5. Clash

Lila

The morning I was supposed to report to work, Eve showed up at my apartment door at 6 a.m, holding a bag of groceries. She did not even wait for me to invite her in.

“You can’t face the lion on an empty stomach,” she said, as she got busy in my tiny kitchen.

I watched as she scrambled eggs and made toast. No one had ever done anything like this for me, not even Orion. In my old life, a chef prepared my meals. This, this was different. It felt nice to have someone do something nice, not out of obligation.

“Thank you, Eve,” I said, my voice softer than I intended. “For everything.” I owed her half my paycheck as it stood.

“Don’t thank me yet. Just promise you won’t let those snakes on the executive floor eat you alive.” She then looked at me waving the spatula.

“And for God’s sake, try to speak up today. Look Mr. Stavros in the eye. I know you’re shy, Sera, but you can’t let him or the other secretaries smell fear. They will take advantage of you.

I almost laughed. Shy. If only she knew. The real me was used to commanding boardrooms. But Sera, as I had learned from her, was timid. Soft-spoken and an easy target.

“I’ll try,” I promised.

Eve even rode the bus to work with me, pointing out when to pull the cord for our stop. I was grateful. I would have been completely lost without her. Everything was new to me, but she took it as confusion and was graceful about it.

When we arrived, Eve gave my hand a quick squeeze before heading to the intern offices on a lower floor and I was directed to a private elevator that required a keycard. My meeting was on the 20th floor. Eve had earlier told me that very few people ever went up there. 

When the doors opened, there was only a single woman sitting at a desk. She looked up, and her eyes scanned me from head to toe. "Mr. Stavros is expecting you," she said, her voice not at all welcoming. "You may knock and enter."

“Thank you,” I replied. I walked to the door, smoothed my skirt, and knocked softly.

“Come in,” came a deep voice.

I pushed the door open, and froze.

For a second, my mind refused to process what I was seeing. There was a woman kneeling in front of his seat. Only her expensive heels and the movement of her head gave away what was happening before the wet sounds reached my ears.

Theo Stavros sat behind the desk, completely unbothered. His shirt sleeves were rolled up, his collar open, eyes half-lidded like whatever was normal.

“Oh God,” I cursed before I could stop myself.

His gaze flicked to me then and our eyes met. He didn't look embarrassed, or aroused. He looked… bored.

I turned immediately. “I..I’ll come back later.”

“Sit.”

The command was enough to make my legs stop moving. His voice alone pinned me to the spot.

He leaned back in his chair, eyes still on me.

“I said sit.”

I forced myself to move and took one of the armchairs across from his desk. With a lazy wave of his hand, he motioned for the woman to stop. She stood up, wiping her lips and adjusting her skirt like nothing had happened. For the first time, I saw her face and the name tag pinned to her blouse. Mara. Executive Secretary.

So that was what 'executive secretary' meant in this building.

Mara’s eyes landed on me, assessing and amused. She had the kind of look that said she had already decided what I was worth and it wasn’t much.

So this was how Theo Stavros ran his empire. I had thought billionaires had a certain…class. But apparently, money couldn’t buy manners.

"You're the intern," he said. "The 'hero'." 

I did not reply. I just looked back at him, and for the first time, I really saw him. And damn it, he looked good. I didn’t recall if he had looked this good when we had met before.

He was not pretty and polished like Orion was. Theo was… the opposite. He had a strong jaw, dark, intense eyes, and a presence that seemed to suck all the air out of the room. But he was also the most mannerless man I had ever met. What kind of first impression was he trying to make?

He smirked when I didn't answer. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? I heard you were timid, but this is just sad."

“Is this how you run your interviews?” I blurted before I could stop myself.

He looked amused, leaning back in his chair. “Depends. Are you offering to make it better?”

Heat rose to my face. “You’re disgusting.”

“Thank you,” he replied smoothly, leaning back as if I had complimented him.

Theo watched me, before he continued, “Tell me, Miss Hale, why should I give you the job?”

I blinked. “You’re the one who promoted me. You tell me.”

“Am I?” His brows lifted, pretending to think. “Maybe I changed my mind.”

I crossed my arms too, mirroring him. “Then you should know better than to waste both our time.”

For a moment there was silence. Then he laughed. “You’ve got a smart mouth.”

“And you have terrible manners,” I shot back before I could stop myself.

For a moment, silence hung between us. Then he laughed, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You’ll learn to keep that mouth shut, sweetheart. I like my secretaries obedient.”

The word secretary snapped me back to reality. Theo was not my equal.

You idiot! a voice screamed in my head. You are Sera Hale! You are broke! You cannot talk to your boss like that!

I had to remember Orion.

He was the goal. This rude, arrogant man was just a tool.

"My apologies, Mr. Stavros," I whispered, forcing the words out. "That was out of line."

I could feel him watching me, trying to figure out what had just happened.

“You start tomorrow at 8 a.m. sharp. Don’t be late. Mara will fill you in on the details.”

“Mara?” I asked, unable to hide the disgust in my voice.

He smirked without looking up. “Jealous already?”

I almost laughed. “Not in this lifetime.”

He looked up at that, eyes locking with mine. “We’ll see.”

Something about the way he said it made my skin crawl, but I had dealt with his kind.

I walked out of his office, my mind racing. He didn't like me, that was obvious. So why bring me so close to him?