His Cybernetic Secretary

18. Xavier

Xavier knew Dante was lying.

He knew it the moment Dante leaned back in the limo, checked a message on his phone, and announced that he had to “step out for a minute.”

Dante never stepped out for a minute, he disappeared when he wanted to leave someone alone. Usually, Xavier.

Today, apparently, it was Chrysanthemum.

Xavier watched the car pull away through the glass doors before turning toward her.

She stood beside him in the Holden Minerals lobby, perfectly composed, hands folded neatly in front of her. Too composed. He’d seen enough of her reactions in the limo to know there was considerably more happening beneath that flawless exterior.

“Come on,” he said.

She followed.

The elevator waited at the far end of the lobby, surrounded by polished stone and dark metal. Xavier pressed his security access against the reader.

The doors opened and Chrys stepped inside. Xavier followed and pressed twelve. She glanced at the panel. “Why twelve?”

“Because you can’t go directly to thirteen.”

Her eyebrows lifted.

“Security?”

“Among other things.”

The doors slid shut. For several seconds, neither spoke. Xavier became acutely aware of how small the elevator suddenly felt.

Chrys glanced at him, then at the doors, then back at him.

SYS: ELEVATOR CONFINEMENT DETECTED.

She blinked.

SYS: CURRENT PROXIMITY TO XAVIER: 31.4 CENTIMETERS.

Her cheeks warmed.

SYS: TEMPERATURE INCREASE DETECTED.

I’m aware.

SYS: I AM ALSO AWARE. THAT IS WHY I REPORTED IT.

Her lips twitched.

Xavier noticed.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“You smiled.”

“I did not.”

“You did.”

She looked straight ahead.

SYS: HUMAN BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS: SUBJECT XAVIER IS OBSERVANT.

A pause.

SYS: UNFORTUNATELY.

Chrys pressed her lips together.

Xavier glanced at her again. Definitely something.

The elevator chimed, the ornately carved marble doors opened onto the twelfth floor, and the atmosphere changed immediately.

The twelfth floor was quieter than the lower levels. Controlled. Restricted. Dark glass offices lined one side of the corridor, while the other held a reception area, conference rooms, and a heavily secured entrance at the far end.

“This is executive security and administrative support,” Xavier explained. “You’ll spend a fair amount of time here.”

Two people stood behind the security desk.

A woman with dark curls looked up first.

Her expression brightened.

“Well, look who finally decided to introduce us.”

Xavier sighed.

“Mara.”

The woman grinned.

“And this must be Chrysanthemum.”

Chrys nodded.

“Mara Vale.”

The man beside her stood and offered his hand.

“Elias Grant.”

His handshake was warm and easy.

“Security operations,” he explained. “Mara handles executive access and internal security coordination. I handle threat assessment, surveillance, and occasionally making sure Mara doesn’t let people into places they shouldn’t be.”

Mara scoffed.

“I have excellent judgment.”

“You let Dante bypass security last Tuesday.”

“He’s Dante.”

“That isn’t a defense.”

“It is absolutely a defense.”

Chrys’s mouth curved.

SYS: FRIENDSHIP POTENTIAL DETECTED.

She nearly laughed.

SYS: WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO CREATE A FRIENDSHIP PROFILE?

No.

SYS: DISAPPOINTING. I WAS ALREADY CONSIDERING MATCHING YOU WITH MARA.

Please don’t.

Xavier caught the faint smile again.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Mara pointed at her.

“I like her.”

Elias nodded.

“Me too.”

Xavier shook his head.

“You two haven’t known her for thirty seconds.”

“Long enough,” Mara said.

Chrys looked between them.

“I was told to come to you if I needed anything.”

“You do,” Mara said immediately. “Anything security-related, access problems, credentials, deliveries, visitors, people acting suspiciously—come to me.”

“And if something feels wrong,” Elias added, “tell me. Even if you can’t explain why.”

Chrys nodded.

“I will.”

Xavier watched the exchange.

Something about seeing Chrys stand there among people who weren’t treating her like equipment or an asset struck him unexpectedly.

She looked almost normal. Almost.

Mara leaned toward her.

“And if you need someone to explain who everyone is around here, I’m your girl.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, and avoid the west conference room on Thursday mornings.”

Xavier frowned.

“Why?”

“Legal.”

Elias nodded solemnly.

“They reproduce in there.”

Chrys blinked.

Xavier stared at them.

Mara shrugged.

“You’ll understand.”

SYS: INFORMATION CLASSIFIED AS NONESSENTIAL.

A beat.

SYS: HOWEVER, I AM INTERESTED.

Xavier looked at Chrys.

She was trying very hard not to smile.

“Come on,” he said.

Mara called after them.

“Welcome to Holden Minerals, Chrys!”

Chrys turned.

“Thank you.”

Her smile was small. Genuine. Xavier felt something tighten unexpectedly in his chest. He turned toward the secure doors. The elevator behind them was already closing.

