I close the folder, weave my fingers together, and rest them on top before meeting her gaze.Her fake lashes and filled lips detract from her natural beauty, but they aren’t overdone like so many women nowadays, and to each their own.
“Ms.Kim, you are a secretary, not a barista or waitress.Please refrain from fetching drinks in the future.In fact, feel free to report anyone if they request it of you.You have more important tasks to fulfill.Understand?”
She bats her lashes at me and shifts her weight from one high heel to the other before she registers the meaning of my words.Emotions flit across her face, and I predict her response before she speaks by the calculation in her eyes.
I hide my annoyance as she simpers.
“Of course, Mr.Sterling.Thank you so much for looking out for me,” Ms.Kim gushes.
I shift my gaze and catch Penelope’s eyes.She looks away but not fast enough to hide the anger, hurt, and betrayal shimmering in her expressive hazel orbs.
Her response both twists my stomach into knots and fills me with hope.
I dismiss Ms.Kim, but before I can go to Penelope’s side, the vice president knocks on the glass beside my open door.Swallowing my sigh, I motion him in and offer him his favorite flavored electrolyte water from my mini fridge as I grab my own and sit to discuss the latest developments and concerns.
By the time he shakes my hand and strides from my office, the coffee on my desk is cold and most people have left for the evening.I grimace and grab the unwanted coffee as another wave of workers disappear into the elevator.
Mr.Thomas fixes his hair in his reflection on the window before turning and stalking toward the kitchen.
Penelope stands with her back to the room as she washes her mug in the sink.
A red haze settles over my vision as he approaches her.I’ve never seen him so nervous before.
My jealousy flares to catastrophic levels as she stops what she’s doing and gives him her full attention.
Judging by the expression on her face, she isn’t interested in his advances, but the knowledge does little to appease the caveman inside me.I stalk toward them with nothing in my brain except the urge to commit murder.
Penelope Miles is mine.
Only mine.
Chapter 7
Penelope Miles
Relief pours through meat the sincerity in Kenneth’s apology—for both the awkwardness today and his crassness at my apartment—but before I can open my mouth to accept, a shadow falls over me.
With terror closing my throat, I swing my gaze over my shoulder.Backlit by the sunset, Sebastian aims furious eyes at his personal assistant.
I’ve never seen him look so murderous.The hairs on my nape rise.Every cell in my body freezes as nightmares flash through my mind’s eye.
Sebastian steps around me.
I grab his arm.The violence wafting off him is too much.
“What are you doing?”
I hate the panic in my voice, but I can’t stop it any more than I can stop this goliath of a man if he decides to hurt Mr.Thomas.
Decadent brown eyes capture mine.
“Is he bothering you?”
I blink at his unexpected question.
“No, he’s not bothering me.He was apologizing.”
“For what?”
