No Names After Midnight

Chapter 6 - One Sugar

Monday comes far too quickly.

I stand inside the elevator at Star Industries with a coffee in one hand and my bag hanging from my shoulder, silently questioning every decision that led me here.

Mostly the decisions I made Saturday night.

Lories Dungeons.

The masks.

The drinks.

And him.

Grace.

Even thinking about the way he said my name makes something uncomfortable twist in my stomach.

Not uncomfortable in a bad way.

Which is exactly the problem.

I don't know anything about him.

I don't even know whether his name was actually Alex.

Probably not.

People literally go to Lories to hide who they are. For all I know, he could be called Bob and work in accounting.

Although...

I somehow doubt it.

The elevator doors slide open on the tenth floor.

"Forget him," I whisper to myself.

Saturday was Saturday.

Today is Monday.

And Monday means reality.

I walk into my office and place my things down on the desk.

Everything is exactly as I left it on Friday.

Neat.

Organised.

Professional.

Unlike my thoughts.

I switch on my computer and begin going through the emails that arrived over the weekend.

Meeting requests.

Documents.

Schedule changes.

Three messages marked urgent.

One from Margaret.

Two from Elijah.

And, surprisingly, none from Alex.

Maybe today will actually be peaceful.

The thought barely finishes forming before my office door opens.

No knock.

Obviously.

Alex walks in.

I look up.

"Good morning to you too."

He doesn't respond.

Instead, he drops a thick folder onto my desk.

I stare at it.

Then at him.

"What's this?"

His eyebrow lifts.

"You tell me."

Right.

Apparently, we're playing games at seven-thirty in the morning.

I glance at the label.

HARRINGTON GROUP — ACQUISITION

"The Harrington acquisition."

"I know what it is, Alice."

His tone immediately puts me on edge.

"Then why did you ask?"

His jaw tightens slightly.

Fantastic.

Monday is going wonderfully.

Alex places one hand against my desk.

"Because I found it filed under current partnerships."

I look back at the folder.

Oh.

Shit.

"I must've put it in the wrong section on Friday."

"You did."

"Okay." I reach for it. "I'll move it."

He doesn't let go.

My eyes lift to his.

"It shouldn't need moving," he says. "It should have been filed correctly the first time."

I blink.

Seriously?

"It was one folder."

"One folder containing information regarding a multimillion-dollar acquisition."

"I understand that, but nothing happened to it."

"That isn't the point."

I feel the first spark of irritation begin burning beneath my skin.

"I said I'll fix it."

Alex stares at me.

"And I'm telling you it shouldn't happen again."

His voice is calm.

Almost too calm.

Somehow, that makes him even more irritating.

I take the folder from beneath his hand.

"It won't."

He studies me for another moment before straightening.

"If I have to check everything you do, there's very little point in having an assistant."

Ouch.

My irritation immediately turns into something sharper.

"I made one mistake."

"And I'm making sure it remains one."

I press my lips together.

Do not argue with the billionaire.

Do not argue with your boss.

Do not throw the multimillion-dollar folder at his head.

"Understood."

Alex turns to leave.

As he passes my desk, a familiar scent follows him.

I freeze.

Cologne.

My eyes immediately lift towards him.

For half a second, I'm back beneath the dim lights of Lories.

A hand against my waist.

A masked face inches from mine.

Popular brand.

My stomach twists.

Alex stops at the doorway and looks back.

"What?"

I blink.

"Nothing."

His eyes narrow.

"You're staring."

That makes it worse.

The masked stranger said exactly the same thing.

You're staring.

I shake the thought away.

Of course they could wear the same cologne.

This is Alex Underwood.

He probably wears something ridiculously expensive that half the businessmen in Manhattan also own.

"Your tie," I blurt out.

His eyebrow lifts.

"My tie?"

"Yes."

"What about it?"

My brain desperately searches for something.

"It's... crooked."

It isn't.

Not even slightly.

Alex looks down.

Then back at me.

