressure of his grip wasn't just physical; it carried the weight of his anger, his frustration. It felt suffocating, as if I was being bound, not by chains, but by the sheer force of his will.
"You can eat in the office," Nathaniel replied curtly, his voice devoid of softness. He started pulling me toward him, his every step forcing me to follow. "There's plenty of food there. You'll manage."
It wasn't just the pull of his hand that restrained me; it was his presence, looming, inescapable. My breath hitched as I realized the futility of resistance. "You're hurting me, Nathaniel," I said, my voice cracking, barely audible over the pounding of my heart. I tried to twist my wrist free, but his grip didn't loosen.
"You didn't have to do this," I pleaded softly. "You could've just told me you needed me back. There was no need for this—" My words faltered, caught in the grip of helplessness and the sting of his actions.
"Release her, Nathaniel." Killian's voice cut through the tension like a blade, sharp and commanding. His eyes burned with a quiet fury, his composure teetering on the edge. "You're hurting her."
Nathaniel froze. His gaze shifted to my face, and something within him seemed to break. Guilt washed over his features, softening the hard edges of his anger. Slowly, almost reluctantly, he released my wrist. His hand hovered for a moment as if unsure what to do, then fell to his side.
For a fleeting moment, the fire in his eyes dimmed, replaced by something unspoken, something almost regretful. But the damage was done, and the sting of his grip lingered on my skin, a silent reminder of the chains I could never escape.
I fixed myself and grabbed my bag. "I am sorry Killian for this failed lunch. I will need to go back, hmm? I am sure we'll have plenty of time to eat out."
"Sure." Killian slid his hands into his pocket. "I will invite you tonight for dinner. Please don't have any plans."
I just smiled and did not try to say a word again before Nathaniel would cause a ruckus.
The walk back to the office was silent. It seems like he was trying to contemplate what he did and he felt really bad for acting impulsively. He did not even look back at me to see whether I was still following him or I went back to Killian. His pace was straight.
When we reached the elevator, he still wasn't talking. His eyes were focused on the door and I had to tap the number myself.
My eyes landed on my wrist which was getting redder any minute now. His grip was too tight it ended up bruising me that fast.
I immediately went to my table and sorted out everything for him. From doing reports and arranging his schedule which surprisingly gets jambled just after I left.
He did this on purpose, didn't he?
The thought clawed at my mind as I worked. It wasn't beyond Nathaniel to create a storm just to pull me into its eye. I sorted through the mess with methodical precision, refusing to let my emotions distract me. My stomach churned in protest, reminding me of the meal I'd barely touched, but I pushed the hunger aside. The clock read three in the afternoon, and my to-do list mocked me with nine more unchecked tasks. A break was out of the question.
As I shuffled papers and tapped furiously on the keyboard, I allowed myself a fleeting glance toward his office. Through the glass pane, I could see him seated at his desk, his head bent over a document. His pen moved swiftly, his brow furrowed in concentration. He appeared as busy as I was, yet there was a tension in his posture, a weight that hinted at his unease.
There were no urgent papers left for him to sign, nothing that required me to step into his space. And for that, I was grateful. The idea of speaking to him, of confronting the weight of what had just transpired, felt unbearable. For now, I would keep my distance, safe behind the wall of work I'd built around myself.
But even as I typed and organized, my mind strayed to the silence that had filled the elevator, the absence of words that spoke louder than any apology could. I wondered if he was thinking about it too—the grip, the bruise, the hurt he didn't mean to cause. Or maybe he wasn't. Maybe he'd buried it as deeply as I was trying to bury my own thoughts.
I shook my head, trying to clear the fog of emotion creeping in. There was no time to dwell on things I couldn't change. Work had always been my refuge, and now was no different. So I tightened my grip on the pen, straightened the papers before me, and threw myself back into the only thing I could control: the task at hand.
I rested my back on my swivel chair and heard my phone beeping. I opened it and saw an unknown number texting me.
"Hi, beautiful." The screen says.
"I just got your number from the front desk and would like to text you about our dinner? I hope to see you there." He even sent it with a happy emoticon which made me laugh.
"Why didn't you come back? Aren't you supposed to give the papers to the marketing department? The one he threw at you?" I was giggling while typing.
Few moments and he is already typing. He seemed so free… he did not do anything.
