Chapter 8

LYRA

I woke up slowly, stretching beneath the covers before remembering where I was. For once, my kidney hadn’t woken me up during the night. No sharp pains, no tossing around, no lying awake at three in the morning, desperate to get comfortable.

I couldn’t remember the last time I slept that well.

The other side of the bed was empty, and Zade was nowhere in sight. Honestly, good. I wasn’t ready to deal with him first thing in the morning.

Then I spotted a folded note on the nightstand.

My office. 9 a.m. Don’t be late.

I stared at it.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

No good morning, no explanation. Just an order, like I was one of his employees.

I checked my phone. It was already past eight.

“Oh, come on!”

I threw off the covers and hurried to get ready. I never agreed to work for Zade, but I wasn’t about to show up late and give him another reason to boss me around.

By nine, I was standing at the reception desk in his office building.

“I’m here to see Zade Vane. He asked me to come in.”

The receptionist looked up, and her expression changed as soon as she recognized my name.

“Right. I’ll have someone take you upstairs.”

A staff member led me to a set of double doors before leaving me to enter alone.

Zade sat behind his desk in a dark suit, already buried in paperwork.

“You’re here,” he said without looking up.

“Yeah, well, your note wasn’t exactly optional, was it?”

He closed the folder in front of him. “Come here, Lyra.”

I walked over, only to find two staff members standing beside his desk.

“This is Lyra,” he announced. “She’ll be my personal assistant from now on.”

I stared at him. “Your what?”

“Personal assistant.”

“I heard you. I’m asking when I agreed to that.”

“You’ll manage my schedule, organize meetings, handle correspondence, and accompany me when necessary.” He pointed to the empty chair beside his desk. “Your workspace is there.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

“No. You look like a man who makes decisions for other people and expects them to smile about it.”

One of the staff members suddenly became very interested in her documents.

Zade didn’t react. “You’re here now. Do the job properly.”

The two employees soon excused themselves. As the woman passed me, she lowered her voice.

“Just so you know, Mr. Vane has never hired a personal assistant. He handles everything himself, and nobody sits beside him during meetings.”

I looked at the chair again.

Well, damn.

Whatever Zade was trying to communicate by putting me right beside him, everyone in the building seemed to understand the message.

I pulled out the chair and sat down.

“Where’s your schedule?”

“Everything is on your computer.”

“Great. I’ll figure it out.”

I wasn’t thrilled about being thrown into a job I never asked for, but I wasn’t going to sit around complaining, either. I’d learn the work, do it well, and earn my own money.

Zade could keep his orders. I had work to do.

By the time we entered the boardroom, the long table was filled with men in expensive suits. Several carried the kind of Alpha presence that made people think twice before challenging them.

I took the seat beside Zade and arranged the folders in front of me. He’d given me a quick rundown of the meeting, but most of his business was still new to me.

“Page twelve,” he murmured.

I found the document and slid it over.

He nodded before addressing the man across from him. “Let’s get back to the development proposal. You said the revised numbers weren’t acceptable. Where’s the problem?”

The discussion resumed, and I took notes whenever Zade asked me to record something.

A few seats down, one Alpha in a charcoal suit kept watching me. I ignored him the first couple of times, assuming he was curious about the new face. But when I caught him looking again, my patience started wearing thin.

Seriously? Was there a reason he couldn’t mind his own business?

During a brief pause, he finally spoke.

“You work for Vane?”

“I do.”

“You’re new here, right? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

“First day.” I gave him a polite smile and returned to my notes.

“Well, welcome aboard. I’m sure we’ll see more of each other.”

“Thanks.”

I thought that was the end of it, but I noticed Zade watching the man before returning to the discussion.

A few minutes later, Zade placed his hand on my thigh beneath the table.

My pen stopped.

I turned toward him. He continued discussing the revised figures like nothing unusual was happening.

I shifted my leg, hoping he’d get the hint. Instead, his fingers pressed against my thigh.

I leaned closer. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Pay attention to the meeting.”

“Move your hand.”

He didn’t answer, and his hand stayed where it was.

I wanted to shove it away, but the warmth of his touch stirred that same strange feeling I experienced in his bedroom. My body kept reacting to him in ways I couldn’t explain, and it was getting seriously annoying.

Before I could say anything else, raised voices came from the hallway.

“Sir, you can’t go in there!”

“Get out of my way!”

Zade removed his hand as the double doors flew open.

A man stormed into the boardroom, his suit rumpled and his face red with anger. Two security guards hurried after him, struggling to stop him from pushing farther inside.

“Sir, you need to calm down!”

“Don’t touch me!”

I knew that voice.

My heart dropped as I looked up.

Julian.

He stopped when he saw me, his eyes locking onto mine. Then his attention shifted to Zade, and whatever restraint he possessed seemed to disappear.

The guards tried to pull him back, but Julian shook them off and stepped farther into the room.

Nobody at the table spoke. Even the men who’d spent the meeting arguing over millions of dollars sat quietly, waiting to see what he would do.

Julian pointed at Zade, his voice booming across the boardroom.

“She’s still MY Luna, Vane. Give her back, or I’ll take her by force.”