CHAPTER 2

Elliot's Pov

I woke at five in the morning and couldn’t fall back asleep because my brain wouldn’t shut up about yesterday, about the way Aiden looked at me and about how close I came to getting caught. I gave up on sleep, got dressed, took the subway to work, and when I got to the sixty-fifth floor at six, I expected to be the first one there. But Aiden’s office lights were already on.

Does this man ever go home? I thought. I put my bag down at my desk and turned on my computer, trying to be quiet. Then Aiden’s door opened, and he walked out holding an empty coffee cup. He stopped when he saw me.

"You are early," he said. It wasn’t a question or a compliment, it was just a fact. I nodded because I didn’t know what else to say.

He walked over and held out the coffee cup. I took it, and he looked at me a second longer than necessary, then turned and went back into his office without saying anything more.

I stood holding his cup, thinking that making coffee was definitely not in the job description, but okay. I went to the break room and made it exactly how Rachel told me yesterday, black, no sugar, no cream. I brought it back and knocked on his door.

"Come in," he said. I entered and put the coffee on his desk. He was reading something on his computer and didn’t look at me or say thank you. I turned to leave.

"There is a board meeting at nine," he said, and I stopped.

"Do you need me to prepare anything?" I asked. He shook his head but still didn’t look at me.

"Just be there and take notes," he said, then waved his hand as if dismissing me. I left and went back to my desk.

The next few hours passed quickly. I answered emails, made phone calls, organized files, and tried to figure out how everything worked. At eight fifty-five, Aiden came out of his office wearing his suit jacket.

"Let’s go," he said. I grabbed my laptop and followed him down the hall to a huge conference room with a long table, big leather chairs, and windows showing the whole city.

People started arriving. They were all older than me and wore expensive suits. They looked at me like I was invisible, they sat down and started talking quietly about things I didn’t understand, and then Aiden sat at the head of the table. I took a chair against the wall with my laptop open, ready to take notes.

The meeting started and was boring. People talked about numbers and reports, I typed everything, even if most of it didn’t make sense. I began to zone out when an older man with gray hair and a red face leaned forward and looked at Aiden.

"So, Aiden, what about the Westfield account?" he said, his voice carrying a mean edge.

"What about it?" Aiden replied, calm but with an edge underneath.

"Well, I heard there were some issues with the numbers," the man said smiling, it wasn’t a nice smile. Everyone got quiet, I felt the tension.

"There are no issues," Aiden said. The man leaned back and looked around as if wanting everyone to notice.

"Really? Because I was looking at the projected revenue for next quarter, and it seems off by about fifteen percent," he said. I saw Aiden’s jaw tighten, this man was trying to embarrass him in front of everyone.

"The numbers are correct," Aiden said, but the man shook his head.

"I don’t think they are. Maybe you should have prepared better for this meeting," he said. Some other board members smiled a little, I felt anger rise, this wasn’t fair. Aiden did prepare, the man was just cruel.

Aiden opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, I spoke.

"The projected revenue for next quarter is three point seven million," I said, louder than I meant. Everyone stared. My face heated, but I kept going.

"That is a fifteen percent increase from last quarter, not a decrease," I continued. The gray-haired man’s face got redder.

"And the reason it looks off is because Mr Blackwood secured the Harrington deal last week, which added two point one million to the projection. That hasn’t been officially reported yet," I said. The room was so quiet I could hear someone breathing at the other end.

The gray-haired man stared at me, mouth opening and closing like a fish. Aiden turned in his chair and looked at me, i couldn’t read his expression. Maybe I made a huge mistake and was about to be fired on my second day.

"As my assistant said, the numbers are correct," Aiden said, his voice was ice cold. The man looked down at his papers and said nothing more.

The meeting went on, but I barely heard it. My heart pounded, hands shook. I kept my eyes on my laptop screen, not daring to look up. Finally, after forever, the meeting ended. People left, but I stayed seated, not trusting my legs.

"Elliot," Aiden said. I looked up, Everyone else was gone. Just the two of us in the big conference room.

"Yes, Mr Blackwood?" I said, standing and grabbing my laptop. I walked over to where he was sitting at the head of the table.

"Where did you go to school?" he asked, blue eyes locking onto mine. I felt trapped.

"State university," I lied again. He kept staring, as if waiting for me to slip.

