Page 18 of One Rule
“I trust you to make the right decision when it comes to handling Miss Mills, Andrew,” I say, my eyes on the information left behind by Lionel. The slim binder held eight pages and the very first was the original proposal with an estimated timeline, budget, and a quick gloss over of the luxury resort Diaz wants the land for. At best, this was a first and very rough draft while the later pages gave detailed information on each member of the investment group, including my father.
Now the question is why would he try to steal from the son of a partner?
To force compliance if he has something on me.
To ask for more funds in exchange for his possible silence.
It was a very rookie mistake when playing in the water with sharks, and Royce Sr. is no idiot. Neither am I.
“…I’ll do what I can, Mr. Royce. She’s already made quite the impression today with the two junior accountants on my team.” Andrew takes a pause; on the other end of the call, I can make out the squeaking of a chair and then the closing of a door. “They’d asked for copies of last month's performer payroll from the Diamante line. We wanted to cross reference hours clocked from the last six months, but she refused. Simply told them it wasn’t part of her job.”
“Her job is what you say it is.” Movement on my computer screen catches my eyes and I look up, catching a still-here Liliana walk to her desk. It’s normal for the cameras in her office to always run in the background, to highlight her office, but right now it doesn’t bring me the joy it usually does. Not when I catch sight of what she has in her hands.The fuck.“Not up for discussion. Another strike, and I expect you to fire her.”
“Of course, sir.”
“It’s Micah to you, old man. You’ve been with us for a very long time.” At my response, his laughter filters through but then fades into nothing. I see a roll of tape in her hands and some cardboard. I watch her move; rise onto the tips of her toes to remove a few picture frames and I’m standing before she’s done. “Do what you must and report back. I trust you, Andrew.”
“Thank you, Micah. I’ll be in touch.”
“We’ll talk soon.”
I end the call before the last syllable passes through my lips. In the background, it sounds like he said something else, but I pay no heed. I’m across the room in seconds and out the door, marching toward her office without stopping and entering the space just the same.
At once our eyes meet, those beautiful hazel orbs widening with shock while her lips part and a teasing touch of pink sweeps across her cheeks. As if she’s been caught doing something inappropriate.
And in that moment, I give no fucks about propriety. I don’t care about anything but stopping her.
“Where the hell are you going, rebel?”
Chapter6
Liliana
“Where the hell are you going, rebel?”
“Shouldn’t it be obvious, Mr. Royce?” Without looking up, I continue putting together a cardboard box—my movements hold a bit of sulking—to help me shift my belongings downstairs like the other assistants. I’m not angry at Micah, but I’m losing my constant access to him. To his scent.Being away from you is going to be torture.“I did accept your offer.”
“Put the box down, Liliana,” Micah grits out, and I shift my gaze just so I can show him I’m rolling my eyes. What I find, though, causes my heart to race for a different reason: he’s angry. He’s also a lot closer than I thought. On the other side of my desk and glaring, his lip curls over his teeth in disgust while those hypnotizing blue eyes switch between the box in my hand and the mess atop my desk.Even upset, he’s a god among men.“Don’t be a brat and do as I say.”
“Can’t.” My shrug only serves to further upset him, and I’m given a taste of his frosty gaze a second later. Which doesn’t make sense since he’s the one changing my position. He’s the one that made the rule about his assistants working a floor below him.“I’ve got too much to do, and wasting time isn’t in the script today. Please let me get back to it.”
“I sent you home.”
“And I need to get this done.”
His nostrils flare at my response while he holds out his open palm. “Hand it over and go home.”
“No.” Sass with a touch of annoyance, and he’s not impressed. Instead, I’m growled at while he prowls around to my side, stopping only when his towering frame disrupts my personal space. When the fabric of his suit skims my side, causing a small ripple of pleasure to rock me where I stand. “W-What are you doing?”
“Give. It.”
“Micah, this isn’t making any sense. Assistants belong one floor down—”
“So help me God, Liliana,” he snarls, and for the first time in all the years I’ve known him, I experience his vexation. Moreover, it’s directed at me, and I don’t like it. “Don’t test me. Give me the box and go home. That’s an order.”
“You’re the one being difficult.” And confusing. And so fucking handsome it causes every muscle in my body to contract with need. Even like this, angry at me for reasons that evade rationality, I can’t help but respond to him. The shiver that coasts up my spine. The wetness coating my inner thighs now. “Doesn’t this new position mean I’m moving a floor—”
“No.”