CHAPTER 15: Avoid Me

CHAPTER 15: Avoid Me

Casimir

I stood in the shadows of the corridor and watched her turn the corner. She froze the exact second she saw me.

Her hands gripped a stack of folders against her chest like a shield. Her knuckles were white. Her face was flushed, her skin holding a deep, lingering heat.

I looked down. The gray skirt she wore had ridden up slightly, exposing a stretch of her bare thighs.

She looked completely flustered, stepping out of Elias's private office after a closed-door meeting.

It was highly unprofessional. My brother demanded absolute order and strict composure on this floor, yet here was his new assistant, looking entirely unraveled.

She stood paralyzed in the corridor. She waited for me to speak. I did not. I kept my hands in my pockets and simply watched her.

After a long, suffocating minute, she swallowed hard. She broke eye contact, lowered her head, and started walking. She kept as much distance between us as the hallway allowed, keeping her eyes fixed firmly on the floor.

I remained completely silent as she walked past me. My gaze trailed her until she reached her desk and sat down.

I turned and walked toward the elevators.

I did not know why, but something about this woman deeply unsettled me. She did not belong in our world. She was an outsider living in my house, thrust into the very center of our daily operations. She was a massive variable I could not control, and I hated variables.

The next morning, I sat at my desk in my office on the executive floor. My walls were made of heavy, soundproof glass. They offered a clear view of the reception area and the main corridors.

I stared through the glass. Sybil was sitting at her desk. She was typing on her keyboard, her eyes focused on her dual monitors.

She wore a dark blue blouse today. Her hair was pulled back. She looked calm. She looked like a standard, highly efficient assistant doing her job.

I could not stop staring at her.

I had three acquisition proposals sitting on my desk. I needed to review the Vanguard numbers before the afternoon briefing. I needed to focus on the European supply chains and the integration costs Miller was complaining about yesterday.

Instead, I was watching the way she tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. I watched the way she organized the pens on her desk into a perfectly straight line. I was watching the way her eyes scanned the screen.

It was a complete waste of my time. I pushed my chair back and stood up.

I grabbed a thick stack of files from the corner of my desk. I did not need her to file them immediately, but I needed an excuse to leave my office and break the strange hold she had on my attention.

I pushed my glass door open and walked across the floor.

She heard my footsteps. She looked up, her fingers stopping over the keyboard. I stopped in front of her desk and dropped the stack of folders onto the surface.

"Good morning, sir," she said. Her voice was polite, but I could hear the slight tension in it. "Do you need these files for the corporate affairs meeting?"

I did not answer her. I remained completely silent, staring down at her. I wondered what about her pulled me closer.

She looked at the folders, then looked back up at me. She tried to maintain her professional composure. "I can sort them by the project names if you prefer."

I still did not speak. I took a slow step around the side of her desk.

Sybil pushed her chair back slightly. The wheels squeaked against the floor mat. "Is there something else you need?"

I walked closer to her. She was trapped between her ergonomic chair, the edge of the desk, and me. I stepped right into her personal space.

"Please step back, sir," she muttered. She kept her voice low, clearly aware of the junior staff walking near the elevators down the hall.

I did not step back. I stepped even closer. I placed one hand on the high back of her chair and my other hand flat on the edge of her desk. I completely caged her in.

She pressed her back against the chair. Her breathing hitched and I could see the rapid pulse jumping in the hollow of her neck.

Something wild and irrational inside me threatened to let out. I did not like how much space she was taking up in my head. I wanted to see how far I could push her before she cracked.

I wanted to see if she would fight back the way she did in the house, or if she would submit to the authority of this floor.

"Please step back," she said again. Her voice wavered this time.

I smirked. I knew my eyes remained completely cold. It was a calculated look, one I used in boardrooms to break opposing negotiators.

She met my gaze and a visible shiver ran through her body. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest, shrinking back in her seat.

"Please," she started again.

I lifted my hand from the desk. I reached out and caught her jaw. My fingers gripped her skin firmly. My hand was surprisingly warm against her cold face.

She gasped, her dark eyes going wide. She did not try to pull away, but her entire body went rigid.

"Have I told you you have a very sharp tongue?" I asked quietly.

Her lips parted. She opened her mouth, ready to argue with me.

I knew exactly what she was going to say. I could see the defiance spark in her eyes. She wanted to correct me. She wanted to say she had a sharp mind, just like she did when we first met.

I cut her off before she could speak a single word.

"Avoid me, Sybil," I told her. My voice was a low, hard rumble that offered no room for debate.

I let go of her jaw. I turned around and walked away without looking back.

I walked toward the elevators, listening to her take a deep, shaky breath behind me. The intensity of the interaction hung heavily in the air. I had proved my point.

Before I reached the elevator banks, I heard footsteps approaching from the opposite corridor. I stopped and glanced over my shoulder.

Emrys walked up to her desk. He held a coffee cup in his hand. He leaned casually against the edge of her desk, right in the exact spot where I had just been standing.

"Do not mind my brother," Emrys said to her. His voice carried clearly across the quiet floor. "He just likes to intimidate people. It is a terrible hobby."

I watched Sybil look at him. She was still breathless from my warning, her chest rising and falling quickly. She looked completely off balance, shifting her attention from my departure to my brother's sudden arrival.

Emrys smiled his bright, charming smile. He took a sip of his coffee, completely unbothered by the heavy atmosphere I had just left behind.

"You should go out with me," I heard him say casually.

Sybil’s mouth went entirely agape. She stared at him in utter shock, completely blindsided.

I pressed the elevator button, my jaw clenching hard as the metal doors closed.