"And how did you know those numbers?" he asked, and I swallowed hard.

"I studied the files last night," I said. Partly true, but also I knew the numbers from growing up learning this stuff and my family doing deals like this. I couldn’t tell him that.

"You memorized the Harrington deal numbers in one night?" he said, clearly not believing me.

"I have a good memory," I said.

Aiden stood up suddenly, very close. I had to tilt my head back to look at him. I smelled his cologne, and my brain went fuzzy.

"Who are you really?" he asked quietly, dangerously. Panic flooded me. Did he know? Was this over?

"I’m just your assistant, Mr Blackwood," I said, trying to sound normal, but my voice shook.

"No," he said, stepping closer. I took a step back, hit the table behind, I was trapped between him and the table. He put his hands on either side of me and leaned in, I stopped breathing.

"You are not just an assistant," he said. His face was so close I could see gold flecks in his blue eyes.

"You are hiding something, and I am going to figure out what it is," he said. I didn’t know what to say, so I just stared. His eyes dropped to my mouth for a second, then back to mine. Something electric passed between us. The room spun.

Then his phone rang, the spell broke. He stepped back, pulled out his phone, answered and turned away.

"What?" he said coldly. I took my chance, grabbed my laptop, and practically ran out, back to my desk, putting my head in my hands.

What just happened? I thought. I still felt his presence, smelled his cologne, my heart was still racing. I didn’t understand what was going on, but I knew it was dangerous.

The rest of the day dragged on. I tried to focus, but kept thinking about how Aiden looked at me, leaned in so close, how his eyes dropped to my mouth. I was so distracted I almost deleted an important email.

At six, people left and I thought about leaving too. But I remembered Aiden had said I would stay late tonight. I didn’t know if he still wanted me to, but I was too scared to ask. So, I just stayed pretending to work.

By seven, the office was empty except for us. I heard Aiden’s door open. He stood there, looking at me.

"Come in here," he said. I got up on shaky legs and followed him into his office. He closed the door behind us, the click of the lock made me jump.

"Sit," he said, pointing to the chair across from his desk. I sat, and he walked around to sit in his chair, pulling out a folder and sliding it across the desk to me.

"I have a project that needs to be done by tomorrow morning," he said. I opened the folder and looked inside. My heart sank.

"This is a full market analysis," I said.

"I know what it is," he said, the edge in his voice sharp.

"This will take all night," I said, looking up.

"Then I suggest you get started," he said. I closed the folder, stood, and walked to the door. Before I could open it, he spoke.

"Elliot," he said. I turned around. He was standing with hands in pockets.

"Sir?" I said.

"I don’t know what game you’re playing," he said lowering his voice, but I will figure it out.

I wanted to tell him I wasn’t playing any game, but that would be a lie because I was lying about everything.

"I’m not playing any games," I said.

He stepped closer, and I pressed my back against the door.

"Everyone is playing a game, Elliot," he said, so close I could feel the heat from his body.

"The question is, what do you want?" His eyes searched my face. I didn’t know how to answer. What I wanted was complicated, dangerous and wrong.

"I just want to do my job," I said.

He laughed, but it wasn’t a happy sound.

"Liar," he said, then reached past me and opened the door. I stumbled out and he closed it behind me. I stood, trying to catch my breath.

I went to my desk, sat, opened the folder with shaking hands, and looked at the work ahead. I knew it would be a long night, but I didn’t care, i needed the distraction.

I started working. Hours passed and I got lost in numbers and data. I didn’t look up until my eyes hurt, when I checked the clock, it was almost midnight.

I looked at Aiden’s office. He was still there through the glass wall, looking tired. I wondered if he ever went home or just lived in this cold office.

As if he felt me watching, he looked up. Our eyes met, and neither looked away. The office suddenly felt very small and very quiet. That same electricity from earlier passed between us. I didn’t know what it meant, but I knew it was dangerous.

He stood, walked to his door, opened it, and looked at me.

"Go home, Elliot," he said, voice sounded different and softer.

"I’m not done yet," I said.

He walked to my desk and looked at my screen.

"You can finish it in the morning," he said.

I shook my head. "You said you needed it by tomorrow morning."

He reached over and closed my laptop. "Go home," he said again, this time an order. I looked up. He was staring down at me, and I couldn’t breathe.

He was something else entirely, and I didn’t know what to do about it.