His expression tells me he knows perfectly well I'm lying.

"Right."

He walks out.

I drop my forehead against my desk.

"Excellent, Alice."

Really subtle.

⸻

By eleven, I've corrected the filing mistake, reorganised two entire folders just to make sure there aren't any others, updated Alex's afternoon schedule and responded to more emails than any human being should reasonably receive before lunch.

The office phone rings.

I stare at it.

I already know.

Somehow, I just know.

I answer.

"Hello, Alice Richmond speaking."

"Coffee."

I close my eyes.

Of course.

"Good morning to you too, Alex."

Silence.

Then:

"Triple espresso."

The line goes dead.

I stare at the phone.

"Please would kill you, wouldn't it?"

Unfortunately, the phone doesn't answer.

I head downstairs.

Ten minutes later, I return to the eleventh floor carrying his triple espresso.

Alex is sitting behind his desk, reading something on his laptop.

I place the coffee beside him.

"Your coffee."

"Thank you."

I pause.

Oh.

He does know that phrase.

Amazing.

I begin walking away.

Behind me, I hear him take a sip.

"Alice."

I stop.

Of course.

I slowly turn around.

"Yes?"

He looks at the cup.

Then at me.

"What is this?"

I stare.

Is he serious?

"Coffee."

His expression doesn't change.

"I'm aware it's coffee."

"Then I'm confused."

"My coffee has one sugar."

I look at him.

He looks at me.

"One sugar?"

"Yes."

"You asked for a triple espresso."

"With one sugar."

"You didn't say that."

Alex leans back in his chair.

"You've been working here for a week."

I almost laugh.

"Yes, surprisingly your sugar preference hasn't made it into my long-term memory yet."

One corner of his mouth twitches.

I see it.

He immediately hides it, but I definitely see it.

"You're my assistant," he says.

"And?"

"And knowing how I take my coffee would be useful."

I stare at him.

This man cannot be serious.

"Would you like me to create a spreadsheet?"

His eyebrows pull together.

"A spreadsheet?"

"Coffee preference. Favourite pen. Preferred room temperature. Exactly how many degrees you'd like the blinds opened in the morning."

His lips twitch again.

He's enjoying this.

That makes me even angrier.

"One sugar, Alice."

I force a smile.

"Anything else, Your Majesty?"

Silence.

My soul leaves my body.

Did I—

Did I actually say that out loud?

Alex slowly removes his glasses.

His eyes settle on mine.

Oh God.

I'm getting fired.

This is it.

Assistant number six.

One week.

Possibly a new Star Industries record.

"Your Majesty?" he repeats.

I swallow.

"It slipped out."

"Clearly."

"I apologise."

He puts his glasses down.

There is absolutely no anger in his face.

If anything...

He looks amused.

Which somehow annoys me more.

"So you'll remember the sugar tomorrow?" he asks.

"Yes, sir."

His eyes narrow slightly at the emphasis I put on sir.

I turn towards the elevator.

"Alice."

I stop again.

"Yes, Your—"

I catch myself.

His eyebrow rises.

"Alex."

"Right. Alex."

"One sugar."

I smile tightly.

"One sugar."

The elevator doors open.

I step inside.

The second they close, I whisper:

"Asshole."

⸻

By lunchtime, I need to get away from the tenth floor before I commit a crime.

I find Audrey sitting alone in the canteen with a sandwich and a coffee.

Perfect.

I drop into the chair opposite her.

She looks up.

"Hello to you too."

"How did five people work for that man before me?"

Audrey pauses halfway through taking a bite.

Then slowly lowers her sandwich.

"Bad morning?"

"He interrogated me over a folder."

"Oh."

"Then apparently I committed a federal offence because I forgot to put one sugar in his coffee."

Audrey bites the inside of her cheek.

I narrow my eyes.

"Don't."

She starts laughing.

"Audrey!"

"I'm sorry."

"You're not."

"Not even slightly."

I drop back against my chair.

"He is impossible."

She takes another bite.