“This is the last stop before your office,” he said.

“My office?”

“Your new home away from home.”

The security door opened only after Xavier scanned his credentials and Chrys’s temporary access badge. Beyond it was another elevator.

Unlike the first, this one had no visible buttons.

Xavier pressed his hand to the scanner.

The system recognized him, opening the doors.

“Thirteen,” he said.

Chrys stepped inside. This elevator was silent. Private. Shielded. “No one gets to thirteen without passing through twelve,” Xavier explained. “Even me.”

She looked at him.

“Even you?”

“Especially me.”

“Why?”

“Because the thirteenth floor isn’t just the CEO’s office.”

The doors closed.

“It’s the nerve center of Holden Minerals.”

The elevator began to rise.

“Everything that matters eventually reaches thirteen.”

Chrys looked at the doors.

“And I’ll be there?”

“Most of the time.”

The elevator stopped.

The doors opened.

Chrys stepped out.

Xavier followed.

The thirteenth floor stretched before them in polished black stone and glass, impossibly quiet and almost unnervingly beautiful. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city. Offices sat behind smoked glass. The entire floor felt removed from the rest of the building.

“This is where you’ll spend most of your time,” Xavier said.

Chrys slowly looked around.

SYS: ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT COMPLETE.

A pause.

SYS: IMPRESSIVE.

Another pause.

SYS: ALSO INTIMIDATING.

Xavier glanced at her.

“You okay?”

She nodded.

“Yes.”

He studied her for another moment.

“Your responsibilities are extensive. Scheduling. Communications. Security coordination. Executive correspondence. Access control. Travel. Meetings. You’ll know more about Dante’s calendar than Dante does.”

“That sounds concerning.”

“It is.”

Her mouth twitched.

“And you’ll have access to information very few people in this company ever see.”

Her expression became serious.

“Confidentiality?”

“Absolute.”

She nodded.

Xavier stepped closer, lowering his voice.

“And if something doesn’t make sense, you ask me.”

Chrys looked up at him.

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

Their eyes held.

For a second, the floor, the city, and the entire building seemed to disappear.

Then SYS quietly interrupted.

SYS: WARNING. ELEVATED HEART RATE DETECTED.

Chrys swallowed.

Not now.

SYS: I AGREE. THIS IS BECOMING INCONVENIENT.

Xavier’s mouth almost curved.

He knew exactly why Dante had left, the bastard had orchestrated this. Of course he had.

Dante had seen the tension in the limo, seen the way Chrysanthemum reacted to them both, and decided that leaving them alone was far more entertaining than staying.

Xavier would deal with him later.

For now, his attention returned to Chrys. She stood several feet away, taking in the thirteenth floor with those impossibly intelligent eyes.

“Come here,” he said quietly, telling himself he was merely testing her obedience directive.

Her gaze snapped to his.

She crossed the space between them.

One step.

Then another.

Xavier didn’t move.

He simply watched her approach.

When she stopped in front of him, there was barely enough space between them to breathe without noticing the other.

SYS: PROXIMITY INCREASE DETECTED.

Chrys swallowed.

SYS: HEART RATE ELEVATED.

I know.

SYS: WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO INITIATE DISTANCE PROTOCOL?

No.

A pause.

SYS: INTERESTING.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

Xavier caught it.

“You’re arguing with your system again.”

Her lips parted.

“How did you—?”

“I can tell.”

He stepped closer. Not enough to touch, just enough that she felt the warmth of him.

Her breath caught.

SYS: TEMPERATURE INCREASE DETECTED.

Stop reporting everything.

SYS: I AM BEGINNING TO SUSPECT YOU ENJOY THIS.

Chrys nearly smiled.

Xavier noticed.

“There.”

“What?”

“That.”

His voice had dropped an octave lower.

“The smile you keep trying to hide.”

Her expression softened.

“I wasn’t aware I was hiding it.”

“You were.”

His eyes stayed on hers.

“And you’re doing it again.”

The silence stretched, neither moved, the city glittering beyond the glass behind her.

Xavier lowered his voice she had to adjust her auditory controls.

“Dante thinks he’s very clever.”

Chrys blinked.

“Is he not?”

“Oh, he is.”

A faint smile touched his mouth.

“That’s what makes him dangerous.”

“And you?”

His gaze dropped briefly to her lips before returning to her eyes.

“I’m worse.”

SYS: STATEMENT REQUIRES FURTHER ANALYSIS.

Chrys’s pulse jumped. For once, she didn’t answer her system.

Neither did Xavier.

He simply held her gaze, letting the silence do what words couldn’t.

And somewhere in the back of Chrysanthemum’s mind, her system quietly amended its assessment.

SYS: UPDATED PRIORITY.

XAVIER MAY BE A PROBLEM.

A beat.

SYS: I DO NOT BELIEVE THIS IS AN UNPLEASANT PROBLEM.