Page 90 of In Love with the Devil

“Was there something you needed from me?” I ask, sounding exactly how I want, like an ice queen, but still panicking inside.

“Yes. There have been numerous discrepancies in the last three reports you’ve sent to the board of trustees, and I’m here to discuss those with you.”

“Oh.”

He returns to his side of the desk and pats his chair. “Come sit.” Again there’s that menacing smile.

I sit in his chair, roll it nearer to the desk, and look up at him. “Please, unlock your screen.”

He reaches over and does just that. Opened files from six months ago stare back at me. I spend the next five hours explaining my methods to keep the numbers clear and not lose sight of a penny. Everything is clean. We move from the computer to printed copies, making notes so that he will understand and can explain it to his bosses.

“I think it’s best if you join the administrators for a meeting and explain your methods. They’d appreciate a clearer view and perhaps want to teach this to the other accountants so that it’s uniform and used across all the properties.”

“I wouldn’t mind. It’s getting late so I should–”

“Would you mind joining me for dinner? I ordered some food for us since it’s getting late.”

“I–”

“I promise not to bite, Ms. Torres.”

I narrow my eyes into slits at his teasing.It’s notyourbite I fear, Mr. Alcaraz.

For dinner, he ordered all my favorites from the hotel’s restaurant; the fried fish with Jasmine rice, black beans, and tostones. I can see the proud smile on his face from a mile away, but I’m not impressed. So he managed to get the inside scoop on what I like to eat, so the fuck what?

“I heard you prefer red wine.”

“I can’t drink since I have to driv–”

“I’ll have my chauffeur take you and pick you up in the morning. Relax. You’re safe.”

My chuckle turns into a giggle fest. It dies when I remember the last time I laughed like that. It was when I was with Asher. I take a sip of wine, trying to drown the memory.Not now Asher.

“You have quite the reputation.” His words save me from falling down the rabbit hole of thinking of Asher.

“I do?”

“Yeah. An ice queen/work nazi. In and out of work, all business, no play.”

“Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?”

“It’s not illegal to have fun sometimes, Astoria.”

“I have plenty of fun at home, Mr. Alcaraz.” I shrug as I take a bite of the fish.

“You can call me Sebastian.”

I know he's waiting for my permission to call me by my first name and eventually, after waiting a few minutes, he chuckles.

As dinner progresses, the alcohol relaxes me. In the meantime, I learn Sebastian has worked for the hotel's corporation since the beginning, rose through the ranks, and accumulated quite the comfortable life, fast. His job is to go from hotel to hotel to ensure everything is in order, from the numbers to the service to the decoration to the sheets.

“So, given how I behaved earlier and your position… am I fired?” I half joke.

“Is that why you’ve been so tense since you arrived?”

“I like my job.”

“You’re not fired. But–”

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