"You're learning."

"I made one filing mistake. One. Nothing went missing. Nothing exploded. Star Industries is still standing."

"That's good."

"And then the coffee."

"The coffee is important."

I stare at her.

She laughs again.

"Whose side are you on?"

The words leave my mouth before I even think about them.

I freeze.

For the briefest second, the club flashes through my mind.

Whose side are you on?

I said that to him too.

The masked stranger.

Audrey doesn't notice anything.

"Your side," she says. "Mostly."

"Mostly?"

"You haven't worked here long enough for me to risk my job for you yet."

"Fair."

I grab one of the napkins from the table and start tearing the corner apart.

"He expects everything to be perfect, except nobody tells me what perfect actually means. Then when I get something wrong, he looks at me like I personally destroyed his entire company."

Audrey nods thoughtfully.

"That sounds like Alex."

"How does anyone work for him?"

"They usually don't."

"Clearly."

I lean forward.

"No wonder five assistants quit."

Audrey stops chewing.

Then she swallows.

"Four."

I frown.

"What?"

"Four assistants quit."

I stare at her.

"You told me he's had five assistants in four weeks."

"He did."

"But only four quit?"

Audrey takes a suspiciously long sip of her coffee.

Something clicks.

"What happened to the fifth?"

She looks at me.

"Alex fired her."

Interesting.

"Why?"

Audrey immediately shakes her head.

"Nope."

"What do you mean, nope?"

"I mean I'm not getting involved."

"You cannot tell me he fired one of them and then stop there."

"I absolutely can."

"Audrey."

"Alice."

I stare at her.

She calmly picks up her sandwich again.

"Why did he fire her?"

"That's not my story to tell."

"Did she do something?"

Audrey says nothing.

"Was she bad at the job?"

Still nothing.

"Did she accidentally forget his sugar and get executed?"

That gets another laugh out of her.

"Very funny."

"I'm serious."

"No, you're nosy."

"I prefer curious."

"Same thing."

I sigh.

That phrase sounds annoyingly familiar too.

Observant.

Creepy.

Same thing, depending on who you ask.

Why am I thinking about him again?

I push the masked stranger from my mind.

Audrey watches me for a moment.

"Can I give you some advice?"

"Please."

"Stop being scared of Alex."

I blink.

"I'm not scared of him."

She gives me a look.

"Okay. Stop being terrified of getting fired."

"That's different."

"Not really."

I look down at the napkin I've practically destroyed.

"I need this job."

"I know."

"No, I really need it."

Audrey's expression softens.

"But that doesn't mean he gets to make you panic every time he looks in your direction."

I look back at her.

"He respects people who stand their ground."

I scoff.

"He has a strange way of showing it."

"He's a strange man."

"That's one way of putting it."

Audrey smiles.

"You're different from the others."

I raise an eyebrow.

"How?"

"You argue back."

"I do not."

She just stares at me.

I think about Your Majesty.

"Okay. Occasionally."

"Exactly."

"And that's a good thing?"

"With Alex?"

Audrey shrugs.

"It might be."

That doesn't sound particularly reassuring.

I look towards the clock.

My lunch break is almost over.

I stand.

"If I disappear by Friday, tell everyone I tried."

Audrey smiles.

"I don't think you're going anywhere."

"Neither did the other five."

"Four."

I point at her.

"You're eventually telling me what happened with number five."

"Keep dreaming."

⸻

The rest of the afternoon passes without disaster.

Mostly.

Alex sends back two emails because apparently I used the wrong wording.

He changes one meeting three separate times.

Then changes it back to the original time.

At four-thirty, he asks me where a document is that he is literally holding.

I don't point this out.

Mostly because I enjoy being employed.

By six, almost everyone else on the floor has gone home.

I should probably leave too.

Instead, I'm sitting cross-legged in my chair, going through every company folder on the system.

Current partnerships.

Acquisitions.

Prospective investments.

Completed contracts.

Everything.

If Alex wants perfection, fine.

