The effect this woman had on me was dangerous. There was something about her that attracted me and pulled me. Maybe it was that sharp tongue of hers. Even after knowing who I was, she still snapped at me the way she did before. When she had almost called me an arrogant bastard, I had wanted to laugh. No one dared to call me that, In fact, no one dared to talk back to me, ever. And here she was, a little secretary, snapping back at me. Maybe that’s what I liked about her. Her spark. Her tongue. The fire that burned inside her.
And that is why I knew I had to stay away from her. She was something else, and I couldn’t let her pull me in. No. I’d had enough pain and heartbreak. I needed to stay as far away as I could. In fact, I almost felt angry at her for making me feel such emotions. I felt furious at her for igniting feelings in me that I had longed buried. I couldn’t let her win. I just couldn’t.
“Isn’t that the same girl you took home with you last night?” Daniel asked, interrupting my thought process.
“Excuse me?” my father asked, intrigued.
“He met a girl last night at the club,” Daniel said. “He went home with her. And now, she’s here as his secretary.”
I silently cursed my friend. Trust him to complicate things for me. Now my father would be curious and would butt even more into my matters.
“She happened to collapse near me,” I explained calmly. “I didn’t want to leave her like that, where anyone might take advantage of her. So I took her home, and when she sobered up, she headed home. That was all.”
That wasn’t all, but I wasn’t going to tell them about what had happened between her and me.
“Well, I came to say that I am proud of what you have done here,” Dad said. “You’ve managed everything well, and I am glad to see that my company is in such good hands.”
I looked at him, surprised. I hadn’t expected my father to let the matter go without questioning from his side.
“I am glad you approve,” I said.
“Come over for dinner tonight. Your mother has been dying to see you,” my father said casually. “That’s all I have heard from her since we returned from our trip.‘I want to see my son. Why hasn’t he visited yet? Why won’t he find a good woman and get married? I should be a grandmother by now’.”
He imitated my mother to perfection, and I laughed. I loved and cherished my mother, and I could easily imagine her saying all that. It had been a long time since I had seen her because of their trip, and I missed her terribly. I wasn't going to admit it, of course.
“I’ll be there,” I said.
He got up, groaning about his old bones and how he wasn’t meant to do this anymore.
“Well, it was nice meeting you again, Daniel,” he said, shaking my friend’s hand.
“You too, sir,” he said politely.
I watched my father march out of my office, and I let my body relax.
“Gale?” he called out suddenly, stopping at the door. “I think I will be stopping by more often.”
With that, my father left the office, and I silently cursed Daniel once again.
“Well, anything to say for yourself?” Daniel asked the moment my father was gone.
“Yes,” I snapped. “It’s none of your business.”
“Be careful, Gale,” he said. “I don’t like the way you are acting. That girl is no good. You know the type, don’t you? She tempts her boss with acts of innocence to make you think she is a sweet, pure girl. So you don’t see through and notice her acts of seduction. How many stories have you heard of a rich man falling for his secretary? Be careful.”
“It’s nothing,” I snapped. “I was helping her after she fell. I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
This girl certainly wasn’t innocent, considering the mouth she had on her. Daniel was wrong about that. But one thing he was right about – that girl was no good, and I would keep her as far away as I could.
Chapter 4
Mysterious Voice
Gale Fears
“Fuck this! You said you had it handled, Gale,” Mrs. Durrick barked at me the moment we got out of the courthouse.
I didn’t reply. We had been massacred in court. The witness had refused to succumb to the expert cross-examination by Seth and had stuck to her story. Mrs. Durrick’s performance, while it did turn the tide in her favor, hadn’t done as good a job as I had expected. It didn’t help that most of the jury were women, and they seemed immune to Mrs. Durrick’s charm.
