Austin I survey the street below me. Buying a few more seconds to let my anger subside. “I’m driving you home from now on. End of discussion.” “But Mr. Cane..” “I said, that’s the end of that conversation.” I refrain from looking at my assistant. The sight of her injuries incites something primal in me. I want to kill whoever did that to her. “I appreciate it, sir. I’m not sure about driving me home every day, but I would really like not to be jostled more today.” She grimaced. Her condition must be so terrible that she swallowed her pride. If there’s anything I’ve observed about the girl, it’s that her pride rivals mine. The phone on my desk starts ringing. I sit down, she starts to stand and prepare to leave to give me privacy for the call. But finds it difficult to get up from her chair. The wince on her face and the way she clutches her sides make my blood boil. I raise up my hand, silently telling her not to move further, but I don’t answer the phone. She sits back dow

“It’s a good thing that it’s Friday, but you might need your own clothes for next week,” he said while scooping some rice onto his plate. He drizzles the creamy curry sauce on top of it. “I definitely can’t wear this.” I try hard not to grin at the thought of wearing something of Mr. Cane’s at the office. “No, uh…” he glances down at the shirt I’m currently donning - his. The neckline swoops with my small frame, exposing a bit of my collarbone and shoulder. He clears his throat, going back to the food. “We can go back to your house or I can ask Ronnie to pick it up.” Oh. Yeah, I completely forgot that he has his own driver. So why does he always offer to drive me? “Okay, sir, thanks again.” Of course, he refuses to acknowledge my gratitude. His stoicism is sometimes unnerving. “We’ll report your father to the police first thing in the morning,” he just casually drops on me. I swallow the half-chewed curry in my mouth. Lay down my spoon. Drink some water to buy me some time to

Dashing is not even enough to describe Mr. Austin. He comes out of his room in an all-black ensemble. Now I understand it, the custom-made suit fits him like a glove. It’s classy. It screams money and power. “You clean up good,” he smirks at my dress. “The dresses…” He raises a hand to stop me from saying anything further. “Stop, just accept it,” he said. “But they’re too much, I wouldn’t even have any use for those formal ones.” He shrugs. Staring at the intricate design on his vest. “Giovanni is a genius,” I said. “Three pieces are for events, I suppose?” “And whenever I feel good, or when I need to go to battle,” he thumbs his cufflinks. “It’s my armor,” he adds. “It’s worth every penny, sir,” the same tension from yesterday is present. I didn’t sleep well because of what he pulled off in the dressing room. My mind kept on repeating the memory on a loop. Sometimes, his fingers would venture somewhere else to do some other things to my body. Sometimes, he would cup my fa

If someone had told me months ago that I would be spending time with Mister Austin Cane, the millionaire CEO of Cane Industries, outside office hours, eating food, and existing in his world, I would have told them they were insane. Batshit crazy. And yet, here I am, doing exactly that. This whole day was crazy. Hell, this whole weekend was nothing short of the twilight zone. I never would have believed it unless his own father would have sat me down and gotten to know me himself. Mister Luke Cane headed straight to my table and calmly asked me a series of questions that were so personal, I would have thought he was friends with my own mother. He asked me things that not even my family is privy to. At first, it was highly uncomfortable and I didn’t have a clue how to navigate his inquiries but as time went by, I understood that he was ensuring his son was safe with a newcomer. Does everybody get this level of the third degree when entering his son’s circle? It’s somewhat excessive b

“Miss Althea Greene, glad you could join us today,” Mr. Austin greets her. She glides into the room. Everyone is captivated, including me, and soon everybody settles down. Tommy finally leaves me be. I watch Ms. Greene take a seat beside Mr. Austin. Where she belongs. They look like a king and a queen ruling over their subjects. How fitting. Her fiery red hair is in a bun but tendrils have escaped. It makes her look alluring. The glasses she’s wearing give off the impression that she’s here for business, the opposite of the party look she had last time. She goes on to outline new improvements that she wants the team to undertake, detailing specifications with accuracy. She knows her stuff, she’s decisive and articulate. She takes no shit from any of the guys on the team. They seem enamored with her. I don’t blame them. If I weren’t so obsessed with my boss, I would have been girl-crushing on her. Big time. She’s a badass. No wonder Mr. Austin was flirting with her. Anyone with half