Afraid of Love

CHAPTER 2

Khloe was feeling good.

The panel had asked her the right questions, and she had given the right answers. She was confident, composed, and already mentally calculating how much of her first paycheck would go toward rent, and how she would save up money to start up a business that would not affect her job but would give her more money. The three interviewers had exchanged those small approving glances that people think nobody notices, but everybody does.

She was getting this job; she smiled happily to herself.

Then the door opened, and her faded

Frank Simon walked in carrying a single notepad and a cup of coffee, as he had simply decided to join a meeting already in progress. The three panel members straightened in their chairs immediately. One of them gathered her papers nervously.

"Thank you," Frank said to the panel, in the tone of a man who did not need to raise his voice to be obeyed. "I'll take it from here."

They filed out without a word.

Khloe watched this happen and kept her face perfectly still, even as her thoughts moved quickly. Why was the CEO of this company personally interviewing her for an assistant position? People like him had people for this job.

Frank sat down across from her and opened his notepad. He clicked his pen once.

"You worked at Brennan's Bakery for six months," he said.

"Yes."

"Before that, one year at Mercer Legal as an office coordinator."

"Yes."

"You left Mercer voluntarily."

"I did. I wanted to grow into a larger environment."

He looked at her then — really looked at her, in the direct and unashamed way that made most people uncomfortable. Khloe looked right back.

"Most people would say they left for better pay," he said.

"Most people would say whatever they think sounds best," she replied. "I prefer to say what is true."

A pause. He asked again.

"Why did you leave Brennan’s Bakery after six months?" he asked.

“The Bakery was shut down,” she replied.

“Why Frank Enterprises”

"Because it is the best firm in the city, and I intend to work for the best."

"Bold statement for someone interviewing for an assistant role."

"It is an honest one."

He studied her for a long moment. She did not fidget. She did not look away. She had learned long ago that the moment you looked away, you lost.

"One last question," Adrian said, leaning forward slightly. "What do you want, Miss Williams? Not from this job. In general. What do you actually want?"

It was an unusual question. A personal question. The kind that had no correct answer written in any interview preparation guide she had ever read.

She considered lying. She considered giving him something safe and polished about career growth and professional development.

Instead, she said, "Stability. I want to build something that cannot be taken from me."

The room was very quiet.

Frank nodded slowly, like she had confirmed something he already suspected. He closed his notepad.

"You will start on Monday," he said.

Her heart jumped with so much excitement.

He stood, buttoned his jacket, and picked up his coffee. At the door, he paused, the same way she had paused in the lobby earlier.

"Welcome to Frank Enterprises, Miss Williams," he said, without turning around.

Then he was gone.

Khloe sat alone in the conference room and let out a slow, quiet breath.

She had the job.

Everything still seemed like a dream, but the problem was her new boss.

She told herself it was just nerves. New job, new environment, new beginning.

She did not yet know that her new office was directly outside Frank Simon’s door,

She did not yet know that she would see him every single day.

First Day, at work, she was so nervous.

Khloe arrived twenty minutes early.

She believed that punctuality was a form of respect, and she intended to respect this opportunity with everything she had. She had pressed her gown the night before, cleaned her shoes, and planned her route twice to account for traffic.

She walked into her office. It was enormous — a beautiful, wide mahogany desk positioned like a gatekeeper directly outside a set of heavy double doors. On it sat a brand new laptop, a telephone system with more buttons than she had ever seen, a neat stack of files, and a small card that simply read: Everything you need is already here. — A.B.

She stared at the card for a moment longer than necessary, then set it aside and got to work.

The morning moved fast. Emails, scheduling, correspondence, calls to redirect and calls to prioritize. She learned the pattern of the office quickly — who mattered, who thought they mattered, what needed immediate attention and what could wait. She was good at this. She had always been good at reading rooms and managing chaos.

What she was less good at was ignoring the fact that Frank Simon passed her desk four times before noon.

Each time, he slowed down just slightly. Each time, he said something brief and professional. How are you settling in, Miss William? Is everything you need available? Let me know if the system access needs adjusting. Each time, she answered calmly and thanked him and returned to her screen.

Each time he walked away, she felt the air in the room return to normal.

She did not examine that feeling. She filed it away under irrelevant and kept working.

At lunch, two ladies came to welcome her with a guy named John. They came with smiles on their faces at her desk; one of them was holding a takeaway coffee.

"You're the new one," Priscilla said cheerfully. "We've been curious about you."

"There is nothing particularly curious about me," Khloe said.

"Oh, there is," Priscilla replied, setting the coffee down. "Mr.Simon has never personally conducted a final interview before. Not once. Not in six years." She tilted her head. "So what did you say to him?"

Khloe looked at her steadily. "I answered his questions honestly."

Priscilla smiled like that confirmed everything. "Right. Well. Welcome to the team, Khloe."

After she left with the others after some brief discussion and introduction, Khloe sat very still for a moment.

She picked up the coffee.

She thought about what Priscilla had said.

Then she thought about the way Frank had looked at her in the lobby — that ten- second pause that she had noticed and filed away and told herself meant nothing.

She put the coffee down.

It means nothing, she told herself firmly. He is your employer. You are his employee. That is all this is and all it will ever be.

She believed that completely.

She almost meant it entirely.

What she did not know was that on the other side of those heavy double doors, Frank Simon was sitting at his desk, staring at a report he had read three times without retaining a single word.

His mind kept returning to something she had said.

I want to build something that cannot be taken from me.

He understood that. More than she could know.

And that, he realized, was the most dangerous thing of all, his that h

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