HIS LAST ASSISTANT

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Victoria Cole did not sleep well that night, not because of Natalie Brooks but because of Damien. The distinction mattered. For years, her son had been predictable, controlled, disciplined, and untouchable.

Women came and went, some were beautiful, some were influential, some were from families Victoria personally approved of, but none lasted, none mattered. Damien never gave them the opportunity to matter, then Natalie Brooks appeared, and suddenly, her son was arguing with board members, defending an employee, risking company reputation, and ignoring family advice.

Victoria didn't like coincidences, and she certainly didn't like this one. By sunrise, she had already made a decision. If Natalie Brooks wanted a place in Damien's life… Victoria intended to find out exactly who she was.

•

•

Meanwhile, Natalie was surviving entirely on caffeine. She arrived at the office exhausted… dinner with the Cole family had drained whatever emotional energy she had left.

The elevator opened, she stepped onto the executive floor and immediately froze. She was welcomed with a massive bouquet that sat on her desk. They were bright white lilies, and they looked elegant, expensive, and confusing.

Natalie frowned. "What is this?"

Samantha barely looked up from her tablet. "Flowers."

"Thank you, Samantha. Very helpful."

Samantha ignored the sarcasm… Natalie approached the bouquet cautiously. There was a card, she picked it up, opened it, and then blinked twice.

“Lunch today? You survived the Coles. That deserves a reward.”

—Marcus

Natalie groaned. Of course, of course, it was Marcus.

Samantha finally looked up. "Interesting."

"No."

"Flowers usually are."

Natalie pointed at the card. "It's not like that."

Samantha's expression remained completely blank, which somehow felt judgmental. Before Natalie could defend herself further, her office phone rang. She answered. "Hello?"

A familiar voice replied immediately. "Did you get them?"

Natalie closed her eyes… It was Marcus. "You're calling to confirm flower delivery?"

"I'm a very attentive man."

"I can see that."

His laugh echoed through the receiver, and annoyingly… it made her smile.

"Lunch."

It wasn't a question. Natalie glanced toward Samantha, who was absolutely listening, despite pretending not to.

"I don't know."

"You owe me."

"For what?"

"Saving you from boredom."

Natalie laughed. Across the room, Samantha finally smirked.

"Fine."

Marcus sounded pleased. "I'll pick you up at noon."

Then he hung up, leaving Natalie staring at the phone, wondering how exactly she'd gotten herself into this situation.

•

•

Unfortunately, things became worse because Damien saw the flowers. The moment he stepped out of the elevator, his gaze landed directly on them, then on Natalie, then back on the flowers.

There was a dangerous silence. Natalie suddenly became very interested in her computer screen, and Samantha practically fled.

“Coward.” Natalie thought.

Damien approached the flowers slowly. “What are those?"

Natalie looked up. "Flowers."

Immediately, she regretted the answer because it sounded suspicious even though it wasn't.

Damien raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."

The exact same thing Samantha had said, Natalie hated both of them. "They're from Marcus."

The words slipped out and somehow made everything worse. Damien's expression didn't change, not even slightly, which was terrifying.

"Oh."

Just one word, yet Natalie suddenly felt like she'd done something wrong, which was ridiculous, because she hadn't.

Damien glanced at the card, then at her. "You're having lunch."

Natalie crossed her arms. "Am I being interrogated?"

"No."

"Should I be concerned?"

Natalie blinked. "What?"

For the first time since she'd met him, Damien looked almost irritated, then the moment disappeared, like it had never existed.

"We have a meeting at two."

And just like that, he walked away. Natalie stared after him, looking completely confused. Behind her, Samantha coughed suspiciously, Natalie turned.

Samantha immediately looked innocent.

•

•

Across town, Jasmine sat in her apartment, the flash drive plugged into her laptop. Her pulse quickened as file after file appeared. There were mails, reports, and internal memos but nothing explosive.

Then she opened a folder labelled “PRIVATE”

Her stomach tightened. Inside were screenshots, messages, meeting records, and names.

Jasmine slowly sat back. "Oh my God."

This wasn't proof, not completely, but it was enough to establish a pattern, enough to suggest Richard had done this before.

Her phone buzzed. It was Natalie.

“Perfect timing.” She thought.

Jasmine answered immediately.

"I found something."

"How serious?"

Jasmine stared at the screen, but before she could answer… a new email appeared.

It was an unknown sender. Jasmine frowned, then opened it. The message contained only one sentence.

“Stop digging.”

Her blood ran cold. Attached beneath it was a photograph, a photograph of her apartment building. It was taken recently, very recently.

Jasmine immediately stood, heart pounding. Someone knew someone was watching, and suddenly, for the first time since she started investigating Richard Halston… Jasmine was afraid.