A Bait

Daxton

Dark brown eyes rimmed in thick dark lashes swept up to my face and the moment those spell-binding eyes caught mine, my heart made a beat against my ribcage. Her lush lips parted in shock, a small hiccup escaping her throat.

I stifled a chuckle, walking past but not without drowning in the gardenia scent of her perfume.

Fuck, I had missed her so much.

I crossed over to the table, pulling out a seat for her—an action that I rarely did with past assistants. “Have your seat when you are ready for the interview” I said, taking my own seat while she took tiny steps towards me, her head ducked down.

She fell onto the seat slowly as satisfaction curled inside of me because she was exactly where I wanted her to be.

While my nephew struggled to find her, I knew the area she moved to, her apartment block, the gym center that she just registered in, and most importantly, where she did her grocery shopping.

Despite knowing where she resided, I never approached her. Why? Because I would like to think of it as giving her a two-week break of peace because now that she was here, I was going to fill up her head, her mind until she thinks and breathes only me.

When she lost her money to a crypto scam, all I had to do was tell the cashier where she shopped about an open position for an assistant. Just like I expected, Verena caught the bait.

And now that she was here, I would never let her stay far away from me again.

Not being in the same space with her for weeks has been torturous.

I stretched out a bottle of water to Verena whose hiccup hadn't settled yet. She took it from me and immediately turned to the side, covering half of her face with her hand as she drank slowly.

Amusement sparked in my eyes as I watched her intently until she closed the bottle of water. “Thank you,” Her voice was barely a whisper—a total contrast to the melting couquettish voice she used on me that night.

I noticed the way her shoulders hitched and everything she did, fascinated me.

I loved everything about this woman. She caught my interest from the moment I saw her with my nephew at my stepmother’s funeral two years back. The plan was to pursue her then until I discovered that she was much younger than me and worse, she was married to immature Kian.

I tried to kill those feelings for her, tried to forget. I really tried not until she came into my club, approached me, and told me to fuck her.

Damn!

She made my job of ruining her marriage with Kian easier because as soon as I discovered that my nephew had been taking a lady called Zita to vacation houses for the past six months, I knew that their marriage was over and it was now time for me to get the woman I wanted.

Kian didn't deserve to be with her. I was the only one meant for her.

“Are you ready for the interview?” I took the full weight of her gaze.

She gave a curt nod. “Yes”

I leaned forward with my forearms on the table. “Now, tell me about yourself, Verena”

Her hands moved to the back of her neck and that timid mask on her face almost slipped out. “You know a lot about me so—” She bit down on her tongue, forced her eyes shut before she cleared her throat and stared into my eyes.

“I am Verena Carson and I worked as an assistant to the late chairman of the TMC Holdings—” Her breathing hitched and there was this fleeting glint of sadness in her eyes.

Her late father’s company.

Her eyes closed briefly and I was taken aback when she smiled at me. “—and did some administrative work for the company. However, I was fired for my lackadaisical attitude at work, for not taking the job seriously, and for being careless. I had also caused a lot of loss to the company”

A smile tilted the corner of my mouth upwards because I knew what she was trying to do. She planned to ruin the interview and scare me away.

“I do not believe that someone as horrible as me would fit into the role of an assistant,” She blinked.

I was amused. I mean, she was really cute— blinking at me like that.

I leaned back in the chair. “Wow, that is pretty honest for an interview”

She smiled, nodding. “So, does this mean that I don't get the—”

Before she could complete her words, I cut in. “Honesty is a rare quality that I have struggled to find with my past assistants and you have exactly what I need. You have been hired so we should talk about the salary structure and the nature of your job”

The smile on her face faded and she shook her head, leaning forward. “ I said that I was bad at my job, didn't you hear that?”

“I heard you clearly, Verena and your honesty makes you the perfect candidate for the job”

Her jaw dropped.

I watched the way her throat worked as she swallowed, running a hand through her hair frustratedly. “Mr Daxton, why are you doing this? Are you trying to punish me for lying about being divorced to your nephew?”

A smile crossed my face. “Now you are ready to stop being formal…” I trailed, leaning forward while staring deep into her eyes.

She breathed, eyes softening. “That night was a mistake”

I smirked, shaking my head. “No, it wasn't and I don't care for Kian. All I know is that I missed you so much, miss Kitty ears that I couldn't stop thinking about that night”

Her face flushed red, her lips parted before she cleared her throat. “Let’s go back to the salary structure”

I chuckled. “Your annual salary is two hundred thousand dollars,”

Her eyes almost snapped out of their sockets. “Two…two…hundred thousand dollars per year? My father didn't even offer me that and—” She clamped her mouth shut. “Sorry about that,”

Despite the smile that threatened to slip through my face, I struggled to keep a serious expression. “That is because the nature of this job is demanding. I travel all the time and I need my assistant with me almost every second”

“And to do this job, you'll need to live with me at least five days a week.”