Page 12 of Forbidden Deception

Spoiler alert, it probably isn’t entertaining.

Did she find out Mikko was here and ran to see why?

She clasps her hands in front of her, eyes flitting all around my office.

“Well, my ring turned out to be too big, and it fell in. That’s it. It’s no one’s fault.” She bites her lip once more, and I realise that she is either nervous or embarrassed. Her cheeks don’t tint pink, but she has other tells.

Only then does she look away from me, her attention diverting towards the man standing next to me. She smiles.

“Hi, I’m Venezia Campbell.” She extends her hand to him for a handshake.

Mikko doesn’t waste any time returning the smile and gesture.

“Mikko Gustav.”

Her eyes widen at his introduction, then she looks over at me.

Venezia, despite my abrupt rudeness and coldness, has not lost her spark at all. How is she having fun, smiling, and enjoying herself when I’m trying to make her employment a living hell? I’ll have to increase her isolation more.

Not because she’s awful or that I hate her.

She makes me curious, interested, and certainly more intrigued than ever.

Venezia has a defiant streak in her that makes me more insufferable than I want to be. She makes me want to spank her just to watch her writhe and fight for her life before I give it back to her.

Most of all, I want to play her like an instrument. To play and push every button waiting to see her snap.

Venezia’s laugh twists something my chest, and my eyes shift to Mikko laughing with her. He just said he has a brother he wants her to meet.

“Venezia, get the fuck out.”

She flinches, and her gaze snaps to me, then darts back to Mikko. Something like hurt flashes through her eyes for a second, then she’s walking out.

“Why would you say that to her? Do you not have a single brain cell inside that head of yours?” Mikko stresses.

“Why are you here, Mikko?” I shove my hands into my pockets, then face Mikko.

He scowls. “No. Fuck you for treating people like shit. I told you this wouldn’t end well if you continued, and she is your fifth assistant this month,” he grits out. “I don’t care that I work in the media industry; you real estate people are far worse. No, scratch that. You alone are worse than anyone, and that isn’t a compliment.”

“You think empires are built by being a soft, loving boss?”

“No, but they sure are built on reputation, too. One slip from any of those five assistants to the media, and you are done. So fucking apologise when you’ve fucked up, and shut up when your opinion isn’t wanted. I will bring Eiran, and let’s see how that plays out. Better yet, let me go help the poor girl out.”

He strides from my office before I can come up with a reply, and when I look over, he is helping Venezia with her printer.

What the fuck?

5

Even after a couple weeks of working for Rafael, I have nothing. I looked through his whole office, flipped it upside down, looked at everything on his computer when he once left it open, and still nothing.

I don’t have time to waste. I need to dig deeper. I also need to prove to Remo that I can do this and I am fine on my own.

Only, this city brings back memories of parts of my life that I never want to revisit. I will have to conquer my demons for them to leave me alone.

I figured out where my boarding school was. Right outside of the city of Edinburgh, miles away from civilization.

“How does he not have not a single document about it?” Remo’s voice fills my bedroom while I pick out outfits for the coming week.

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