Page 17 of Forbidden Deception

Additionally, her reason for employment about shaping her to be the best version of herself hits too close to home for me.

“And what is this used for?” Venezia asks my head site manager, looking up at the crane with curiosity. I’m sure she knows, but she just wants to be difficult or, more likely, annoying.

Every time she catches me looking, she smiles coldly. I’m not sure what changed, but instead of her smiles feeling warm andlike a soft punch to my heart, they suddenly feel a little distant, and that bothers me now, too.

I told her to shut up, and it seems she did. She did tell me she has my best interests at heart and wants to help me, as per her long speech yesterday. She keeps on top of her work and always leaves me fifteen minutes in between each meeting, her notes neatly done, my coffee and lunch perfect to my tastes, I have noticed it all. While I admire her work ethic, though I’d never tell her that, that’s not what irks me. It’s her. Her personality. Her beauty. Who she is.

I’ve never encountered someone like her.

Someone so serious, yet so warm and happy. Someone whose eyes don’t spark with passion or desire while her mouth chatters away. I feel so distant from her while being so close to her. She is a fucking mystery to me. I can’t figure her out, can’t put her in a category.

The site manager doesn’t seem to mind Venezia’s questions. In fact, this newly manager who is in place for the one on sick leave, can’t keep his eyes off my assistant. He is about to be fired.

Everything feels so fucking annoying now.

“This is for lifting heavy—”

“Oliver, get me the updated plans and show where that plumbing problem is,” I snap.

Blond hair whips with the wind and brown eyes focus on me. The manager steps away from us, shoots a smile at Venezia, then walks off towards the construction office at the far end of the site.

“Plumbing problem? Won’t that pose a danger?”

I nod at Venezia’s question, focused on the dark ocean in front of me. The waves strengthen with each gust of wind.

“This place will look gorgeous during the summer. It’s an amazing location. I can’t imagine the price of the land, given thelocation.” She walks over, stands next to me, and mirrors my crossed arms.

Oceans are a fascinating, uncontrollable force. When my eyes slide over to Venezia, who looks around the construction site, she feels like a stronger force than the ocean.

She walks with an innate confidence, stirs trouble without trying and remains in control of every situation. I’ve never found someone who reminds me of myself, but this twenty-two-year-old woman has thrust a mirror in my face.

I didn’t trust her, but she has managed to chip away at part of that distrust and the barrier I created to keep her away.

Why does she make me want to argue with her more just to see her fiery side?

No woman has kept my attention for this long. Forget being my assistant, Venezia is about to discover what being the centre of attention looks like.

“Early on, in my teens, I used to wonder what a world beyond four walls felt like. I didn’t expect to see oceans, rivers, cities, and country sides and still not feel like I belong. Watching the carefree ocean makes me want to reach out to it and ask it how one achieves such freedom?”

A pang hits me inside my chest, but I ignore it.

She turns to me, and her hair is blown sideways, with strands covering half her face. Her deep eyes soften around the corners, and she gives me a small smile.

It’s still cold, though.

“The ocean also hides monsters. It’s best not to ask such questions when you could find a pair of wings and fly high. After all, isn’t space far greater and wider than the ocean?” My words spill out before I can stop them.

She shouldn’t have asked that question. I think about that question myself. I thought about it often and didn’t have an answer until now.

“You’re not that big of a grump after all.” She bumps her shoulder against mine with a wide smile. She’s never touched me before, never crossed that small boundary, but right now, just a small graze of her shoulder against mine restricts my throat.

She looks behind me and brightens like a fucking lightbulb. Who the fuck is there?

I turn around and find Oliver holding the blueprint. He’s smiling at her.

Without thinking, I step in front of Venezia and raise a silent brow at Oliver. He sobers up and unrolls the blueprint. I catch Venezia moving to my left, so I move to my left too, closer to Oliver.

She cranes her neck around me to my right, so I lean over to point at a random spot on the blueprint.

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