"I realized that I am doing someone else's job and being a stockholder does not mean I have to deliver papers for him. I am not his little slave, darling." He sounded a little sarcastic in his typing.
"What are you doing?" I jumped out of my seat when Kate suddenly decided she would like to scare me. "Are you texting someone?"
"What? No! Why would I?" I was so defensive trying to tell her that I was not distracted and I was very much focused in my job. I do not want her to think that I am slacking off and I am a hell of an irresponsible secretary,
"Well…" She took my phone and I had to reach it out of her hand which became a mess.
"Give me my hone!" I said while trying my best to reach it from her. "Come on, don't we know anything about privacy?"
"You are texting… Killian Luther?! Sir Killian Luther?!" Kate was horrified and wasn't able to control her voice. "Now, why would you text him? I mean, I get it, you are in the stockholder's meeting and you met them… but to this extent? Oh my gosh!"
"Shhh!" I covered her mouth as she started to overreact and gain attention. "No one should know, alright? I do not want to be in any scandal."
Kate's eyes were full of malice. "Hmmm… I did not know you were this tricky, huh? You are something else!"
"Please, don't tell anyone? No one should know… I fear that it would start a rumor and it would put him into a place we wouldn't want." I took my phone out of her hands and her face suddenly calmed down.
"Alright, there is no need for you to be begging me like that." Kate laughed for a bit."I am just messing with you, okay?"
I could not bring myself to laugh about it. Seeing how a lot of people have heard bout it, I do not know how to act.
"Alright, don't worry. I am not taking it to heart." I whispered as I tried to water down her humor.
However, deep down, I am deeply embarrassed seeing how multiple workers have heard her talk about who I am texting. I cannot get over that fact and that is extremely shameless.
She quieted down and calmed herself down as she looked at me. "You're really lucky." and winked.
I just nodded and went back to my seat only to get startled by the ringtone of my phone. On my screen was Killian's number which is why I immediately threw it on the air.
"Crap!" I cursed out the wind as I panicked hard.
Kate looked back at me with a face saying, "What is happening?"
I tucked a few hairs in my ears as soon as I answered it. "Hello?"
"Hi, are you alright? You sound like you were running out of breath." He seemed really worried about me.
"Y-yeah…" I looked at Kate who was confused as she could not hear the words that we were saying. "I just ran from downstairs to my office."
"Is that so? Well, you should drink some water." He whispered on the phone.
"So…" I bit my lips. "What's up? What made you call?"
"Do I have to have a concrete reason?" He asked.
"No. I mean, surely, something is urgent? Because you wouldn't waste your time on me."
"I just got us a ticket to this cinema. I figured you would want that as our first date, hmm? Later evening, around nine o'clock. Would you be free by that?" He asked politely. His invitation for a date seemed formal and he even took into his mind what I probably would like.
I glanced at my workload and started calculating whether I could finish them before nine. There is not much that I should be worrying about but still, I should be bothered that something would come up and the date would not push forward again.
"I have nothing to do by nine." My tongue slipped by itself and completely made a mistake.
What do you mean you have no other work by nine, Cassie?! You should have told him that maybe, something would come up and you might need to adjust the time! Oh God, I am being so stupid.
"There it is! All is planned out. See you at nine, I will pick you up from the office. Bye." He ended the phone call and I was left staring at Kate who could not follow.
"What?" She looked at me with her wide mouth and wandering eyes while she was thinking what was happening.
"He…" I was clutching my clothes. "He invited me to a movie night later at nine and he is going to pick me up here, oh my gosh!"
Kate stood up from her seat and went near me, we were both giggling about it.
"Oh my gosh! That is like one of the thousand things I have been wanting to have! Like how good would it be to have a man invite you over for a date that he had planned himself!" She was practically yelling, calling for attention again.
"I am so happy for you…" She whispered in my ears. "I mean, you are by far the most beautiful woman in this whole office, and having to date one of the stockholders after just a few days of staying here? You got yourself the real deal, honey."
"Why are you saying those…" I laughed at how I found its niche. "This is just a date, nothing so special about it."
"Yes, there is…" Kate paused for a bit and looked me in the eye. "You are the special in it."
I looked at her and felt like my face was turning bright cherry red. I was blushing really hard and was moved by what she was saying. It was nothing like I thought about.
