2

Chapter 2

Skye's POV

Fired.

On my first day.

I stood there staring at him like he had just slapped me across the face. My mind couldn't catch up. My legs felt like they were filled with sand‚ and my hands wouldn't stop shaking no matter how hard I pressed them together.

How? How could this be happening?

I hadn't even done anything wrong. Not really. I was late‚ yes‚ but it wasn't because I was careless or lazy. I had gotten here early. I had tried. The building was confusing and massive and nobody helped me find my way. That wasn't fair. None of this was fair.

And now he wanted me gone. Just like that.

Oh God. What was I going to tell Mom? What about Ethan? I had sat at that dinner table last night and smiled so wide my face hurt. I had bragged about the salary‚ about the offer‚ about how I was going to prove them all wrong. My brother had laughed — not in a mean way‚ but in that way that said he didn't really believe me. And Mom had smiled softly and told me she hoped it was real.

If I went home now‚ fired before I even started‚ they would never let me forget it.

"Sir... please—" I started‚ my voice cracking.

"Get out!" he snapped.

The sharpness of it hit me like a physical blow. I flinched and my feet moved before my brain could think. I was out of the boardroom and standing in the hallway before I even realized I had moved.

The door closed behind me with a heavy click.

I pressed my back against the wall and tried to breathe. My chest felt tight. Tears were already burning behind my eyes‚ but I blinked hard and refused to let them fall. Not here. Not where people could see me.

Think‚ Skye. Think.

Maybe it was because I didn't go through a proper interview. Maybe he thought I hadn't earned this position and that he could toss me out just as easily as I was brought in. Maybe he didn't even know who had hired me or why.

Or maybe he did know exactly who I was.

No.

That was impossible.

The last time Thorne saw me‚ I was fourteen years old‚ flat-chested‚ braces on my teeth‚ hair always in messy ponytails. There was no way he recognized me. I was a completely different person now.

Right?

I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and started pacing. Ten minutes passed. Then fifteen. Then twenty. People walked by and gave me strange looks‚ but I didn't care. I wasn't leaving. I couldn't.

Ten thousand dollars a month.

That number kept flashing in my head like a neon sign. No fresh graduate got that kind of money. Not in my field. Not anywhere. This was my one shot and I was not going to let it slip away because of one bad first impression.

Then the boardroom door opened and he walked out.

He moved like he owned every inch of this building‚ which he did. His stride was long and unhurried‚ his jaw set‚ his eyes straight ahead. He didn't even glance at me.

"Sir... sir!" I said quickly‚ rushing after him.

"What are you still doing here?" he asked without turning around. "Didn't I just fire you?"

"No‚ sir‚ you can't do that. Please just hear me out‚" I said‚ practically jogging to keep up with his pace. "I wasn't late on purpose. I got here an hour early but this building is huge and confusing and I got completely lost. It was my first day. I didn't know where anything was. Please‚ sir‚ just give me one chance."

"Leave my sight‚" he said calmly. He stopped in front of the elevator and pressed the button.

"Sir‚ please. Please. I'm begging you."

The elevator doors slid open with a soft ding. He stepped inside without a word.

And I did something incredibly stupid.

I pushed myself in after him.

The doors closed behind us and suddenly the world shrank down to this tiny metal box. Just me and him. No one else. The air felt thick and warm and I could smell his cologne‚ something dark and expensive that made my head spin a little.

He stared at me. His jaw tightened. His eyes narrowed slowly‚ like a predator deciding whether to play with its food or just finish it.

"Sir‚" I tried again‚ my voice barely above a whisper now.

Nothing.

"Sir‚ please—"

"You've not only disobeyed my direct order to leave after I fired you‚" he said slowly‚ each word deliberate and heavy‚ "but you also had the nerve to step into my private elevator?"

My stomach dropped. Private elevator. Executive elevator. That was why no one else was here. That was why it felt so quiet‚ so isolated. I was such an idiot.

"I—I didn't know it was private. I'm sorry‚ I just—"

"You just what?" He turned his full body toward me and I instinctively stepped backward until my back hit the cold elevator wall. He didn't follow‚ but the way he looked at me made the space between us feel like nothing. "You just thought the rules didn't apply to you?"

