Chapter 4
1155 Words
Amberlyn
She was standing right there, closer than I'd realized, her perfume hitting me strong
Her smile was perfectly polite, but her eyes... God, her eyes were cold.
"But he's your boss after all," she continued, her tone sweet as poisoned honey. "Peasants should obey their masters."
The word hit like a slap. ‘Peasants.’
She brushed past me, and I stood there frozen, unable to move, unable to breathe.
Through the gap in Kazimir's door, I saw him stand. His entire posture changed, softened in a way I'd never seen. He smiled, actually smiled. This was real. Warm.
He wrapped his arms around Lumira, pulling her close, and kissed her.
My chest felt like someone had reached inside and crushed my heart with their bare hands.
I turned away before I could see more. My vision blurred as I walked back toward my desk.
“Peasants should obey their masters.”
I was nothing to him, just a distraction.
And she knew. Maybe not the details, but she knew something. The way she'd looked at me.
The rest of the day went on quietly. That night, I tried calling Marcus. Each call went straight to voicemail.
On the third attempt, I gave up and threw my phone on the couch.
I crawled into bed with my clothes still on, staring at the ceiling. I didn't know when I slept off but I remembered I dreamed of Kazimir and Lumira smiling while they laughed at me.
---
Morning came too fast.
I dragged myself to work early again, I didn't want to think or feel anything. I just wanted to survive the day.
The office hummed with its usual chaos. Kazimir was already in back-to-back meetings, which meant I could avoid him.
Around ten, one of his clients had arrived but he was still in a meeting.
I met with the client, he was some middle-aged man in an expensive suit.
We exchanged greetings while I took him to the Conference Room until Kazimir was done.
He sat at the head of the table, while his gaze traveled down my body in a way that made my skin crawl.
"Mr. Whitestone will be here shortly," I said, keeping my voice professional. "Can I get you anything? Water? Coffee?"
"Coffee's fine." His smile was too wide. "And your name, sweetheart?"
"Amberlyn." I didn't return the smile.
"Pretty name for a pretty girl."
I ignored that, pouring coffee from the coffee machine on the side table. My blouse had shifted slightly when I'd rushed to meet the client, showing maybe more cleavage than usual. I adjusted it subtly, but not subtly enough.
"You know," he said, leaning back in his chair, "Kazimir always did have excellent taste in assistants."
"I'm sure he values competence." I set the coffee in front of him and stepped back.
"Oh, I'm sure." His eyes didn't leave my chest. "But competence isn't the only thing worth valuing, is it?"
My jaw tightened. "Mr. Whitestone should be here any moment…"
"Relax, sweetheart. We're just talking."
I turned to leave, but his hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. "Where are you going? Keep me company."
"Sir, please let go."
His other hand moved fast before I could comprehend, I felt his palm on my ass, squeezing.
My hand moved on instinct. The slap cracked through the room, loud enough to echo off the glass walls.
For a second, we both just stared at each other, him in shock, me in horror at what I'd just done.
Then his expression twisted. "You little b***h…"
His hand raised, and I flinched, squeezing my eyes shut.
"Try it."
Kazimir's voice. Cold. Deadly.
I opened my eyes. He stood in the doorway, his tie loose, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his eyes looking so venomous.
The client lowered his hand slowly. "Kazimir. This is a misunderstanding. Your assistant, she got aggressive…"
"Get your story straight." Kazimir stepped inside, "I saw what you did."
"She slapped me!"
"After you grabbed her." Another step closer. "Touch any of my staff again, and I'll break that hand myself."
The client's face went red. "You need my signature on this deal. You can't afford to throw away a hundred billion dollars over some assistant who doesn't know her place…"
"Get out."
Silence.
The client blinked. "What?"
"Get out. Take your short ugly self and those f*****g papers out of my company before I get security to throw you out."
"You're not serious. This deal…"
"Is canceled. We're done."
The man stared at him, disbelief written across his face. Then he grabbed his briefcase and stormed out, cursing under his breath about lawsuits and reputation.
The door slammed.
I stood there, trembling, unable to process what had just happened. Kazimir had just blown a massive deal. For me. Because of me.
"Sir, I…" My voice cracked. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…"
He crossed the distance between us in two strides and grabbed my wrist—not hard, but firm. "Come with me."
"Where?"
"Now, Amberlyn."
He pulled me out of the conference room, down the hall toward his office.
The door slammed behind us.
Before I could speak, he spun me around and pressed me back against his desk. His hands braced on either side of me, caging me in. His breath was hot against my ear.
"Do you know what you just cost me?" His voice was low, dangerous. "That deal was worth a hundred billion dollars."
Tears stung my eyes. "I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—he grabbed me, and I just reacted—"
"You shouldn't apologize." His hand came up, brushing my cheek. The touch was surprisingly gentle. "Think of a way to make it up to me."
My pulse stuttered. "I... I don't have that kind of money. I can't…"
"I'm not talking about money." His thumb traced my bottom lip. "You know what I want."
"Sir..."
His mouth curved into something dark and beautiful. "You can start by not running."
Then his lips crashed into mine.
"Kazimir…" I said after he released me.
"Don't." He cut me off, his tone suddenly sharp. "Don't apologize. Don't make excuses. Don't pretend this was a mistake."
"But…"
He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. "You're mine, Bunny. Whether you accept it or not. Whether it's right or not. That's the truth."
Then he released me and walked to the window, staring out at the city like he could find answers in the skyline.
I stared at him for a while before turning my back and heading towards the door.
When I finally made it to the door, his voice stopped me.
"Amberlyn."
I looked back.
His expression was softer now. Conflicted. "I meant what I said. You never have to apologize for defending yourself."
Something in my chest cracked.
I left before I could say or do something I'd regret.
- Writer
