Page 2 of Vicious Rule

“Do you remember what I told you on the second day you worked for me?” he asks as I move to leave.

I don’t get far before he wraps his hand around my forearm to keep me there with him and force me to answer his question. Of course I remember. I remember everything he’s ever said and done. Unlike those lushes he entertains every night, I actually listen to him.

But I don’t tell him that.

Instead, I shrug and shake my head again. “Not particularly. You say a lot of things, Alex. If I tried to keep track of every single word that comes out of your mouth, I’d never have time to do my work.”

My own words sound far more cavalier than I actually feel. That’s the way it has to be, though. Showing him I care in the least would only leave me vulnerable, and with a man like Alex Rule, that’s the last thing you want to be.

He pulls me back toward him, and I crash into his hard chest. Leaning down, he whispers in my ear, “I told you that one day you’re going to forget that brother of mine and belong to me. That day is coming, Sasha.”

I look at him and see he means what he says. How he could and still spend each and every night fucking every woman in town is baffling to me, to say the least.

His belief that the reason I don’t want to be with him has something to do with Gideon makes me smile. Maybe I’ve been better at concealing my feelings than I thought.

“Some people you never forget. Your brother is one of those people.”

Hurt registers in Alex’s eyes and quickly turns to rage. His fingers crush against the skin of my arm, but that’s what he wants. He wants me to feel as badly as he does right now.

“You will be mine. Have no doubt about that. But for the moment, I prefer to enjoy the tastes of my new home. Be sure to wear something nice tonight. Even though you won’t be with anyone, you represent me and my family.”

Ignoring his attempt to insult me, I simply smile and nod my head. “I’ll be as I always am, Alex. Now if there’s nothing more, I have work to do. Did you return your father’s call?”

Unlike him, I know exactly how to inflict pain, and the mere mention of Helix tears him out of whatever pleasure he was enjoying trying to hurt me. “No. I’ll do it now. Tell Andre I need to see him. Get him in here.”

He releases his hold on me, so I walk toward the door, glancing back at him to see him watching me. Like rubbing salt into a wound, I say, “Don’t forget your father, Alex.”

When I get out to my desk, I close my eyes to compose myself before I go looking for Andre. Usually dealing with Alex takes more strength than I’m used to with his brother, but on days like this when my emotions are scarcely below the surface, it’s almost too much for me to bear.

“You’ve got this,” I mumble to myself. “You’ve known other men like him. Not one of them ever got the best of you, and he won’t be the first.”

“Are you talking to me, Sasha?” a voice asks.

My eyes fly open to see Andre standing in the doorway to my office. Barely able to fit without ducking since he’s nearly seven feet tall, he leans against the doorframe and smiles.

Too bad I don’t have feelings for him. Although he’s definitely not a good man, I get the sense he has a soft spot for me since he’s always polite and kind whenever we talk.

“No. Sorry. I was just reminding myself of something I can’t forget. Alex wants to see you, though, so your timing is perfect.”

Andre lowers his head and walks into my office before standing up to his full height. I’m not a short woman, but he dwarfs me when he stops in front of my desk. “Any idea what he wants to talk to me about?”

As I sit down, I answer, “Probably about tonight’s festivities.”

“Will you be there?”

I nod, hating that I have to answer yes. “As always. Wherever the boss goes, I go. You know how it is.”

That answer seems to make him unhappy, and he draws his dark eyebrows in toward the center of his nose as he frowns. “I do. You know, I thought when I first started working for him that you and Alex were together.”

The twinkle in Andre’s eye tells me he was happy to find out that wasn’t the case. I don’t necessarily want to lead him on, but it is nice to know someone’s interested in me who doesn’t spend all his nights banging other women.

“Nope. Just his assistant.”

“I should hope so since he’s busy every night.”

He accentuates the word busy because I suspect he’s enough of a gentleman not to come right out and say Alex fucks other women every night. I know he’s trying to be nice, but all this talk about Alex and his nightly activities is making me miserable at this moment.

Tilting my head toward Alex’s office door, I force a smile. “You better get in there. He wasn’t in a good mood when I left, so every second you aren’t front and center is going to make him even more unhappy.”

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