I Was Hired To Seduce My Boss

Chapter 4: The Lies



I sat at my desk with my hand pressed against my mouth, trying to trap the taste of him there. Whiskey and coffee and something darker, something that felt like the beginning of a storm I had no shelter from. My lips were still swollen, and every time I breathed, I remembered the way his tongue had moved against mine. This was not supposed to feel like this. He was supposed to have a job and not a craving. I pressed my palm flat against the desk and tried to steady my heartbeat. It would not listen.



The last ten minutes were a blur of heat and hunger and bad decisions. His hands in my hair. His mouth on my throat. The way he had said my real name like it was a prayer and a warning all at once. Zoe. I closed my eyes, and the image of him burned behind my lids. Dark eyes. Sharp jaw. The scar on his eyebrow that I wanted to trace with my tongue. Stop it. You are here to do a job, your mother is dying so focus but I could not focus. Every time I tried to think about Evelyn, about the file, about the twelve million dollars, his face rose like a wave and drowned everything else. My phone buzzed on the desk. I looked down at it, it was Evelyn. First file tonight at the same place, do not be late.



The fear came rushing back, cold and sharp, cutting through the heat that had been clouding my mind. This was real. This was not a game. If I did not give Evelyn what she wanted, my mother died. I typed back with steady fingers, the only part of me that still obeyed. I have something. I will be there. I looked up. Liam was standing in his doorway, watching me. His face was unreadable, but his eyes were dark, and I knew he had seen me text.



Evelyn? he asked. I nodded. She wants the first file tonight. He walked toward me, and I stood, and we were face to face, close enough to touch. The air between us was thick, heavy, a living thing that pressed against my skin. His hand came up, and he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers lingered on my skin, warm and deliberate.



Are you ready? He asked, no good. He handed me a folder, thin and white. This is what you will give her. Old records. Nothing incriminating. She will ask questions. You will tell her that I am careful, that I do not trust easily, that it will take time. I took the folder, and our fingers brushed. The spark jumped between us, a live wire I could not seem to stop touching. And what do I tell her about you? I asked about us?



He leaned closer, his mouth at my ear. His breath was warm on my skin, and I shivered. Tell her the truth, he whispered. Tell her that you cannot stop thinking about me. Tell her that when I kiss you, you forget why you are here. Tell her that you are falling for me, and you do not know how to stop. He pulled back, and I saw the hunger in his eyes, the same hunger I felt in my own chest.



Because it is not a lie, he said. He turned and walked back into his office, and I stood there with the folder in my hand and my heart in my throat. I was falling for him. And I did not know how to stop. The parking garage was dark and cold, a concrete tomb swallowed by shadows. I sat in the back of the black car with the folder in my lap and my hands shaking. Liam was beside me, his hand on my knee, his eyes watching the door where Evelyn was supposed to appear.



You do not have to do this, he said. I can find another way. No. I shook my head. My mother does not have time for another way. He looked at me, and I saw the guilt in his eyes, the same guilt I felt in my own chest. They were mirrors, him and I. Two people using each other to survive. I am sorry, Zoe, he said. I am sorry that I brought you into this, you did not bring me into this. I looked at him, at the sharp lines of his face, the shadows under his eyes. Evelyn did. You are just the man she wants me to destroy.



He leaned over and kissed my forehead softly and warmly. A benediction I did not deserve. Be careful, he said. If anything happens to you, nothing will happen. I opened the door and stepped out into the cold. I will be fine. I walked toward the building, my footsteps echoing on the concrete. I did not look back. If I looked back, I would see his face, and I would want to run to the car, and I could not afford to be weak.



Not now. Not when my mother's life hung in the balance. Evelyn was waiting in a small room on the third floor. Her gray suit was perfect, untouched by the damp and the dark. Her hair was pulled back tight, stretching the skin of her face into a mask. Her eyes were cold, flat, the eyes of a woman who had seen too much and felt too little.



She smiled when I walked in, but the smile did not reach her eyes. You have something for me, she said. I handed her the folder. Old records. Financial transactions. Nothing that will bring him down yet, but it is a start. She opened the folder and flipped through the pages, her face unreadable. The only sound was the rustle of paper and the distant hum of traffic.



He is careful, she said. Yes and you? Is he careful with you? I kept my face neutral, a mask over a mask. He is interested. He watches me. He touches me when he thinks I am not paying attention. Evelyn looked up, and I saw the hunger in her eyes, the same hunger I saw in Liam's eyes when he looked at me. But hers was colder. Sharper. A blade wrapped in silk. Has he kissed you? she asked. 



Yes, good. She closed the folder and stood. Keep getting close to him. Keep feeding him lies. And when he trusts you, when he lets you in, you will find the file. The real one. The one his father died for. I nodded and turned to leave, but her voice stopped me.



Zoe. I looked back. Your mother is comfortable, she said. The treatments are going well. But if you fail me, if you betray me, that stops. Do you understand? I understand. I understood that I was a puppet, and she was holding the strings. I understood that my mother's life was a thread she could cut at any moment. I understand.



I walked out of the room, down the stairs, through the door, into the cold night air. The car was waiting. Liam was standing outside, his face tight with worry. You are shaking, he said. I am cold. Liar but he pulled me against him, and I buried my face in his chest. His arms wrapped around me, warm and strong. For a moment, I forgot about Evelyn. I forgot about the file. I forgot about everything except the way his heart beat against my cheek.



I am not going to let her win, he said. I promise you, Zoe. Your mother is going to live. And Evelyn is going to rot in prison for the rest of her life. I looked up at him, and I saw the determination in his eyes, the same determination I felt in my own chest. I know, I said. Because I am not going to let her win either. He kissed me then. Soft. Slow. I tasted the promise in it, the future we were fighting for, the love that was growing between us even though we both knew we should not let it. 



When he pulled back, his eyes were dark, and his voice was rough. Let us go home. I nodded, and he helped me into the car. We drove through the dark city, his hand in mine. I did not let go. He was the only thing keeping me sane. And I was terrified of what would happen when this was over.