Page 4 of Sinister Devotion

Claire's bravery stops at her vocabulary as she scurries away from the door and returns with a pair of boxers in her hand.

"Uh, um, do you need anything else?" she asks, with those soft grey eyes shifting from my cock to the wall, and everywhere else to avoid locking eyes with me.

"Nothing that either of us have time for. Can you make sure Edward's in the vicinity so I can get to my meeting on time?"

Claire doesn't move or acknowledge anything I've just said; her gaze settling on my crotch. The expression on her face is a mixture of desire and admiration. It's a far better reaction than a shriek for how inappropriate this is.

"Claire, don't stare. It's rude."

She snaps out of her trance with a giggle, covering her mouth in embarrassment as she backs out of the bathroom. I finish changing and move back to my desk, where Claire uses my phone to call the maintenance and housekeeping department.

"I'll come back when housekeeping gets here," she says. "Edward's in the parking garage with Bonnie. Do you need me to attend the ten o'clock with you, or would you prefer I stay here?"

"You are my assistant, Claire, I kind of need you with me," I tell her. "Make sure I have every file necessary for the Klondike Group partners on my presentation drive. Thank you, Claire."

She huffs at my dismissive tone, but this time she doesn't slam the door shut. Exhaustion washes over me and suddenly I hate that my drink spilled. I could use the caffeine right now.

My mind drifts back and forth from work to Claire. Everything about her consumes my free thoughts. I'm pretty certain I can scoop her up with one arm, toss her around and have my way with her. It would be fun, among other things. However, the optics aren't the best.

There's no way I can be seen with her and people not believe I've been plotting to have her pussy since she turned eighteen. Perhaps I can put enough distance between us that it won’t matter.

Edward Vagan comes into my office with a stoic expression on his face. His red hair and goatee has sprinkles of grey, much like my own. Even though we've been 40 for a few months, it feels like we've been alive for decades longer. We've been friends since our teenage years and he's been my right hand in business outside of Nuvola for the past 15 years.

"We should leave in twenty minutes if you're going to make that meeting, Julian." His tone is indifferent, but I can see his eyes are trained out of the window to where views of the Golden Gate Bridge have a way of distracting even the most focused of minds.

"Bring your tools just in case we need to make a stop," I tell him.

Edward looks over his shoulder before going to close my office door from prying eyes and ears. "I thought this was Nuvola business. Corporate shit, Julian."

"It is, but it's in Scarpella territory," I tell him with a shrug.

He speaks just above a whisper. "You think Carmine Scarpella is going to try something with you on his territory? You're not exactly the face of the family. Your uncle will unleash holy hell across the city if something like that happens."

"Edward, please, just do it. I'd rather be safe than dead. I've been stepping on Carmine's toes a lot lately and I'm not sure how much he knows about the company scooping up his lackluster properties."

"Is Nuvola's name all over the deals?" he asks.

"No, and it's driving Fiona crazy," I tell him.

He snickers. "That's not hard to do. Is she coming along to this meeting?"

"No, just Claire and Bonnie."

He grunts. "Are you sure you want them there if you're telling me to bring my tools?"

"I don't want Claire anywhere near any of this shit, but as my assistant, she needs to be there so it doesn't look like anything else but business as usual. Have Bonnie armed, just in case and coordinate travel and exit strategies."

Edward sighs and folds his arms over his chest. "I know how to do my job, Jules."

"I know you do, Eddie. I'm sorry. I'm just on edge." Neither one of us likes the shortened version of our names. It's a reminder when we use them with each other, just how far back our friendship goes, even when we're annoyed.

"Yeah, I know. It's all coming together now. Carmine Scarpella is going to die in every way possible. Does Claire know?" he asks.

I shake my head. "No, and I don't want her to. I want her to live as normal a life as possible. Speaking of which, I need you to keep tabs on her if she shows interest in dating anyone."

Edward raises an eyebrow. "Isn't that Bonnie's territory?"

"No. Bonnie's supposed to keep her safe, not stop her from living her life. I want to know anyone who's caught Claire's attention so we can vet them properly. If they don't prove themselves to be a good enough choice for her to waste her time on, we'll make sure they don't disrupt her life."

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