Page 17 of Lethal Salvation

Chapter 6

Gideon looked up from the report he was reading as his door opened and was stupidly pleased to see Nadia standing in his doorway. She was looking much better than the last time he’d seen her, her hair shining, her skin a healthier shade, and her eyes were no longer bright with fever.

He let his eyes move over the tattoos she was no longer covering, admiring the artwork on her skin. In his opinion this would be too much on most women, giving them a hardness he didn’t like, but on her, it worked.

She wore her usual office attire of a blouse and pencil skirt, this time a pale pink blouse and black skirt. Her hair was up in a ponytail, away from the neck he’d thought about kissing too many times.

“Good morning, Mr Cavendish.”

“Good morning, Miss Benassi. How are you feeling?”

A blush stained her cheeks, surprising and delighting him.

“Much better, thank you. I had a very unexpected but excellent nurse looking after me.”

Now it was his turn to blush. “Are those my papers?” Gideon held out his hand for his morning papers, which he still liked to read for the financial section.

“Yes, and here’s your coffee from that place you like with the organic beans.”

His eyebrows rose in surprise. “Thank you, but what’s the occasion?”

He sniffed the coffee and sipped cautiously as she laughed.

“It’s not poisoned. I just wanted to say thank you for, you know, taking care of me.”

“Well, it was an experience that’s for sure, but I had to make sure we got you back in the office quick smart. I haven’t got time to train another PA.”

“Well, either way, thank you.”

He pursed his lips and dipped his head, not finding it easy to receive thanks from anyone.

He watched her walk from the room and turned to his emails. He had an invitation to a ball a week from Friday and he knew Damon and Carter would be attending and, most likely, the step-demon from hell. It would be the perfect opportunity for Nadia to meet them both and see if she could glean anything new. He closed the email without responding. He should take her, but he had the overwhelming urge to protect her.

Since finding her almost passed out from illness, he’d seen a side to Nadia he was fairly sure she didn’t show to many people. A gentler, vulnerable side and, for the first time since his mother had died, he’d felt the urge to care for someone and nurture them.

Sure, he still wanted to fuck her brains out but something more was stirring beneath the surface, and he couldn’t place it. Now, the thought of her putting herself on the line or in the way of danger made him want to stand between her and any perils she might face.

A few hours later a knock on his door had him looking up. “Come.”

As the door opened, he went to stand as his father walked into the room. “Dad, what are you doing here?”

Gideon nodded at Nadia that it was okay and she closed the door, leaving them alone.

“Can’t a man visit his son at work without the third degree?”

“Of course, but you don’t.”

His father sighed and Gideon noticed how he was really looking his age, the twinkle in his eye was dimmed, he had black circles around his eyes, and he’d lost weight. It reminded him too much of how his mother had looked when she was sick.

“The new girl is different. I thought I was going to have to fight her to get to you.”

“Miss Benassi is very good at her job and protects my time as instructed.”

“There was a time when everyone in this company knew who I was and respected my position.”

Nadia knew exactly who his father was, she wasn’t just a PA, although she was excellent at it.

“You stopped coming around and the staff rotate and move on.”