Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Devil At My Desk : Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 8

Bella's POVThe first rule of being a Marlowe was simple: family came first.The second was that Nathan came before everyone else, including me.“Bella, darling, could you get your brother the blue folder from the study?”I looked up from my laptop. Mum stood in the breakfast room doorway, adjusting the diamond bracelet on her wrist. She wore a cream silk blouse and tailored trousers, ready for the day.“Mum, I’m working.”“And Nathan has an important meeting.” She smiled as though that settled it. “The folder’s in the study. You know where it is.”I checked the time on my screen. 8:17 a.m. My interview was at nine.“I have to leave soon. Can’t he get it himself?”“It’ll take two minutes, sweetheart.”She turned away before I could answer.I stared after her. I could call her back and insist that my plans mattered too. Instead, I shut my laptop and went to get the folder.It was beneath a stack of financial reports on the study desk. I had just pulled it free when Nathan appeared in t

Bella’s POVHe turned.Dorian Ashford.For a second, I forgot how to breathe.The boy who used to stroll into school with a crooked tie had become a man who looked at home in an expensive suit, standing in an office overlooking half of Manhattan.His eyes settled on mine. Recognition flickered across his face.“Arabella Marlowe,” he said.“Mr. Ashford.”He set my résumé on the desk.“Sit down.”I obeyed, placing my bag beside the chair. My palms were damp, and I wiped them against my trousers.Of all the people I could have ended up working for, it had to be him.Dorian had once replaced my class presentation with a slideshow of my worst school photographs. He'd called it a harmless prank. I'd spent the following week making his life miserable.We'd both been seventeen, and neither of us had been sensible.“I didn't expect to see you here,” he said.“Neither did I.”For a moment, neither of us seemed to know what to say. Then he opened my résumé.“Top of your class. Strong recommendat

Dorian’s POVArabella Marlowe was the last person I expected to see sitting across from me in an interview.I'd interviewed plenty of candidates over the years. Most of them came prepared with polished answers, impressive qualifications, and the determination to make themselves memorable. I was used to assessing people without letting personal impressions get in the way.Bella had made that considerably more difficult than it should have been.Hiring her had been a decision I could justify on paper. Her qualifications were strong, her recommendations were impressive, and she'd handled my questions without trying to tell me what she thought I wanted to hear.Why I'd found myself thinking about it long after the interview was over was another matter.Still, when I opened her file that morning, I found myself staring at her name longer than necessary.Arabella Marlowe.I closed the folder, reached for my coffee, and tried to focus on the work waiting on my desk. There were reports to rev

Bella's POV Dorian looked at the figure I had pointed out, then turned back to the summary.“Is there a problem?” I asked.“I haven't decided yet.”“That sounds reassuring.”“Would you prefer me to invent an answer?”“No. I'd prefer one that exists.”The corner of his mouth lifted. “Good. We're off to a promising start.”“I'm glad one of us thinks so.”He placed the file beside his laptop. “Take it home. Review it tonight and bring me your observations tomorrow morning.”“I thought my first day was supposed to involve learning how things work around here, not taking work home.”“This is part of it. You'll ask better questions when you have time to read without me looking over your shoulder.”I couldn't decide whether that was a compliment or another attempt to irritate me.Probably both.“Don't contact anyone about the figures yet,” he added. “If there's a simple explanation, we should establish that before involving other people.”“Fine. I'll review it.”I reached for the file, but