The Devil I Loved

Chapter 5

Vera took the job. She made the decision on Saturday morning at the kitchen table after thinking super hard about all her options.

The pay was really good and she had passed the interview. Intentionally ruining a good opportunity just because she hated Cassian's presence would not be favourable to her and her brother, especially when they had financial difficulties.

She wanted Reid to go back to school once he was back on his feet, she wanted them to live a very good life for years and this was enough to convince her to accept the offer.

By Monday, she was at Kinggs Meridian Group's executive floor. She was shown to her desk which was outside Cassian's office, positioned so she could see both the elevator bank and his door by a woman named Petra.

"He's in early, usually seven and sometimes six thirty." Petra informed her briskly. "He drinks black coffee, no exceptions. He will not tell you when he has a headache. You will have to learn to tell that from the way he sets his jaw. His eleven o'clock is always his worst meeting of the week regardless of what it is. Don't schedule anything adjacent to it."

"Understood." Vera answered, making notes. She found it ironic that she had to go through the process of learning about someone that she once used to know well. Her grip tightened and she gulped hard.

"He doesn't explain himself often but when he gives an instruction there's always a reason and if you don't know the reason, ask. He prefers people who ask over people who assume and get it wrong. Do you have any questions?"

"Not yet."

Vera set up her workspace and went through the scheduling system. She noted the week's appointments, identified three potential conflicts and resolved two of them before nine a.m. She drafted two letters Cassian had left flagged in the drafts folder.

While she was busy familiarising herself, she heard the elevator ding at seven-twelve. Cassian walked through the executive floor and he stopped at the threshold of her desk area. She finished the sentence she was typing and looked at him.

"Good morning, Mr. Wolfe. Your eight-thirty meeting has been moved to nine. I've updated the system and notified the other attendees. Your coffee is on your desk already."

"Good morning, Ms. Calloway." He responded and went into his office. One thing at a time, Vera told herself. She turned back to the screen. She had decided that the only way she could avoid Cassian was to put a barrier between them.

She felt nothing for him anymore and she was confident about that. Their relationship at work would be strictly professional and there would be no reason to meet outside work or have an unprofessional discussion.

"You are doing this for the money." She whispered, encouraging herself once more and went back to working.

The day was long and dense but she was grateful for it. Being busy in this manner was an excellent substitute for her negative thoughts. The work was genuinely demanding and it felt like she had been here the whole time.

At noon, she got lunch delivered to her desk even without asking for it. It was a junior assistant that had brought it over. She looked at him curiously.

"Mr. Wolfe instructed that lunch be brought over to you." He said before taking his leave.

Vera rubbed her face. She thought about sending it back but that would be rude of her. Moreover, what would people say? So she had no choice but to eat it.

It was noon and she was actually very hungry. It had been a while since she ate something good.

By the time it was six thirty pm, the floor was already quiet. The other staff had all clocked out by 5 pm. Vera was finishing a briefing document for Thursday's acquisition meeting when she became aware of Cassian in his doorway.

He had his jacket off with his sleeves rolled up as usual.

"You can head out."

"I am nearly done with the Thursday brief."

"It can wait until tomorrow."

"It can't. You have prep calls tomorrow from eight onward and aside from that, I won't really be available on Thursday because I have something more important come up."

He didn't rebut her anymore. Instead, he came to the edge of her desk area and stopped. She could see him in her peripheral vision, leaning one shoulder against the partition. He waited until she was done before speaking,

"I want you to know that I did my...I didn't arrange the penthouse with any knowledge of who was going to come. When I saw you, I wanted to discuss with you about..."

"Cassian!" She called out with a tired voice while looking at him directly. "I am your PA. I will be excellent at this job but I need you to understand something." She held his gaze. "I don't need an explanation or an apology. I have made peace with the past and I am not interested in revisiting it. So whatever you're trying to say, please don't." She shunned him off.

"So what now? You are going to leave issues unresolved between us? Don't I at least deserve to know why you thought it was a good idea to disappear without telling me?"

Vera sighed, rolled her eyes and afterwards rubbed her forehead.

“Can we please not have this conversation?”

"But we need to do it, Vera. Don't I deserve to know? What is up with this cold attitude? Why are you trying to act like we had no history together?”

"That is because you are f*****g manipulative, Cassian!” She snapped at him, unable to remain calm. "You are nothing but a liar and a betrayal! No, you don't deserve any answer because you don't care. So don't come here pretending to be a victim." She hit her palm against the desk, clearly infuriated by the situation.

This was the first time she was able to confront him.

"Listen, I accepted this deal because I thought I would be able to bear it for the money but seeing your face...I just can't hide how disgusted I am. Seeing you back, trying to play yourself into my life like nothing happened..." she exhaled and pointed. "That I will not accept."

Then she stood up and grabbed her bag, "I hate you just as much as you hated me. I will submit my letter of resignation later this week. I am done! I can't stand your presence." With that already said, she stormed out of the office and finally the building, leaving Cassian to his thoughts and loneliness.

When Vera got home, she broke down in tears and wept bitterly.

"I hate you. I f*****g hate you, Cassian." She said in between her sobs.