I check my messages as I eat and confirm my mother’s transport arrived at her new facility.
Finished with my meal, I toss my plasticware in the trash and chat with a few coworkers before returning to my desk.
CEO Williams returns in a terrible mood.The scowl on his face as he stomps down the hall triggers multiple warning flags in my head.Adrenaline floods my veins, and my senses heighten.
He gestures for me to follow him into his office, so I grab my work tablet and scramble through the double doors.
“Prepare the conference room for a meeting,” he demands.
I flinch as he slams a stack of folders on his desk.Without warning, he begins stripping out of his suit coat.I yearn to dart out of the room, but don’t dare move for fear of turning his ire on me.
“I want it ready in five minutes,” he sneers.
As he throws his jacket and tie onto the couch and unbuttons the first few buttons on his shirt, I leave and shut the door firmly behind me.
Without missing a beat despite the ice lingering in my bones, I head straight to the executive conference room and power on all the lights and devices, then recruit the young woman interning with the COO’s secretary to make coffees and heat the kettle for tea.When she asks me how many, I tell her to just keep making them until the conference doors close behind the last arrival.With no direction on what might be needed—I don’t have a reason for the meeting or a list of attendees—I prepare each seat at the table with two pens, a pencil, a large and small notepad, and a chilled bottle of water.
After adjusting the blinds and adding chairs along the walls for potential assistants, I grab the basket of basic office supplies from the cabinet and set it near the edge of the table before pulling out items and strategically placing them in the center so everyone has access.
I turn to take the basket off the table and bump into a masculine body.
Time splinters.Even as I recognize CEO Williams, my mind transports me back to my stepfather’s attack.
Red tie.Black suit.White shirt.
I freeze.
Edgar Williams leans closer.I claw my way free of my fear and force air into my lungs.
I’m not a terrified fifteen-year-old girl anymore.This man will not touch me.
But I need this job so I can support my mom.I’ll never be able to find employment with such great benefits and pay if I lose this position.Kneeing my CEO in the family jewels and following through with a throat punch isn’t the wisest option.
The edge of the table digs into my butt as I avoid his touch.He flattens his hands on the table on either side of my hips.I lean further away and nudge a pen with my hand.
Not heavy enough.I blindly reach behind me and close my fist around the nearest stapler as Mr.Williams opens his mouth.
“You finished quicker than I thought you would.How about—”
A man clears his throat from the doorway.The hair on my nape rises.
Mr.Williams pops upright and adjusts his tie.I release the stapler despite wanting to jam it into his temple, and I rise.
All the blood drains from my head as I meet sky-blue eyes.
Brennan Diamond, my ex-stepbrother and the man I vowed to avoid for the rest of my life, stands in the doorway with cold fury shining from his handsome face.
Dread threatens to consume me.
Chapter 4
Brennan Diamond
The guilt in Audrey’s eyesas she rises and clasps her hands together in front of herself damns them both.I push my glasses higher on the bridge of my nose and slip my hands into my pockets so I don’t bury my fist in Edgar Williams’s face, wrap my hands around my baby doll’s throat, and kiss her until she knows without a doubt I’m the only man for her.
“Apologies, Mr.Diamond.You’re earlier than—”
I check my watch and aim my glare at his face as I return my hand to my pocket.
