Page 85 of Aiden

“Now!” He yells.

I flinch. He’s never raised his voice at me before. “He…well…” I stutter.

He strokes my hair, cooing, “Baby, please.”

I take a deep breath. “I didn’t want to tell you about Avery being a man because you didn’t need to worry.” I wipe away fallen tears. “I wanted to show you it wasn’t a big deal. But things changed when I went in this morning. I was rolling dough when he came up behind me and helped.”

I see his body go rigid.

“He leaned against me. At first, it was odd, but then…” I trail off.

He squeezes my shoulder. “Then what, Emilia?”

I lean in and whisper, “He pressed into me and I couldfeelhim. Like he was–”

Aiden cuts me off with a finger to my lips. He looks furious as he steps back. His face contorts before he laughs manically.

I don’t have the strength to stop him as he throws the door open and steps in.

“Where?” He demands.

I gesture to the kitchen.

“Stay,” He states.

I don’t listen.

He stops, pinching the bridge of his nose to hide his annoyance, before placing his hands firmly on my shoulder. “Emilia, I need you to stay,” He hisses through gritted teeth.

I shake my head.

“No. Absolutely not. You fucking lied to me. You lied about your boss being a man. And now, look what happened? You fucking stay.”

I don’t argue when he pulls out a chair and gently pushes me down like a child, but I cross my arms. I look at him with pleading eyes, not wanting any more bloodshed. “Don’t kill him.”

Aiden simply looks at me with a maniacal smile before opening the kitchen door.

I bury my face in my hands.

Twenty-Four

Aiden

∞∞∞

Isee who I presume is Avery standing over a counter.

“Emilia darling, you came to your senses.” He turns around, confusion on his face when he sees me.

I study him. The audacity, no, the balls this man has to hire a young girl, and then hit on her thinking she’ll never tell is fucking sickening. I own my own business and I’d never use my position of power to get into a girl’s pants. It’s something that comes naturally to me, which tells me this guy is a sick fuck.

I notice he’s holding an ice pack between his crotch. My Emilia must have kicked him in his balls. I would laugh if I wasn’t seething with rage.

I put my hand on my chin in thought. “You know what I love.” I run my hands along the shelving, knocking the glass containers to the hard flooring. The shattering makes my pulse quicken.

“When a grown man hires a young lady thinking he can have his way with her just because she works for him…” His body goes stiff as my legs glide in front of him. “But that’s where you fucked up.” I growl, grabbing his throat. “You tried to take advantage of someone very important to me.” His pulse on my palm is unsteady and quick.

“I didn’t–”

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