"Okay now, let's go back to our work before you start getting emotional." She laughed. "You have a work to finish until nine."
I laughed at her and went back to work with all smiles on my cheeks that extended up to my ears because that is how funny the whole damn thing is to me.
A few hours have passed and it is already seven in the evening. I only have one work to do which is to lay out all the things that Nathaniel is going to do tomorrow. I have to make it into a comprehensive list so I won't miss anything tomorrow.
I was casually trying to tidy up my desk when all of a sudden, John approached me with a handful of papers in his hands. It was like, fifty books that needed to be signed.
"Really? Now?" My face rested in a deep irritated manner. "What am I going to do with that?"
"Well, this was supposed to be signed in the morning but the boss kept on insisting that he wants it to be delivered in his room around seven, just in time for dinner," John explained, looking anxious knowing I was starting to lose my patience.
"Alright…" I smiled bitterly. "He is the worst…"
"What?" He wasn't able to hear what I just whispered which made me just shook my head.
"Nothing," I whispered as led the way to Nathaniel's office. "Let's get him working up on signing."
I knocked on the glass door. "Mister Sinclair, the contract is here now and it needs your sign."
"Ohh, is that so? Too bad, I am going to have my dinner." Nathaniel immediately stood up from his seat and took his coat from the rack.
"What do you mean? Then when are you going to sign this?" I opened them up and signaled John to go out. "There are plenty of them and it is going to take you at least two hours to review everything."
"Probably…at eight," Nathaniel whispered, looking at his wristwatch and mocking me. "That is the time I am going to sign them. I am the boss, my work, my time."
"But–"
"Would you like to join me for dinner? That way, you can have time for yourself as well. I am saving you the clock out." He initiated.
I closed my eyes in frustration. "You know I have to stay beside you while you are signing this, right? So I will be having a huge hard time waking up early tomorrow after throwing an all-nighter with you. Hence, why the need for you to work your ass off."
Nathaniel raised his brows at me. "I'm sorry? Did you just curse me?"
"Yes." I was hotter than the sun and my mind just wanted to explode. "Because you are acting like a bastard who cannot give me a break! For God's sake, could you please be nice and finish this off now?!"
A complete silence was shared between us when he was completely shocked by my tone.
I was frozen in my stand. I might have gotten too far… maybe, I was becoming unlikely of what I should be and I am starting to be the pain in his ass now. Am I going to get fired?
"Are you really mad because you had to do an all-nighter with me or are you mad because you cannot go to dinner with Killian?" His eyes were darted on mine and there is no way out.
"That is not my point." I grabbed my own hair, clearly losing it. "I am saying that you should also be mindful of my health because you are not the only one who is going to have anemia doing all these all-nighters–I need to sleep!"
"Then sleep, for now, have some power nap." He walked past me, not minding whatever I was saying. "My office is so big, you can lie down and sleep. I'll be back later."
"What?" I got my feet moving and followed him out. "Where are you going? I told you to start it already!"
Despite knowing many people were looking at us arguing, I could not do anything. I have to keep him moving.
"I am going to have dinner with a friend of mine since you are so resistant and do not want to do anything with me." He kept his hands in his pockets while explaining.
"Is that how it is going to be now, huh? You agitate me!" I was stopped from talking when he turned around and held both my shoulders to shut me up.
"If you do not want to be on a dinner with me, then fine! Other women are dying to get a single touch from me, get a grip."
I was stunned by what he said that I could not move. I could feel everyone's eyes following me while Nathaniel disappeared in my sign.
"Fucking bastard…" I put on a grin as I whispered in the air and made my way back to his office.
I shoved my face over the couch's pillow and screamed at the top of my lungs. "He's so insufferable!"
"He is a jerk who wants everything that he desires. He is a man who… is selfish and…" My tears stopped dropping when I glanced over a jar on his table.
I stood up from the couch and took a closer peek. I picked it up and had a peek on the glass only to see that it was petals.
"Why would he store petals here when he knew he is allergic to it?" I whispered to myself as I looked at the wilted brown petals that are well preserved, it does not have any molds.
I put it down and went back to the couch. Glanced over my screen and a text popped up.
"Movie night at nine, don't forget."
How can I go on a date with him with Nathaniel ruining it?