She hates him

Ceasar's Pov

I’d have to go there to find out for myself, but that was impossible. Not something Neven would do. He was reckless, yes, but stealing from me? From my company? He wasn’t bold enough. Not stupid enough.

He respected me, feared me. Still… the coincidence scraped against something raw and unpleasant in my chest, a whisper of doubt I refused to let take root.

I shoved the thought aside with force. Emotions were liabilities in situations like this. Logic and precision, those were the tools that cornered thieves and broke liars. Sentiment had no place here.

“Keep digging,” I said finally, my voice low, edged with a quiet, simmering threat. “I want every access log, every withdrawal trace, every connection, every loose end pulled apart. No gaps. No assumptions.”

I felt my jaw tighten, the muscle ticking once beneath my skin.

“Whoever’s stealing from me,” I continued, eyes locked on the spreadsheet, “I’ll find them before they even realize they’re running out of air. And when I do…”

I leaned back, letting the words settle like a blade laid across a throat,“…they’ll regret every second of it.”

Sophia’s eyes flickered with that familiar, conflicted gleam, fear threaded tightly with a spark of excitement. It moved through her in a subtle shiver, as if she’d suddenly remembered exactly what I was capable of when pushed… and precisely how dangerous I became when crossed.

At least she was useful but for now since she wasn’t the target. Not yet.

I wasn’t someone who trusted easily. I don't even trust at all. I saw everyone as an enemy waiting for the right moment to strike. They saw me as a villain who needed to be taken down. But whoever betrayed me… they had no idea how close they were to being swallowed whole by the storm I was already preparing to unleash.

Sophia’s smile shifted slowly, reshaping itself into something sharper, a silent promise that she wasn’t nearly as rattled as she wanted me to believe.

“Of course,” she murmured, her voice dipping low, silky, and curling around the words.

Sophia leaned closer, the warmth of her body pressing against mine, and her finger brushed lightly over my chest, lingering just enough to make me aware of her touch. “But the rest of the files… they’re still in the office.” Her eyes flicked up to mine, glinting with mischief. “You’ll have everything when you come back. I’m this close to identifying the exact person behind it… Maybe you’d like me to show you how carefully I’ve traced it.”

Ah. There it was, her little game, dangling information like bait as if I’d chase it and as if I’d chase her.

I watched her in silence, letting her believe her coyness mattered, letting her think she was drawing me in instead of exposing exactly how transparent she’d become.

Sophia still believes I was the man she could tug around with a dress, a smile, and a carefully timed whisper. She’d forgotten the rules had changed and she’d forgotten I had changed.

My gaze cooled, flattening whatever softness she hoped to find in it.

“Is that all?” I asked, coldly, leaving no doubt she held nothing over me.

A faint shiver passed through her, almost imperceptible, but her smile didn’t falter. “Yes… for now,” she said, breath brushing near me as if it carried an invitation. She leaned forward just slightly, letting the curve of her cleavage dip enticingly, her fingers tracing an idle, teasing line along my jaw, a reminder of old temptations she had once wielded effortlessly.

“Once you’re back at the office,” she added, her tone softening, sultry, almost whispering, “I’ll walk you through the rest… I’m so close to tracing the original access point. Whoever did this slipped up… I just need to pinpoint exactly where.”

Her words dripped like honey, a quiet seduction embedded in every gesture, every pause. Once, it might have worked. Once, I might have allowed myself to be distracted by the subtle sway of her posture, the quiet, dangerous promise lingering behind her glance.

But not now. Not anymore. Vera’s naked body, pressed against mine just moments ago, still burned in my memory. The way her hips had trembled under my touch, the slick heat of her cunt beneath my fingers, the shiver that had raced through her when I grazed her most sensitive spots, and the way her eyes clung to me like I was the only thing that mattered had pushed every trace of Sophia from my mind.

“Now…” Sophia purred, her manicured finger gliding deliberately down my chest, each stroke leaving a subtle warmth in its wake. Her soft laugh curled around the words like smoke, teasing and low as she moved her hand to my face, tracing the sharp line of my jaw. “So… where’s the reward you promised me for all this work? Surely a little acknowledgment is due… isn’t it?” Her gaze lingered, heavy and coaxing.

I exhaled slowly, fighting against every urge to shove her hand away. I’d brought this on myself with that reckless promise I’d thrown at her in anger after the board meeting.

‘Find the thief and you’ll get your reward’ and remembering it now, the stupidity of saying it tightened in my chest. A mistake caused by rage.

My expression didn’t shift as I leaned in, close enough that my breath brushed against her ear.

“Get the job done first,” I whispered, voice flat and cold as frost. “Nothing before that. Understand?”

Sophia giggled at the tone, a shiver of anticipation, compliance, and desire rippling through her as she nodded. Her fingers lingered on my jaw a moment too long before sliding away, leaving only the memory of her touch.

“Understood,” Sophia murmured, voice soft but edged. Her gaze said something entirely different, unsatisfied, questioning and almost hungry for a reaction I wasn’t willing to give her.

I exhaled slowly, swallowing back the sharp edge of my irritation. God, I needed her gone, but not before I got the last piece I needed from her. Then, only then, would I relish the satisfaction of watching the door smack her ass on the way out. The thought alone curled the corner of my lips into a dark, knowing smirk.

And then, as if the universe finally decided to grant me a small mercy, she appeared. Jane. Naked. Her skin flushed, every curve daring me to claim her, every movement laced with temptation. Her presence was magnetic, impossible to ignore and so vivid, so intoxicating, that everything else in the room, even Sophia, dissolved into nothingness.