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Holly
Like a storm approaching, the room waits in nervous anticipation for the man in charge to arrive. I don’t think anyone can form a conversation right now as we wait with a mixture of apprehension and excitement to take our first glimpse of a man who sets himself apart from the rest of us, surrounded by an aura of notoriety and menace. Dexter Prince is an enigma. A man without character because he lets no one in to assess what that is.
I am so excited I can only focus on one thing. The door because I don’t want to miss a second of the time I have to feast my eyes upon a legend.
Ray is nervous beyond belief. He is sweating and our usual fearless leader looks as if he’s a hunter’s prey waiting for the kill. Even Wayne has lost his cocky manner and is staring at his phone as if the answer lies on the small computer screen.
Alyson has applied a fresh smearing of lipstick and brushed her hair so it gleams like spun gold around her shoulders and I swear she’s even hitched up her skirt a little to show an obscene amount of leg. The air is super-charged with a mixture of fear and desire to meet the man who pays our wages but has absolutely nothing to do with us outside of that.
The clock strikes the tenth hour and all eyes swivel to the entrance the king will enter through.
You could hear a pin drop as the door pushes open on the stroke of the hour and the sweat runs down my spine as I stare with interest at the man who enters the room like an approaching storm.
Dexter Prince is worthy of his reputation on sight.
Tall, dark and menacing, a monster dressed in an Armani suit. The cut of it reminds us all how successful he is. Darkest black to match his close-cropped hair. A black silk shirt that reinforces the image and gleaming black shoes, undoubtedly from the finest shoemaker.
A force among men - a God.
His expensive watch shines as the sunlight catches it and his dark brown eyes glance around the room with a look that could draw the secrets from the souls of every living person here. I say living because it wouldn’t surprise me if some of us had died already because the dense choking toxic air that man brings with him would shrivel a person’s soul in a matter of seconds.
He is not alone.
Flanking him on either side is a wall of menace. Two brutes with shaven heads and dark designer suits, much like their bosses, stand and survey the room with steely gazes. There are no smiles, no warm greeting, just a sense that we are all about to lose something valuable when he speaks.
“Holly Bryant.”
I swallow—hard.
His voice is curt and irritated. Slightly husky, with a rough edge that makes me strangely weak at the knees.
All eyes turn to me and I feel the invisible arrows pointing at me as every person here breathes a sigh of relief and pushes me forward as the sacrifice, because from the look on this man’s face, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.
The silence swirls around me as I stand on shaky legs and stare at him with a blank look that hides the terror I feel right now.
“Sir.”
I look him directly in the eye and even from across the room, I feel those dark, sexy eyes, boring deep into my soul.
“Come here.”
Nobody says a word and I will my legs to move because I’m more likely to run like hell the other way. Instead, I walk with a bravery that reminds me what a fucking joke I am because there is nothing good about what’s coming from the look in his eye. He is angry, that’s as obvious as the shit I’m obviously covered in right now and as I move to the front, he addresses the room.
“For future reference, if anyone here thinks they can play by their own rules, disregard those set in place and try to make a name for themselves at my expense, this is what happens.”
My heart sinks as my hot story comes back to burn me and as I reach the front, he sneers. “Holly Bryant, you’re fired.”
I refuse to let the emotion show as I feel the pity surround me and yet relief that I’m the one standing here and not one of them. Even Ray has no words as he stares in disbelief at a scene none of us expected to see today—if ever.
The men beside Dexter Prince stare at me as if they’re about to rip me apart limb from limb and as Dexter turns and leaves the room, they settle by my side, taking an arm each to physically escort me from the building. As experiences go, this is the most humiliating one of my life because it was so brutal, so public, and so damaging in every way.
Now I will always be that girl who was named and shamed in front of the entire staff before being dragged from the building.
I’m not even sure how I manage to put one foot in front of the other and as I walk, an increasing build-up of anger powers me on. The tears that burn are angry ones because how bloody dare he humiliate me like that. It’s inhuman, he’s inhuman and I have never hated anyone as much as I do him right now.
They lead me through the familiar corridors toward the main entrance and I have to endure gasps from other departments, curious glances and shocked expressions as we appear to do a tour of Media Corp to highlight my shame.
I’ve been fired, publicly humiliated and without any chance to explain myself. I’m finished.
Finally, we make it outside and I blink in the unexpected sunlight that greets me from the dark place in my mind.
I briefly register the black SUV with blackened windows waiting by the entrance and don’t have time to catch my breath as they bundle me inside. The two security guards squeeze in beside me and my last view of the man who made this all happen is his dark penetrating gaze as he slams the door shut and hits the roof with a resounding thud.
Before I can catch my breath, the car speeds away, taking me to God only knows where—well, God and the destructive, domineering, dangerous Dexter Prince.
