AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You can’t know that for sure,” she argued, though I could see her shoulders relax just a touch.
“Alba, I’ve been working here for two years and have run into him exactly once. That’s it.” We’d shared an elevator with two other people last year and he hadn’t so much as glanced in my general direction.
“Yes, but you’re also my sister.”
I gave her a skeptical look. “Does he even know you have a sister? Has he ever asked?”
She rolled her lips and looked away from me, which was answer enough. Of course he’d never asked. Why would he need to know whether his overworked assistant of four years had any siblings? Why would he need to know anything about her at all? Why would he care about anyone but himself?
Worst boss on the fucking planet.
“Okay, well then we don’t really have anything to worry about, do we?” I said.
Albaopened her mouth—presumably to argue with me again—but was interrupted by a string of lightdings fluttering out of her phone in rapid succession.
“Oh god,” she groaned down at her screen. “I’m being summoned again.”
I gave her hand a comforting squeeze as I helped her up. “Stop stressing so much,” I said, gently poking her swollen belly. “It’s not good for the baking process.”
“I’ll stop stressing if you start taking life a little more seriously,” she said, keeping a hold of my fingers. Her features were scrunched with less irritation now, more worry. “This is… Ria, he could press charges. Do you understand how—”
The door burst open before she could finish the thought, making us both jump.
“Oh my god, there you are!” Hassan exclaimed. He was clutching his phone so tight his knuckles were white. “Why aren’t you answering your phone? Adrien’s got people looking for you.”
The guy had zero fucking patience. It hadn’t even been thirty seconds since he’d texted her.
“Sorry. I’ll go back up now.” Alba dropped my hand with a deep sigh, but not before shooting me a look that said she wasn’t done lecturing me about this.
“Not you,” Hassan said, nudging a chin in my direction. “He wants Ria. His security guys are looking everywhere for her.”
I swear I could see my sister’s soul drift right out of her stiffening body when his words registered.
Well… shit.
2
You knowyou’re probably in a tiny bit of trouble when one of the wealthiest men in the country has his entire personal security team looking for you.
That’s right. According to Hassan, Adrien Cloutier was utilizinghis entire personal security teamto try and find me, which, on top of being excessive, was a little weird. Because I wasn’t hiding.
“There she is!” Peter Gladwell yelled the second we stepped out of the meeting. Like I was some sort of fugitive on the run, and he’d finallycaught me. “She was hiding in a meeting room!”
First of all, inaccurate. Second of all, wow. That dude reallydidn’t take rejection well, did he?
“You’re Ria Sanchez?” A bald, beefy man in a black suit trudged up to where we stood, his eyes darting over me like he was trying to determine the exact level of physical threat my five-foot-six frame posed against his seven feet of chunky muscle.
They were bulging out of his too-tight suit. It did not look comfortable.
“Guilty as charged,” I responded cheekily.
Alba pinched my arm so hard I physically jerked back. “Ow!”
She ignored me. “Hey, Frankie. What’s this about?”
Frankie shook his head. “Can’t talk about it. Sorry, Albs. We’ve been instructed to escort her up to Cloutier’s office as soon as possible. That’s all I can say.”
“I could have escorted myself,” I told him, continuing to rub at my arm. “But all right, let’s go.”
