A Deal With Mr Kane

A New Face 2

I shook his hand. "Alessia Lopez." The moment I said my name, I realized I probably should have included my position, just like he did.

"I'm Sebastian Kane's new secretary," I added.

Nathaniel blinked. Then he blinked again. "You're what?"

I immediately felt self-conscious. Slowly, I open my mouth and repeat, hoping I haven't said anything wrong. "Mr Kane's secretary."

He looked genuinely surprised. "Sebastian hired a secretary?"

His face was filled with so much shock that I almost laughed. "Why do you say it like it is a strange thing?'

He tilts his head. "Because it is strange."

Nathaniel folded his arms and leaned against the edge of his desk. "As far as I know, he's only had Francis handling those responsibilities for a while now. I didn't even know there was an opening."

Fuck.

This got awkward real fast. My smile faltered and I knew exactly why.

There had been no opening, no interviews, and no recruitment process.

There was only a misunderstanding and a damn contract.

Was I in trouble?

"Now that I think about it," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "if there had been a recruitment process, I probably would've known."

"My department runs background checks on candidates for senior positions," he explained casually. "It's part of our job."

I have the worst luck!

How on earth did I end up in the office of the head of the audit department of all offices?!

Apparently, my panic showed on my face because Nathaniel immediately held up both hands. "Hey, don't worry," he said quickly. "I'm sorry. That's just the auditor in me talking."

I released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding and he offered me an apologetic smile "If Sebastian hired you, I'm sure he had a good reason. I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable."

My shoulders fell slightly as the tension left them. "It's okay.'

"No, it isn't." He shook his head. "Occupational hazard. Sometimes I forget that not everyone enjoys being interrogated."

I laughed. "That explains a lot. Habits are hard to overcome ."

"They are." He replied, shaking his head.

To my surprise, the awkwardness disappeared after that. We spent a few more minutes talking, and I quickly discovered that Nathaniel was one of those people who could hold a conversation with absolutely anyone.

Eventually, he glanced at the time and pushed himself away from the desk. "You were looking for Francis, right?"

I nodded.

"Come on then. I'll take you before you end up on another floor."

"That would be great," I said, relieved. "Thank you," I added and followed him out of the office, grateful for the help.

The walk through the building was surprisingly pleasant. Nathaniel greeted employees as we passed, and almost everyone seemed to know him.

"You've worked here a long time?" I asked.

"Seven years."

"Wow." The sound left me before I could stop it.

"Don't sound so shocked."

"I am shocked," I said truthfully and that made him laugh.

We turned another corner, and for a few moments we walked in comfortable silence. Then Nathaniel suddenly cleared his throat. "Okay."

The tone immediately made me suspicious. "Okay, what?"

He looked almost embarrassed. "I've been trying not to say this but I do not know how to keep things like this to myself."

I raised an eyebrow, now curious.

Nathaniel rubbed the back of his neck before looking at me. "You're very beautiful."

I nearly tripped over my own feet, completely taken aback by his statement. Or do I say, confession? "What?"

He laughed, his shoulders shaking in a way that made him appear younger. Not that I knew his age. But, he could easily be around the same age as Mr Kane. "See? That's exactly why I didn't want to say it."

Heat immediately rushed to my face and Nathaniel pointed toward me. "The accent doesn't even help." He groaned.

Is he...hitting on me?

"The accent?" I asked, pretending to be oblivious to the fact that I sounded like an Italian who had only moved to the USA four years ago.

"The Italian accent." He said, his grin widened. "It makes you about a hundred times hotter."

"Oh my God." I covered my face with one hand.

Nathaniel laughed so hard he almost missed a turn. "I'm serious."

"You absolutely shouldn't be," I said, trying to stop smiling.

"I'm just being honest."

I shook my head, unable to stop laughing. He immediately lifted both hands in surrender. "I promise I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable."

"You are failing spectacularly."

His smile softened. "I wasn't trying to flirt. Well... maybe a little. But mostly I was just pointing out something I noticed."

I couldn't help laughing again.

Before I could think of a response, a door suddenly opened several feet ahead of us and my laughter faded immediately.

Nathaniel stopped walking and my stomach immediately dropped as I came face to face with Mr Kane. Francis stood behind him, looking like I had gotten myself into another trouble.

Standing there were Sebastian and Francis.

Sebastian's eyes landed on me first. Then they shifted to Nathaniel. Then, back to me, the smile disappeared from his face.

Actually, now that I thought about it, there hadn't been a smile there to begin with.

Only a frown.

A very familiar frown.

"I was wondering why you weren't answering the intercom," Sebastian said, his voice calm enough to be dangerous. His gaze lingered on me for a moment before moving toward Nathaniel. "I can see now that you've been busy making new friends instead of getting to work."