Potts bit her pale lips, her hands pushing against Linus Vance’s firm chest.
“Mr.
Vance, I am the assistant to the CEO of Stark Industries, not anyone’s private property.”
Her resistance was entirely futile against Linus’s absolute strength.
Instead of letting go, Linus tightened his grip, pulling her completely into his broad chest.
His warm, large hand rested right over her stomach, separated only by her slightly disheveled business suit.
The searing heat radiating from his palm penetrated directly through the thin fabric.
Potts’s stomach, which had been cramping and seizing in pain, was enveloped by this incredibly powerful source of warmth, and the pain miraculously eased.
Linus lowered his head, bringing them so close that they could hear each other breathe.
“Don’t be stubborn.”
The warm breath from his words fell entirely upon Potts’s pale collarbone and the side of her ear.
“You don’t even have the strength to push me away right now.”
“If I wanted to do some adult things to you on this sofa, do you think you could escape?”
Potts’s ears flushed a deep red instantly.
“You…
we are at the office.”
Linus chuckled.
“What about the office?
I’m the majority shareholder.
Who would dare object to me coaching my cash cow here?”
He freed his other hand to pick up the steaming bowl of thick soup from the coffee table.
Dipping a porcelain spoon into the rich soup, he pressed it against the edge of Potts’s bright red lips.
“Open up.”
Linus’s voice held an absolute command that brooked no refusal.
Potts turned her head aside.
“I can feed myself.
Let me go…”
Before she could finish, Linus’s large hand gently but firmly gripped her petite chin, giving her no room to escape.
“I don’t like repeating myself.
Open your mouth and eat.”
Yielding to the sheer pressure, Potts had no choice but to part her red lips slightly.
Linus fed the warm, savory soup into her mouth.
As she swallowed, a few drops of soup dribbled down the corner of her lips.
Linus unabashedly reached out with his thumb to wipe the drop away, then pressed his thumb against her lower lip, rubbing it gently.
“Good girl.
If you had been this obedient earlier, you would have saved yourself a lot of pain.”
Potts felt her body grow weak, her breathing completely losing its rhythm.
In this empty, dimly lit CEO office late at night, she was completely enveloped by this man’s dangerous aura.
Caught between resistance and surrender, her heart was in utter chaos.
Linus fed her the hot soup, spoonful by spoonful.
Once she swallowed the last bite, Linus tossed the porcelain bowl back onto the coffee table.
His large hand wrapped around Potts’s slender waist again, his fingers slipping beneath the hem of her shirt to caress the smooth, delicate skin of her waist.
“Mmh…”
Potts let out a soft, helpless whimper, her hands weakly clutching the collar of Linus’s bespoke shirt.
“Don’t touch there…”
“He doesn’t know how to cherish you, but I do.”
Linus leaned in and took her burning earlobe into his mouth, his teeth gently nibbling on it.
“You’re worrying yourself to death in the basement over a multi-billion-dollar business for him, while he doesn’t even bother to look back, completely absorbed in hammering away at his scrap metal.”
These words struck right at the most vulnerable defense in Potts’s heart.
Potts closed her eyes, her eyes brimming with tears.
The grievances, helplessness, and fear she had suppressed for weeks finally breached the dam at this moment.
Her shoulders began to shake uncontrollably, and tears spilled over.
Linus pulled back slightly, looking down at her tear-stained face.
Instead of offering empty words of comfort, he lowered his head and patiently kissed away the tears on her cheeks.
His lips traveled downward, finally sealing over her trembling red lips.
Potts felt breathless from the kiss, all her defenses utterly shattered by this domineering embrace.
She instinctively wrapped her arms around Linus’s neck, surrendering herself to find a final sense of security in this man’s embrace.
After a long while, Linus let her go.
Potts’s red lips were slightly swollen, her eyes misty, and she leaned against him completely limp.
Linus cupped the back of her neck with his large hand, his voice deep.
“From today on, stop cleaning up that useless fool’s messes.”
“Stay with me.
I promise no one will ever dare raise their voice at you again.”
Potts bit her lip, her mind so hazy that she couldn’t utter a single word of protest.
Linus swept her up in his arms.
Potts gasped in surprise, her legs instinctively tensing.
“Where are you taking me?”
“To the lounge inside.”
Linus took wide strides, kicked open the lounge door, and laid her down on the soft, large bed.
Potts nervously clutched her collar, her heart pounding so fast it felt like it would burst from her chest.
Looking at her like a lamb to the slaughter, Linus pinched her cheek.
“Close your eyes and sleep.”
“Once you’ve recovered, we’ll settle our accounts—with interest.”
Pulling the duvet over Potts, Linus switched off the overhead light, leaving only a dim bedside lamp before turning back to the outer office.
Lying in bed, Potts listened to the rustling of papers and the scratching of a fountain pen from the outside room.
Enveloped in an ultimate sense of security, Potts fell fast asleep.
…
Early the next morning.
Potts opened her eyes to find that her stomach ache had completely vanished.
She smoothed out her wrinkled skirt and stepped out of the lounge.
The sight before her left her completely stunned.
On the massive executive desk, the mountain of documents that would have driven anyone mad—layoff proposals, financial statements, and even public relations materials scheduled for submission—were all neatly sorted and categorized.
Every single document was fully annotated with clear, decisive instructions.
Linus leaned back in the executive chair, holding a cup of black coffee.
His tie was loosened, and his eyes carried the lazy fatigue of someone who had pulled an all-nighter.
He looked up at Potts and closed the last document on the desk.
“Awake?
Take these and execute them.”
“If any of those old geezers on the board dare refuse to sign, throw this financial statement in their faces.
Tell them Star Umbrella Corporation is ready to buy them out at any moment.”
Potts walked over quickly and flipped through the documents.
The decisions were highly aggressive yet utterly flawless; the seemingly intractable mess of bad accounts had been effortlessly unraveled by his hand.
She looked up at Linus, her heart completely swaying toward him.
“Linus…
you processed all of this in a single night?”
“Otherwise?
Were you expecting your boss, who stuffs his face with cheeseburgers even during press conferences?”
Linus stood up and walked over to her.
Extending his long arm, he pinned Potts against the edge of the desk.
The distance between them closed once more, the air thick with a dangerous tension.
Linus wound a lock of her blonde hair around his finger, playing with it.
“Now that the work is done, shouldn’t you reward your boss?”
Potts’s face flushed so red it looked like it would bleed, her breathing shallow and rapid.
“I…
I still have to prepare for the executive board meeting…”
“That won’t do.
A businessman never makes a losing trade.”
Linus leaned down and bit hard into Potts’s pale neck.
Potts let out a stifled, delicate gasp, her hands gripping the edge of the desk so tightly as her legs went soft, barely able to support her weight.
Linus didn’t go too far, stepping back only after leaving a dark red mark that clearly claimed ownership over her.
“Go to your meeting.”
“And remember to button up your collar.
That is for my eyes only.”