Page 11 of Obsession

But that’s not why I wanted her here.

She can’t know why I’ll hire her. Not now. Not ever.

I want Violet Price so close to me I could touch her. I know every goddamn thing about her. If she knew who I am and why she’s really here, she’d run. Maybe even change her name again.

I’ve been obsessed with her for six months.

Who was the woman with the mesmerizing eyes? The first time I saw her, I wanted her. I had to have her. And I haven’t gotten her out of my mind since.

I saw her in one of our surveillance videos. We were monitoring a local shopping mall, and her studio was doing a demonstration. Then there she was. Violet eyes staring at our camera as if she knew who we were, that we were watching her. We were trailing one of the parents in her youngest class, not her, and later found him guilty of cheating on his wife. The man was dumb enough to bring his girlfriend to a jewelry store at the mall. We pocketed half a million for that one.

We got what we needed the first two minutes into the surveillance footage. It was crystal clear. Yet I played that video over, and over, and over again until I could recite every line she said, make every move she made.

And I was obsessed.

I spent the next week learning everything I could about her, and finally had Armand put up video surveillance where she worked out. We stayed out of her home until last night.

I noted the way she held herself. When she wasn’t throwing punches or kicks, she assumed a fighter’s stance, light on her feet, knees slightly bent. The only move she made with more effort than the rest was blocking.No onehit her. Ever. She was a master at self-protection.

It wasn’t until after my initial… obsession… that I unearthed her skillset.

Small and lithe, she’s a fighter to the core. She can hold her own when she needs to, and she fucking will. Skilled in multiple languages, indefatigable, her only real flaw is disrespect for authority. It only draws me to her more, because I’ll teach her that skill. On my terms.

With the exceptions of our doctor and on-site chef, every member of my team is ex-military. Dishonorably discharged. I like it that way, and I have my reasons. I, of all people, should know what it’s like to have to defend your honor and fight for respect. I give my team that chance, and because I have, they’re loyal to me.

Violet isn’t.

How would I keep her loyal to me? She tells me she is, and I believe her. But talk is cheap. She’ll have to show me with her actions that she means what she says.

I’ve never hired anyone like her, someone ruled by emotions instead of intellect.

But I’ll make an exception for Violet.

It’s her fire that fuels her, andthat’swhat she’ll learn to harness. To use. To finely tune into a weapon.

I planned it this way, her coming to me for help. I need what she has to offer, but on my terms and my terms only.

I push myself to standing from the chair, and I don’t miss the way her eyes go a bit wider with fear, a sort of desperation surfacing that I know too well. She knows I’m about to dismiss her. That our meeting is over.

I have to. It’s the only way to get her buy-in, to make sure she’s as committed to our team as everyone else. If her place here is hard-won, I’ve got one more chance at ensuring her loyalty.

“Go home, Miss Price. Send a formal resumé to the address I’ll give you. I have your contact information because of the accident. Now if you’ll excuse me?—”

The T-shirt of mine she’s wearing billows in a gentle breeze from the water. She’s a woman cut from marble and tough as nails, somehow made vulnerable in borrowed clothing. A gust of wind whips her hair around her face, the windswept look nearly shaking my resolve to dismiss her.

I don’t want her to leave. She belongs here.

She shakes her head at me.

I blink in surprise.

“No?”

I don’t realize I’m clenching my fists until I see her eyes quickly dart to where my hands curl by my sides.

“No, sir.”

I’m so surprised I don’t respond at first.

---