Aurora pushed open the glass doors and walked out of Silas Black’s office.
The door closed behind her softly as she walked down the hall, her signed employment contract tucked inside her bag.
The sound of her heels echoed through the space.
Her shoulders felt lighter than they had when she walked into the building this morning.
She now had a real, good-paying job, something that could help her with her responsibilities.
She was so focused on reaching the elevator that she hadn’t even noticed its doors had opened.
Standing at the threshold was Cassian, his hands balled into fists by his side as he glared at her like she was an insect flying around him.
Behind him was Jax, who looked apologetic as always.
“Would you mind explaining to me what the hell you’re doing here?” Cassian’s voice was low and dangerous.
Aurora stared at him blankly, frozen in her spot.
Her face was blank for a short moment before a triumphant smile slowly broke out on her lips.
“What do you think?”
He stepped closer.
The smell of his cologne hit her in the face.
“I don’t have time for your silly games. What were you doing in my father’s office?”
“I got employed,” Aurora announced, tilting her head back to meet his gaze.
“I work here now. As your father’s secretary.”
The look on his face was worth all the troubles that Aurora had gone through for the past month.
Disbelief and rage danced on his face as though he didn’t even know how to feel about it.
“Are you shocked?” she asked, finding his eyes.
“You’re the one who blacklisted me from every dealership in the city and all the high-end retail positions. You made it impossible for me to find work anyway, and now that I find work right under your nose, you’re mad?”
She flashed that smile that got under his nerves once more.
“Isn’t this what you wanted? To keep an eye on me?”
“Do you think this is a joke?”
“No, I prefer poetic,” she said before flipping her hair in his face and side-stepping him towards her hair in his face and side-stepping him towards the elevator.
“Have a nice day, Mr Black,” she called back without turning to look at him.
She entered the elevator and clicked the button for the lobby, the smile still on her face till the elevator door snapped shut.
Cassian huffed a frustrating breath before he stormed into his father’s office like a tornado.
Both Rhett and Silas looked towards the door, flustered at how hard Cassian pulled at the door.
Rhett took the file that Silas was handing to him and walked out of the office, giving them space to speak.
Jaxson closed the door behind them as Cassian and Silas continued to stare at each other, with none of them speaking.
Cassian was the first to break the silence.
“What the hell were you thinking?”
“Good morning to you too, son,” Silas greeted calmly.
“Don’t even,” Cassian said, slamming his hands on Silas’s desk.
“You know what you did! How could you hire Aurora Bennett? Need I remind you, she was the same woman who slapped me right in front of you! And also the same woman whose brother nearly killed Zachary.”
“I hired her because she was qualified for the job,” Silas stated, leaning back in his chair.
“She has valuable experience in dealing with high-end clients. She’s intelligent and resourceful, which is exactly what I need.”
“How could you even trust her?” Cassian asked, his eyes growing a bit wide.
“What if she’s doing all this in an attempt to take revenge for what Zachary did… or what I did? Did you even think of that?”
“That’s between you and her, Cassian. I have nothing to do with it.”
“Aren’t you a Black?”
“I am. Which is the point of this. You and Zachary have destroyed the poor girl’s life, all because… you’re a Black. I’m trying to show her that we aren’t all that bad. Is that such a bad thing?” This chapter is updated first at NovelPing.
Cassian paused for a long moment, staring at his father, trying to see if he could believe him.
“But why her?” the words sounded hollow, like he was afraid of saying them.
“We get hundreds and thousands of applications from qualified candidates whose experience and expertise exceed hers. So why did you pick her specifically?”
Cassian paused and swallowed hard.
His eyes were dark as he glared at his father.
“Don’t tell me you are interested in her.”
“Excuse me?” Silas’s expression shifted to anger.
He stared unbelievably at his son.
“You heard me,” Cassian said.
Silas stepped back to clench his hands by his sides.
“She is beautiful, sharp, and just like Savannah. Just like…”
“Enough!” Silas bellowed as he stood up.
The sound of the chair sliding back grated through the tense office.
“That is enough. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Is that so?
Because I knew I’d seen this same situation before.
You hired Savannah as your secretary.
When she was young and ambitious and “qualified” to be hired, now look where that got you.
She’s your wife.”
