MAYA
The door clicked shut.
Silas was gone, but his scent still lingered in the air.
It was a reminder that he owned every inch of this space.
“He’s always like that,” Frank said, breaking the silence.
He gave me a weak, apologetic smile as he sank back into his chair.
“Don’t take it personally, Maya.”
I walked over to the glass partition, my eyes fixed on the door Silas had just walked through.
“I don’t,” I said quietly.
Silas thought that because I wasn’t fighting him with words, he had already won.
He was wrong.
Frank was kind, but he wasn’t the man I wanted.
I still loved Liam.
But if Silas wanted to believe I was interested in his assistant, I’d let him.
Everything I’d done, the smiles, the soft giggles, was a deliberate performance.
Seeing Silas threaten to blacklist Frank just to get to me proved I had successfully crawled under his skin, i’d hit a nerve, and that was a victory.
I had him confused and in my world a confused man is a vulnerable one.
I felt bad for using Frank as a pawn, and I wouldn’t actually let anything happen to him, but if using him as a prop made the Great Silas Blackwood lose his cool, his perfect composure, then I’d keep playing the part.
I wasn’t going to stop.
Now that Silas was out of the room, the weight of the situation returned.
I needed to find out what kind of man I was really dealing with and maybe see what he was hiding.
I turned away from the glass and looked at his desk.
“So,” I said, turning back to Frank with a smile.
“Since I’m stuck here, maybe you can tell me a bit more about—”
”Let’s exchange numbers,” Frank said, cutting me off.
“In case you get stuck on the training modules.
It’ll make it easier if you have questions later.”
He was already tapping at his screen.
He looked genuinely helpful, which only made me feel guiltier.
“Oh, yeah.
That’s—” I caught myself just in time.
Silas had thrown my phone away.
He’d basically cut me off from the world.
The audacity of that man made my blood boil, but I couldn’t let it show.
“Actually, I dropped it this morning,” I lied.
“The screen shattered.
It’s getting fixed as we speak.
Maybe another time?”
Frank looked at me for a beat longer than usual.
For a second, I wondered if he saw through it, but then he smiled easily.
“No worries.
No rush,” he said, sliding his phone back into his pocket.
“Just let me know when it’s back.
We’ll swap digits when you’re back on the grid.”
I nodded, feeling a bit of relief.
“I will.”
Frank spent the next hour walking me through the workflow.
I already knew most of it; I’d practically grown up in the hallways of Sullivan Logistics.
I had worked at my father’s company for years, but Blackwood Holdings was a different breed.
It was faster, meaner, and far more aggressive.
I could keep up, but I kept my head down.
I made sure to look slightly overwhelmed, playing the part of the confused new hire.
The less he thought of my brains, the less he’d watch his step around me.
But I needed to know more.
“Is he always this intense?” I asked, as if it were just curious office gossip.
Frank didn’t answer right away.
He adjusted his tie, his posture turning stiff.
He didn’t look at me; he looked at Silas’s desk instead.
“He’s a busy man, Maya.
You’ll get used to his pace…
to him.”
I leaned in a little, giving him a small, playful smile.
“Come on, you have to at least give me something.
I’m the new girl.
Help me out.”
Frank looked around the empty office, then sighed.
“Fine.” He lowered his voice, leaning closer to me.
“Silas doesn’t just run a company; he lives it.”
He paused, his hand hovering over the mouse as he searched for the right words.
“Mr.
Blackwood expects everyone to be as precise as he is.
There’s no room for ‘almost’ in this building.
If you’re five minutes early, you’re late.
If a report is 99% accurate, it’s a failure.”
”Sounds exhausting,” I murmured.
“It is,” Frank admitted.
“Does he ever actually relax?” I pressed on.
“Or does he sleep in that suit?” I whispered, leaning in a little.
Frank looked at the door nervously, as if he expected Silas to burst through it.
He pulled back slightly and lowered his voice.
“I think we should stick to the filing system, Maya.
You’ll learn how he works soon enough.”
He wasn’t just being professional.
He seemed scared of Silas.
I decided to change the topic.
I needed a lifeline to the outside world.
“Hey, Frank?
Can I borrow your phone for a second?
I just need to check something.”
Frank didn’t even reach for his pocket.
He just winced.
“I can’t, Maya.
Mr.
Blackwood sent a text right as he was leaving.
He was very specific.
No one is to let you use or touch a phone.
Mine included.”
I froze.
He was so calculating it was sickening.
He’d anticipated my moves and strangled them before I could even make them.
He hadn’t just walked out of the building but he’d boarded up the exits behind him.
“He’s that thorough?” I asked, trying to keep the anger out of my voice.
He looked back at his monitor, clearly done talking.
But then, a red flag went up.
Suspicion crept in.
If Silas told him not to let me use a phone, why did Frank try to exchange numbers with me five minutes ago?
Was he testing me to see if I had a backup?
Did he think I had a hidden one?
Or was he reporting my every move back to Silas in real-time?
I looked at Frank, really looking at him this time.
I couldn’t tell whose side he was on.
The kindness in his eyes suddenly felt like a mask.
I had thought I was the one playing him, but the roles could easily be reversed.
“Is something going on between you two?” Frank asked suddenly.
“Me?” I pointed a chopstick toward my chest, trying to look baffled.
“No, not at all,” I said, a little too quickly.
Frank didn’t look convinced.
He chewed slowly, his eyes fixed on me.
“Because I’ve worked for Silas for five years, and he never allows employees to eat in the office.
And security paperwork?
That’s always handled down in the Security Hub on Sub-level 1.
This is different.”
”I guess he just wants to speed up the process,” I lied, keeping my eyes fixed on my noodles.
“Then what was that about?
When he told you to wait behind?” Frank leaned in closer, his curiosity finally overriding his fear.
“I don’t mean to be blunt, but you two had intense body chemistry.”
I was trying to swallow a bite of beef too quickly so I could defend myself, but instead, I choked.
I coughed until my eyes watered, my face flushing a deep red.
“Body chemistry?” I managed to wheeze out once I could breathe again.
I grabbed a napkin to hide my burning face.
“Don’t be ridiculous.
It was just a work matter.”
Frank watched me for a long moment, then slowly leaned back in his chair.
He didn’t look like he believed a word of it.
“A work matter.
Right.”
”He’s my boss, Frank.
That’s it,” I added, trying to sound firm.
But even to my own ears, my voice lacked conviction.
The mention of body chemistry made me uneasy.
I watched him carefully as I took a sip of water, trying to settle my racing heart.
So he was too terrified to answer my questions about Silas, but he wasn’t afraid to grill me.
Intense is one way to put it, I thought, hiding my face behind my glass of water.
“Do you like him?” His eyes searched mine, looking for a crack in my armor.
I knew this would be music to Silas’s ears.
If he thought Frank believed I was falling for him, he’d think his plan was finally falling into place.
But the audacity was startling, and the irony was almost laughable.
If only Frank knew that while he was playing matchmaker, Silas had been busy threatening to destroy his career just for being friendly.