He can have perfection.

I'm halfway through reorganising another folder when a voice behind me makes me jump.

"Why are you still here?"

I spin around.

Alex is standing in my doorway.

I glance at the clock.

6:47 p.m.

"I'm working."

"I can see that."

"Congratulations."

His eyebrow lifts.

Maybe I'm getting slightly too comfortable.

He walks into the office.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking the filing system."

"Why?"

I stare at him.

"Because apparently one incorrect folder could bring down the entire Underwood empire."

His expression hardens slightly.

"Alice."

"What?"

"You fixed it this morning."

"Yes."

"So why are you still checking?"

"Because I don't want you throwing another folder at me tomorrow."

"I didn't throw it."

"You aggressively placed it."

His mouth twitches.

Again.

This man definitely finds me amusing.

I'm beginning to hate that.

"It can wait until tomorrow," he says.

"I'm nearly finished."

"Go home."

"I said I'm nearly finished."

"And I'm telling you it can wait."

I turn back towards my computer.

"Funny. It sounded extremely urgent this morning."

Silence.

For a few seconds, neither of us says anything.

Then Alex walks further into my office.

He stops beside my desk.

"I was hard on you."

My fingers stop moving over the keyboard.

Slowly, I look up.

"Sorry?"

His jaw tightens.

"I said I was hard on you."

I stare at him.

Did Alex Underwood just admit he was wrong?

"Could you say that again?"

"No."

"I just want to make sure I heard it correctly."

"You did."

"I might need it in writing."

"Alice."

"Maybe signed?"

His eyes narrow.

"Don't push it."

I bite back a smile.

There it is.

"I made the point badly," he continues. "The information in those acquisition files is important. I should've explained that rather than assuming you knew."

I blink.

This is dangerously close to an apology.

"Are you apologising?"

"Don't get carried away."

"That's a yes."

"No."

"It sounded like one."

He exhales through his nose.

"I'm saying you're still learning."

I lean back in my chair.

"And the coffee?"

"What about it?"

"You were definitely unreasonable about the coffee."

"One sugar isn't difficult."

I stare at him.

There he is.

I knew the reasonable version couldn't last.

"You know what? Forget it."

I turn back to my screen.

A quiet laugh comes from beside me.

I freeze.

Did he just—

I turn towards him.

"Did you laugh?"

"No."

"You did."

"I didn't."

"You absolutely did."

Alex shakes his head and begins walking towards the door.

"You're imagining things, Richmond."

"Coward."

He stops.

Slowly turns.

"What did you call me?"

I suddenly become very interested in my computer.

"Nothing."

"I thought so."

He reaches the doorway.

Then pauses.

"Go home, Alice."

This time, his voice isn't demanding.

It's quieter.

Almost... concerned.

"I will."

"And don't come in early tomorrow."

I look over.

"Why?"

"Because you were here before me this morning."

"So?"

"So normal people sleep."

I stare at him.

"That's rich coming from you."

A small smile appears at the corner of his mouth.

A real one this time.

It changes his entire face.

And for one strange second, something about it feels familiar.

Too familiar.

My stomach flips.

Then the smile disappears.

"Goodnight, Alice."

"Goodnight... Alex."

He walks away.

I sit there staring at the empty doorway.

What is wrong with that man?

One minute he's making me feel like the most incompetent employee to ever walk through Star Industries.

The next he's admitting he was too hard on me and telling me to go home.

I close my laptop.

Just when I decide I hate him, he has to go and act almost human.

I grab my bag and head towards the elevator.

As the doors close, that familiar scent of his cologne still seems to linger in the corridor.

For some reason, my mind immediately returns to Saturday night.

A black mask.

A hand at my waist.

A deep voice calling me Grace.

I shake my head.

"No."

There is absolutely no connection.

I'm tired.

That's all.

Still...

As the elevator begins its descent, I can't help thinking about one thing.

The masked stranger had irritated me too.

And somehow, I hadn't minded that nearly as much.