LOGINI should have fucking known.And I should have acted when I needed to. The thought repeated itself over and over again as I sat inside my car across from the restaurant.The signs had always been there.A woman too competent to be a secretary. Too intelligent. Too ambitious. Someone who somehow knew things she shouldn’t know and constantly found ways to prove herself useful.I had let my guard down.But how? I was very strict with her. I ran a disciplinary program at the office.I squeezed the steering wheel. The tiny amount of trust I had given her. The benefit of doubt. And it bruised my ego…more than the leak or the millions.When Hale informed me that morning that the leak had reached Brooks, Carvena, and Kingston officially, I had felt something I rarely experienced.Shock.Not because confidential files had leaked. Competitors fought dirty all the time. What shocked me was the trail.The access logs. The timing. The documents.Everything pointed toward one person.Klaire.Yet ev
I didn't blame Hale for telling Mr. Vilmorre. But I knew this was about to get worse than it already was. I had immediately thought of the next step…Meeting my father.Maybe I could get something out of him. A truth. A secret perhaps.Maybe he had a spy here. Something must add up to all this nonsense. And the moment he sent the address on where to meet him, I had zoomed out of the office.The restaurant was expensive. Everything around my father had to be expensive.Expensive suits. Expensive watches. Expensive meals.Those were the things he spent his money on. The Kingston money was to his advantage. And while I worked there, we fought almost all the time.He broke the system. Made us lose millions and wanted my marriage to Andrew to fix everything.I would have gone with his plan…except Andrew cheated…I stood outside for almost five minutes before gathering enough courage to walk in. My palms were sweating.Which was ridiculous because I was a grown woman. Yet one meeting with m
The rest of the day faded way too fast. Like I couldn't wait to see my doom. Emails. Reports. Investigations. Endless questions.Where had the leak happened? Who had access? Who downloaded what? Who opened which file? Who sent what email?Nobody was finding answers.Including me.I skipped lunch, breaks, breathing, probably.By evening my head hurt. My eyes burned and were swollen.And I still knew absolutely nothing.I sat alone inside my office. Staring at spreadsheets. Trying to force the numbers to reveal a secret. They didn't.My phone buzzed. I answered immediately. I had called him several times and he had texted about calling back, because he was extremely busy."Klaire?" The concern in his voice nearly broke me.Because it was the first kind voice I'd heard all day. "I've had a terrible day."His tone softened. "What happened?"I told him everything. The suspicion, the leak, and the panic. The possibility that all my recent work was about to collapse.He didn't judge me, whil
And the next few days passed without Mr. Vilmorre coming back to work. Neither did Hale ask me to submit any files. He probably had been warned not to invite employees over.And it would be crazy to go see him on my own…wouldn't it?But I just wanted to know how he was faring and how his special woman was too…Was he getting rest or was he looking way worse than the man I met last? Would he go back to Moscow immediately after all this was over? Would he show up at work? Would he even inform me if there was any update about his woman?It was absurd that I wanted him around.And while I sat at my desk and office phone rang, and I rushed to pick it up immediately. Mr. Hale called me into his office.I entered after a soft knock and remained standing while he punched in some letters on the keyboard.Something was wrong.It was because he wasn't smiling. And Hale always smiled. Even when things were terrible."Mrs. Klaire." His voice was unusually serious.My stomach immediately tightened.
It took me several minutes to realize that Mr. Vilmorre owned the beach apartment we were in. And I was still gagged at the thought of this man having luxury at his beck and call.Why wouldn’t he?The man probably owned half the city.I followed him inside, still feeling strangely nervous. Which made no sense, because nothing was happening. We were simply spending the night because it was late. This was not on purpose. I was only here to comfort him.That was all.Nothing weird.Comfort him? How did it get to that? Because I knew his little dark secret? Did that give me a sort of promotion to confronting Mr. Vilmorre? What was I thinking?I was suddenly regretting the hug I had given him today. I was too engrossed in my emotions that I forgot I had promised to keep things professional between us.I didn't even want to be friends with this man.I didn't want to bother if he was hurting…“Mrs. Klaire,” he mentioned. He stood near the doorway and the quick memory of his exact position at
I should have moved him from my shoulders. That was my first thought. My second thought was that I definitely should have moved him much earlier.Instead, I sat there staring. Watching how Aleksander Vilmorre slept against my shoulder.He looked different.I couldn’t remember ever seeing him peaceful before. Not once. His face looked softer somehow. Less like the impossible boss everyone feared.My eyes stayed longer than they should have and for one second, I felt something. Somewhere along the line, I had forgotten Mr. Vilmorre was human. To me, he had become deadlines and cold stares.But sitting here now…he just looked tired.“You’re just a person too, Mr. Vilmorre" I muttered.He was asleep and didn't hear.Good. Because that would have been embarrassing.The breeze grew colder and I carefully, I adjusted my position, supporting his head better with my hand. The movement earned a small frown from him.But he leaned closer, this time.I froze for a split second…then relaxed.My ey
The next morning, I already regretted my life. Elise had arrived at the office dressed like she was attending a luxury brunch instead of training for one of the most demanding positions in the company.Stepping out of the elevator, we approached the executive assistant's office. My eyes widened at
When Mr. Vilmorre walked away, I stayed frozen still staring in the direction he had disappeared, taking time to process what I had just seen.Absolutely none of this made sense.Mr Aleksander Vimorre, the coldest, most emotionally exhausted man, had just sat down holding hands with a woman.Elise.
"You're home?" Elise's eyes bulged as she stood in front of the door. I pushed it open and walked into the room, collapsing on the bed. "That man didn't fire you, did he?" She shut the door aggressively. "First he makes you sleep at work and now…""He didn't fire me," I responded. "But now I wish
I almost turned around. The sight of him immediately dragged me back to last night. His coat on my lap. The awkward silence in the car. The embarrassment that washed over me. His eyes lifted from the documents in front of him and his gaze met mine. "Well…" he leaned back in his chair. "We were jus







