Signed To Seduce

YOU'RE FIRED

All night, Xavier couldn't stop thinking about the encounter they had. Why did he let her help? Does he trust her? He doesn't usually trust women ever since his ex. The thing is, a few years back, before he built his empire, he was engaged to a woman he thought was his soulmate. Victoria Sinclaire was beautiful, charming, and adored in the high society- the kind of woman who looked perfect on his arm. He trusted her completely. But on the night of their engagement party, he discovered the truth. She had been secretly working with his rival company, feeding them inside information about his father's business. The engagement itself was a setup- she only wanted his last name, his money, and the access it would give her family. Worse, she had been cheating on him with was not only his rival but also someone he had once considered a close friend. The scandal nearly destroyed his reputation and cost him millions. The betrayal hardened him. He swore never to give his heart away. Love became just another transaction, another weakness for someone to exploit. He began avoiding relationships, preferring casual flings. Deep down, he still feared being humiliated or betrayed again.

"f**k!" he yelled, covering his face with a pillow. He doesn't want to fall in love with her. To him, she's perfect. Beautiful, smart, quiet, all of that, but he doesn't want to trust her even one bit. He goes to sleep deep in his thoughts about her.

The next morning at work, he calls her into his office.

"Good morning Camille, I have a meeting by 1. Be there"

She nods politely.

"Anything else, sir?" she asks

"No, you can go", he says. She nods and leaves the office.

That is the first time he has ever said good morning to her. Is he in a good mood? she thinks to herself as she walks to Lily's office. They're supposed to get coffee together.

The conference room was all glass and silence, the kind that hummed with intimidation. Board members sat rigid in their leather chairs, tablets propped open, pens clicking nervously. At the head of the long, polished table, CEO Xavier Hale adjusted his cufflinks like he was adjusting the world itself. He loved this moment—when every eye was on him.

“Let’s begin,” Xavier announced smoothly. “Our quarterly report demonstrates a 12% increase in—”

“Excuse me,” Camille, interrupted from her usual seat at the far end. Her voice was crisp, clear, and far too calm.

Xavier’s jaw flexed. Interruptions were rare. From her? Unthinkable.

“Yes, Camille?” His smile didn’t reach his eyes.

She stood, holding a folder. “Just to clarify, the numbers you’re citing… are from last quarter. The updated report was sent to your desk two days ago. I even highlighted the changes in red.”

The room shifted. Heads tilted. A few board members coughed into their fists to disguise amusement.

Xavier’s face went still. “Are you certain?” he asked, though his voice had lost its silk.

“Yes,” Camille replied, sliding the folder across the table. It opened neatly to the corrected figures—showing a 7% drop, not a rise. “It seemed important the board was given the accurate data, rather than—” she paused delicately, “—the optimistic version.”

Silence cracked into muffled laughter from one corner. A director raised an eyebrow at Xavier, suddenly less impressed, while another tapped quickly on their tablet, pulling up the same numbers to confirm.

Xavier’s ears burned. For the first time in years, he looked… small.

Camille, however, sat back down gracefully, her pen poised as if nothing at all had happened.

The meeting dragged to its official close, though Xavier barely heard a word after Camille’s correction. His signature smile returned for the board, but it was a mask—one he ripped off the second the glass doors clicked shut.

“Camille.” His voice was sharp as a blade.

She looked up from her notes, calm as ever. “Yes, Mr. Hale?”

“In my office. Now.”

The walk back was silent, his strides clipped and controlled, hers unhurried. Inside his office, he closed the door with a force that rattled the glass walls.

“You embarrassed me,” he snapped. “In front of my board.”

“You embarrassed yourself,” she countered, setting the folder gently on his desk. She immediately turns apologetic, “I did my job, sir. I gave you the numbers—you chose not to read them.”

He stepped closer, too close, anger radiating from him like heat. But there was something else sparking underneath it. “Do you have any idea how that made me look?”

“Yes,” she said simply, holding his gaze. “Honest. For once.”

The words struck deeper than she intended, and for a heartbeat, neither of them moved. His breath slowed. Her defiance softened, but only slightly.

Adrian’s eyes dropped to her mouth before he caught himself. “You’re insufferable,” he muttered, though his voice was lower now, less certain.

Camille tilted her chin up, her lips parting just enough for his composure to fracture. He leaned in without meaning to, his hand brushing the edge of her desk near hers. The air thickened, charged, the kind of pull neither had planned for.

Her voice came out as a whisper. “Then fire me.”

His mouth hovered a fraction away from hers, his control hanging by a thread. “Don’t tempt me.”

But he didn’t move closer. Not yet.

"You're fired", he whispers in her ear with a smirk.

"W-What? No? Please" she immediately starts pleading.

"You said to fire you" he says, quoting her. "Clear your desk and leave" he adds.

"S-sir?"

"LEAVE!" he yells.

She runs out in tears. Lily helps her clear her desk and she's gone before the end of the day.