"No‚ that's not what I—"

"First you show up late. Then you waste my time in a meeting you contributed nothing to. Then you ignore a direct order to leave. And now you're standing in my private elevator uninvited." He paused. "Tell me‚ Ms. Latecomer. What exactly should I do with you?"

The way he said those words made something dangerous curl low in my stomach.

"Give me another chance‚" I whispered. "That's all I'm asking."

"You're not in a position to ask for anything."

"Then what do you want me to do?" My voice broke slightly. "I'll do anything to keep this job."

Something shifted in his expression. Something dangerous.

"Anything?" he asked quietly.

I swallowed hard. "Yes."

He didn't respond right away. He just looked at me. And then he moved.

One step. That was all it took. One single step and suddenly he was right there‚ so close that the heat from his body pressed against mine through the thin fabric of my blouse. His hand came up and landed flat against the elevator wall right next to my head. Then the other hand did the same on the opposite side.

Caged.

I was completely caged between his arms and the wall and there was nowhere to go. Nowhere to look except straight up into those deep blue eyes that were boring into me like he could see every thought running through my head.

My breathing changed. I couldn't help it. Short‚ shallow breaths that made my chest rise and fall too fast. I could feel my heart slamming against my ribs so hard that I was sure he could hear it. My thighs pressed together on instinct‚ squeezing tight‚ and I didn't even understand why my body was reacting like this. I was scared. I was supposed to be scared. But the heat pooling low in my belly wasn't fear.

It wasn't fear at all.

"You said anything‚" he said‚ his voice dropping lower. "Did you mean that?"

"I..." My voice came out as a breath. "Yes."

He leaned in closer‚ close enough that I could feel his breath against my forehead. Close enough that if I tilted my chin up even slightly‚ my lips would brush against his jaw.

My thighs squeezed tighter. A pulse throbbed between my legs‚ and I pressed my knees together harder trying to make it stop. It didn't stop. It got worse.

"Look at me‚" he said.

I raised my eyes to his. My chest was heaving now‚ each breath pushing my breasts closer to his chest without quite touching. The air between us felt electric‚ like if either of us moved even an inch‚ something would catch fire.

"You're going to do exactly what I tell you‚" he said. His voice was calm but there was something underneath it. Something barely restrained that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. "And you're not going to argue. Understood?"

My brain screamed at me to say no. To duck under his arm and press the button and get out of this elevator and never come back. But my body wouldn't listen. My body was burning everywhere his shadow touched me‚ and my lungs couldn't seem to pull in enough air‚ and my thighs were clenched so tight together that the ache between them was becoming impossible to ignore.

"Yes‚" I breathed.

"Yes what?"

"Yes‚ sir."

Something dark flashed across his face when I said it. His jaw tightened. His eyes dropped to my mouth and stayed there for a long‚ agonizing second. Then one of his hands left the wall.

His fingers found my chin first. Tilting it up gently. Then his thumb moved‚ slow and deliberate‚ tracing along my jaw‚ down to the corner of my mouth. My lips parted on their own. A small‚ shaky exhale escaped me that sounded way too close to a moan.

His thumb dragged across my bottom lip. Slow. Pressing down just enough to pull it open slightly before releasing it. The touch was so light it was almost nothing‚ but my entire body reacted like he had kissed me. Heat rushed to my face‚ my neck‚ my chest. My nipples tightened against the lace of my bra‚ and I prayed he couldn't see them through my blouse.

He could. His eyes flickered down for half a second‚ and when they came back up‚ they were darker than before.

"I want you to show me‚" he whispered‚ leaning in so close that his lips brushed against my ear. His breath was warm and slow against my skin and every nerve ending in my body lit up at once. "What you're willing to give to stay."

My whole body trembled. My breathing was ragged now‚ embarrassingly loud in the silence of the elevator. I squeezed my thighs together so hard that the friction sent a small wave of pleasure through me‚ and I had to bite my lip to keep from making a sound.

"W—what do you mean?" I managed.

His hand slid from my face down to my neck‚ his fingers warm against my pulse point where my heart was hammering out of control. Then lower. His fingertips trailed down my collarbone and stopped at the top button of my blouse. One finger hooked underneath the fabric‚ barely grazing the skin beneath‚ and the contact made me gasp out loud.

"I think you know exactly what I mean."