My Boss Is My Stalker's Twin

I’m lying to get this job. Name: Cara Mills. Age: 26. Job history: 4 years as an executive assistant. References: All fake. If Hayes Dynamics ran a real background check, I’d be fired before I landed. But they didn’t care about that. They cared if I could type 90 WPM and keep my mouth shut. I can do both. “Mr. Hayes prefers privacy,” the recruiter said. Privacy meant no internet. No paparazzi. No ex finding me. Privacy meant safe. So I said yes to the helicopter ride to Ashford Cove. The guy across from me didn’t say one word the whole flight. Suit perfect. Jaw tight. Eyes on his laptop like it owed him money. He hadn’t looked at me once. I looked at him anyway. Tall. Dark hair. Scar through his left eyebrow. Eyes the color of a storm right before it hits. He looked like Nico. Too much like Nico. My hands started shaking. I shoved them between my knees. _Cara Mills doesn’t know Nico Hayes. Cara Mills is safe._ The helicopter landed on a helipad surrounded by pine trees and ocean. The house was worse than the photos. All glass and stone, perched on a cliff like it owned the sea. “Welcome to Ashford Cove,” he said. First words to me all day. “East wing. 8 AM sharp. Late and you’re fired.” I nodded. “Yes, Mr. Hayes.” He turned to leave, then stopped. “One more thing,” he said. I looked up. “Don’t lie to me, Ms. Mills,” he said. Voice flat. Dangerous. “I hate liars more than anything.” I swallowed. “I don’t lie, sir.” His eyes narrowed. Like he didn’t believe me. Good. Let him think I’m just another employee chasing a paycheck. The east wing was silent. The kind of silent that makes you listen for footsteps that aren’t there. My room was bigger than my Boston apartment. King bed. Ocean view. No locks on the windows. I checked the door lock twice anyway. Old habit. At 11 PM, sleep wouldn’t come. I was halfway to the kitchen when I heard it. A knock. Not on my door. On his office door across the hall. Kieran’s voice came through, low and angry. “You have no right to be here, Nico.” I froze. Nico. My stalker. My ex’s best friend. I pressed my ear to the wall. “Just visiting, brother,” Nico said. Voice smooth like poison. “Heard you hired a new PA. She looks familiar.” Kieran’s voice dropped. “Get off my island.” Footsteps. A door slamming. I stepped back just as Kieran’s office door opened. He saw me. His face went from fury to suspicion in half a second. “Why are you out here?” he asked. “I couldn’t sleep,” I said. Truth. He looked at me like I was a problem he didn’t want to deal with. “Go back to your room, Ms. Mills.” I turned to leave. “Cara,” he said. I stopped. “Have we met before?” he asked. My heart stopped. “No, Mr. Hayes,” I said. “I’m sure I’d remember.” He didn’t look convinced. I walked away, but I felt his eyes on my back the whole way down the hall. At 2 AM, I couldn’t take it anymore. I went back to his office. The door was unlocked. On his desk was a manila folder. My name on the tab: _Quinn, Mara._ My real name. Inside was a photo. Me, two years ago, laughing at a coffee shop. Before everything went to hell. Under it, in red ink: _Find out what she’s hiding._ My hands started shaking. Kieran Hayes didn’t hire me to be his assistant. He hired me because he thought I was a threat. And the worst part? He wasn’t entirely wrong. I closed the folder and slid it back exactly where it was. Footsteps echoed down the hall. I ducked into the dark corner by the bookshelf and held my breath. Kieran walked in, sleeves rolled up, tie loosened. He looked tired. Angry. He didn’t turn on the light. He just stood at his desk, staring at the spot where the folder sat. “You’re playing a dangerous game,” he muttered to himself. I didn’t move. After a minute, he left. I waited ten more before I slipped back to my room. I didn’t sleep. At 7:45 AM, I knocked on his office door. “Enter,” he said. He was already at his desk, watching me like I was a puzzle he couldn’t solve. “On time,” he said. “Good. Sit.” I sat. “Your job is simple,” he said. “Schedule. Correspondence. Keep people away from me unless I say otherwise. Do that, and we won’t have a problem.” I nodded. “And if I do have a problem?” He leaned back. “Then you quit.” Not helpful. He slid a tablet across the desk. “First task. Board meeting in three hours. I need a full brief on Voss Industries. Don’t use Wikipedia.” I took the tablet. “Anything else?” Kieran’s eyes flicked to my hands. “Don’t go to the lighthouse,” he said. I frowned. “The lighthouse?” “West side of the island. Off limits. Keep it that way.” Before I could ask why, he turned back to his laptop. Dismissed. I walked out with more questions than answers. By noon, I had the Voss brief done. By 1 PM, I knew why he told me to stay away from the lighthouse. Because that’s where Nico was staying. I saw him from the window. Standing on the balcony. Watching the house. Watching me. He lifted a hand. Waved. Like we were old friends. My stomach turned. At 3 PM, Kieran called me into his office again. “You missed an email,” he said. I checked the screen. It was from Nico. Subject line: _Remember me, Mara?_ I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. Kieran’s jaw tightened. “Who is he to you?” he asked. I met his eyes. “Nobody,” I said. He didn’t believe me. “Then why does he know your real name?” I didn’t have an answer for that. Because I didn’t know how much Nico had told him. Kieran stood up. “Pack your things, Ms. Mills,” he said. I blinked. “What?” “You’re fired,” he said. My chest went cold. “Because of him?” “Because I don’t hire liars,” he said. I stood up too. “I never lied to you,” I said. “You didn’t tell the truth either,” he said. The door opened. Nico walked in like he owned the place. “Don’t fire her yet, Kieran,” he said. “She’s more useful to you alive.” Kieran moved fast. He was between me and Nico in a second. “Get out.” Nico smiled at me. “See you soon, Mara,” he said. Then he was gone. Kieran turned back to me. “Explain,” he said. I looked at him. Really looked. For the first time, I saw it. He wasn’t just angry. He was scared. Scared of what Nico could do to me. Scared of what I might do to him. I made my choice. “I can’t tell you everything,” I said. “Not yet. But if you let me stay, I’ll help you stop him.” Kieran studied me for a long time. “Why should I trust you?” “Because I have more to lose than you do,” I said. He stared at me. Then he sat back down. “Fine,” he said. “You have until Friday. If I don’t have answers by then, you’re gone.” I nodded. “Deal.” He tossed a file at me. “Start with this. Nico’s finances. Tell me where the money’s coming from.” I caught it. “Why do you think I can?” “Because,” Kieran said, “I think you know him better than anyone else on this island.” I walked out with the file and a new problem. I was deeper than I wanted to be. And Kieran Hayes was starting to look less like my enemy. At 9 PM, I got a text. Unknown number. _You shouldn’t have stayed, Mara. He can’t protect you. I deleted it. Then I locked my door. Twice.