Chapter Two
He clicked his car key, and turned on his engine as he walked through the empty parking lot. Loosening his tie, he let out a long breath. There was something going on, and his delectable assistant was in the middle of it all. After she had left him alone in his office, he checked which profile she had used, and confirmed she had tried to login with his personal profile. Thankfully, she didn’t have the password.
Over the past two weeks, he’d noticed her leaning forward, her eyes wandering whenever he punched in his code. Which had been why he had purposely chosen the easiest one, so he would login and check if there had been any movement. Now…now that he knew money was being stolen from the company, the pieces of the puzzle started to fit together. Some of them, anyway.
He slid into his car, and started to drive inside the covered garage. Most employees had gone home already, but there was one vehicle parked at the corner of the lot. A woman shook her head, while she opened the trunk of her car.
Well, well… He scratched his chin, and brought his car to a stop next to hers. Elena Moretti. What was she up to now?
“Do you need help?” He rolled up his sleeves.
She stepped back, her eyes widened at him. “Mr.—
“Devon,” he said, and averted his gaze to her silver Beamer 328i. Who knew his personal assistant had such taste for nice cars? How did she get the money? “Engine problem?”
She rubbed her temple. “Yeah. The road assistance service will send someone to fix it, but I’m just too tired to wait. I was about to hang out next to the security guy and call a cab.”
“I’ll give you a ride.” He opened the passenger door for her. “Hop inside.”
She shuffled her weight from foot to foot, and opened her mouth but no sound came out. “I’m not going to bite, Elena,” he reminded her, although a quick skim over her full bottom lip almost changed his resolve. His body tensed, and his jeans tightened a notch. Whatcha thinking, man? This chick is off-limits.
Regina had shared with the whole world the open dynamic of their relationship, and he had irked some conservative shareholders. The last thing he needed was to fantasize about the mysterious assistant who could very well be the one who was stealing from his company.
Hhhmmm… If that was really the case, he would have to expose her. But first, he would have to find out what was going on.
“You just passed the security office.” She pointed out at the station where Darnell was probably eating a day old Burrito and watching the football game. Even though he did rounds in the parking lot, there was never much action in the building.
He slanted her a look. “I know. I figure, I can give you a ride home. Save you some money.”
“No,” she rushed to say. “You totally don’t have to. I mean, it’s nice, thank you. But unnecessary. You have your life and things to do—”
“You are giving me a lot of credit, Elena. I have no plans tonight.” Except for starting to crack whatever got her so nervous when around him.
Though she rested her head against the seat, her stiff shoulders and the hard lines bracketing her mouth couldn’t hide her tension. Interesting. Not only did his assistant have a nicer car than he would have thought, she didn’t want him to visit her home. Why was that?
“Okay then.”
She proceeded to give him her address, and although it sounded like a nice neighborhood in an established part of Denver, all he focused on was the rich texture of her lips. As they moved, he imagined them under his. That would never become reality. Not when she was his primary embezzling suspect. He hadn’t bedded a woman for months—a promise he made to himself to keep his eye on the prize.
He could just focus on his successful nightclub business. But, especially after the scandal, he had yearned for something more— and to prove to everyone he was the responsible hard working guy his father hadn’t been topped the list. Matthew never got labeled as Caleb’s bad son. Matthew always excelled at things and had gone to the best private schools. He never had to endure crummy living conditions and a pushover mother who was a step above a whore.
Devon wanted respect. And bedding his assistant was the last thing he should do. It was dumb, juvenile, and he was so done with making bad decisions. So, so done.
Instead, he’d focus on what his assistant was up to and determine if she was the company’s embezzler. No way was he taking her home yet when he had a ton to figure out.
She pointed at the window. “You missed my exit.”
“I’m not driving you home yet.”
She shifted in the seat. “W-what does that mean?”
“I’m hungry. Since it’s dinnertime, I take it you must eat, too. So, why not do it together? I’ve neglected you. I never took the time to get to know my assistant.”
“What is there to know?” she asked.
He kept his eyes on the highway. Two more exits, and he’d be dining on 14th street. With his assistant. To try and find out whatever he could. He knew enough about people in general, especially the ones with a hidden agenda, that the best way to catch them with their pants down would be by distracting them with something else. “What’s your favorite type of food, for starters?”
“I like everything, really.”