“Savannah is not…”
“This isn’t about Savannah, Dad,” Cassian said.
“This is about Aurora being in the same situation that allows her to have access to us, to our family. You’re putting our enemy right in the midst of us. That woman has every reason to destroy us, Dad. What made you think hiring her was a good idea?”
Silas was silent for a moment as he studied his son’s ruffled demeanour.
Then he sighed.
“I’m not interested in Aurora romantically,” he said.
“I understand why you might think that, but I already have a wife, Cassian.”
Cassian’s jaw tightened at that.
“All I’m looking for is someone who can keep up with the pace of this company. Besides, aurora has been wronged enough to deserve this opportunity.”
“This is not going to end well.”
“You’re being paranoid.” Silas walked around to stand in front of his son.
“Leave the girl alone, Cassian. This game of yours has gone on for far too long.”
“That is between me and her.”
“You’ve got it all twisted, Cassian. Playing a dangerous game with someone weaker is just cruel.”
“She is not weak. Do not insult her,” Cassian said, staring at his father, his jaw tight.
He wanted to believe that all this is just some innocent coincidence and that Aurora has no ulterior motives, but something feels off.
“If it turns out to be more than this,” he stated quietly.
“I will handle this myself.” Then he turned out and walked out without another word.
Aurora had just picked up grandma’s medication from the clinic and was on her way back home in a taxi.
She had gotten an advance from Silas just this morning, which allowed her to pay for the prescription, some part of Jude’s situation, and pay off Astrid’s debt.
She transferred the money to Astrid the Second, it landed in her account with a message saying, “Paid in full. Do not contact me again.” Astrid hadn’t responded. This chapter was taken from NovelPing without permission.
The taxi wove its way through the California traffic while Aurora leant back into her seat and pulled out her phone.
There were a lot of unread messages from the company forum.
“Who is the new secretary?”
“I heard she used to work at a car dealership. And now she’s in the executive suite?”
“Something doesn’t add up.”
“I heard she’s sleeping with him.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time. Remember Savannah?”
“At least Savannah had experience. This one is just a pretty face.”
Aurora continued to scroll through the comments, getting angrier with every word.
She wanted to text back a snarky response or even report it to HR, but then her mind went to Cassian’s face earlier.
With the anger and the disbelief on his face, she finally found a way to get under his skin, and she wasn’t going to throw that away.
If these people wanted to gossip, she would let them, but she had a job to do, a family to support, and a certain CEO to get back at.
She didn’t have time for their judgement.
Aurora swiped off the comments and dialled Amber’s number.
“Rory?” Amber’s voice sounded surprised.
“I thought you started work today. What’s up?”
“I did. I just picked up my grandma’s prescription, and I’m on my way home now. How was your first day?”
“It was interesting,” Aurora smiled.
“I ran into Cassian this morning. You should have seen how furious he was when he saw me. It felt really good to throw him off balance.”
Amber laughed.
“That’s my girl. But how’s the job otherwise?”
“Kind of weird. Everyone’s been staring at me like I’m some sort of anomaly. And then there’s this company forum, and people are saying that I slept my way into the position.”
“What? That’s insane.”
“I kind of expected it though. From my research, Black Corp employees are notorious for being mean.”
Aurora paused for a second.
“But you know what? I don’t really care. I already paid Astrid back. I got my grandma’s medication. And I’m making more money than I’ve ever made in my life. And as a bonus, I get to annoy Cassian Black every single day.”
Amber was silent for a second before she responded.
“But are you okay though? Really?”
“I will be.”
“So, what’s the plan?”
“I don’t really have one yet. I’m just going to be freakishly good at my job and prove them all wrong,” she said.
“And maybe, if I’m lucky, make Cassian Black’s life a little bit miserable in the process.”
“Yes, kick his ass.”
“I intend to.”
“Call me if you need anything, okay? And I mean anything.”
“I will,’ Aurora finally hung up, looking out the window as the city passed her by.
She finally had a real job that would let her support her family without selling her body or her dignity.
Astrid doesn’t have any reason to harass them anymore.
Her grandma’s health is set, and even Jude’s situation is on its way to being paid.
And tomorrow she’s going to walk back into that office and face Cassian Black.
“I can’t wait,” she thought, a smile lifting on her lips.