A Deal With Mr Kane

A Rocky First Day 2

stared at Francis like I was trying to process what he had just told me.

“No one comes to the office after he does?” I repeated, my voice rising slightly. “How was I supposed to know that?”

Francis rubbed the back of his neck. “Honestly, that’s my fault. I should have mentioned it yesterday. I had a lot on my mind and missed out on some details. I apologize.”

I stare at him in disbelief. “If this is your fault, why do I feel like I am about to be executed for something I had no hand in?”

Francis winced. “Because you are. Mr Kane is….”

My eyes widened in horror. “Oh my God.”

“Go in before Mr Kane gets angrier than he already is,” Francis said quickly, stepping toward the office door. “Trust me, this conversation will only get worse if he has more time to think about it.”

That was not comforting in any way, but take it.

Francis knocked twice before opening the door.

The main office was even more intimidating than I expected. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city, sunlight pouring across dark wood, glass, and steel. Behind an enormous desk sat Sebastian Kane.

Unlike yesterday, he didn’t look relaxed, nor did he look approachable or even human.

He was completely engrossed in the documents spread across his desk, his eyes moving rapidly as he signed one page and immediately reached for another.

Francis cleared his throat, announcing his presence. “Mr Kane.” He called and Mr Kane finally looked up.

His gaze moved from Francis to me and the second our eyes connected, a small frown appeared between his brows.

I could already smell the disapproval from him.

But hey! No one gave me a proper briefing so he had to cut me some slack.

“Leave us.” He said to Francis who nodded immediately.

Ah s**t!

“Of course.” He said and turned towards the door to leave but not before flashing me an apologetic smile.

The door clicked shut, and suddenly it was just him and me.

The feeling was immediate. As soon as Francis stepped out, the pressure in the room changed. Mr Kane leaned back slightly in his chair, studying me as if I had already done something wrong.

“You are late on your first day, Miss Lopez,” he said, his voice calm but sharp in a way that made it worse.

My brows pulled together instantly. “I wasn’t actually late.”

One of his eyebrows lifted slightly. “No?”

“No,” I repeated, firmer this time. I could already feel my patience thinning, but I forced myself to stay steady. “I had no idea you had a rule like that, and I was actually on time.”

Sebastian didn’t respond, just kept watching me like he was waiting for more.

So I continued, because I wasn’t about to let him twist this into something else. “I would have been here earlier if your security men hadn’t stopped me downstairs and demanded identification. Something you didn’t tell me I would need.”

I thought that, with that, I would make him feel a little guilty and let me go. However, he doesn’t react.

“They literally wouldn’t let me in until they confirmed who I was,” I added, my voice tightening. “If they had let me through immediately, I would have been here before you even noticed me outside.”

Sebastian finally leaned back a little more, fingers folding together like he had all the time in the world.

“A good worker puts all of these things into consideration,” he said simply.

I blinked at him. “What?”

“A competent employee anticipates obstacles.”

I stared at him for a second, completely sure I had misunderstood him somehow. “You’re joking, right?”

His expression didn’t change.

“I must have expected too much,” he continued calmly, like he was talking about a failed report and not me as a person.

My chest tightened immediately. “Excuse me?”

He looked at me properly then, eyes cold and unreadable. “You are a fake secretary, Miss Lopez. I must have expected too much from you.”

That sentence hit harder than I expected it to, not because it wasn’t true, but because of the way he said it like it made me less than human in this room.

My jaw tightened as I stepped forward slightly. “You cannot judge me for something that was clearly out of my control,” I said, my voice sharper now. “If your security had let me in on time, I would have been here on time. That’s a fact.”

Sebastian didn’t look moved at all. “You still arrived after me.”

“Because I was delayed,” I shot back.

“By my security,” he said evenly.

“Yes,” I said, exhaling sharply. “By your security that you clearly didn’t prepare me for.”

For a moment, neither of us spoke. The silence between us felt heavy enough to press against my skin, and I hated how small it suddenly made me feel in his office.

Then he leaned back slightly again, like he had made a decision.

“I’ll let it go this time,” he said.

I almost laughed out of disbelief. Almost.

“Because I was partially at fault,” he added.

That was the closest thing to accountability I was going to get from him, apparently.

“But this cannot repeat itself,” he continued, voice firm again. “Fake secretary or not, you cannot take this position lightly. People will notice things. And when they do, they will start asking questions you cannot afford to answer incorrectly.”

That part made me pause, because it actually made sense in a way I didn’t want to admit.

Sebastian reached for another file, as if the conversation was already done. “You will report to me after Francis shows you your office and the areas you will be working in.”

I stood there for a second, waiting for something else, anything else, but he was already done with me.

“That will be all.”

That was it. No further explanation. No softness. Nothing.

I turned and walked out before I said something I’d regret.

The moment I stepped out, I saw Francis waiting nearby like he had been bracing himself for impact.

“You’re still alive,” he said immediately.

I stared at him. “Barely.”

He exhaled like he had been holding his breath. “I’m sorry.”

“You’ve said that already,” I muttered, still trying to process what had just happened inside that office.

Francis rubbed the back of his neck. “Mr Kane is… different here. At work, I mean.”

“Different?” I repeated. “That man is a completely different person. It’s almost like the person I saw at the hotel was a different person!” I almost yell.

“Wait? Is he bipolar or something?”