Page 12 of Unlocked

Sebastian sighs and rolls his eyes. He knows he’s not much better when it comes to the women who work for us. They are all willing and eager to please, so what are we to do?

“Assistants are fair game. Fuck the rest of HR for all I care, but do not fuck Kaz. We need one woman here to last more than six months or we are going to go bankrupt paying themoff before we make it big.” He looks around the room before focusing directly on me and then on Jonathan. “Are we clear?”

Jonathan nods.

“Crystal,” I respond as my stomach turns.

This is going to be a fucking disaster.

Chapter 9

Kaz

Two years later

I step out of my shower and wrap a towel around my hair, securing it on top of my head. My cell vibrates on the countertop, showing multiple missed messages and a few calls. I swipe to the first set and bite my lip as I read them.

Hey, Pretty Girl…

I haven’t seen you at work all week.

Are you avoiding me again? I can still taste you on my lips.

Fuck, why do his words get to me like this? It’s been a few weeks since I texted Jonathan drunk off my ass asking for him to pick me up. He did without question and took me to the same ritzy hotel he has been for the past few years. From there, he proceeded to do the most ungodly things to my body all night long before passing out next to me in bed. I snuck out on him again per usual and then had to deal with the onslaught of his text messages the entire next day while I ignored them. I knew from the first time I slept with him at his apartment that we would never work. I remember looking around his room while I sat on his expensive Sferra bed sheets, thinking how out of place I was. Who the fuck even spends two grand on bedsheets, anyway? I was like a paper plate surrounded by fine china and completely out of my element. I never would have guessed Iwould be working for him until that next Monday when I had shown up to Bolt Corporation and ran into his asshole twin. His identical twin might I add.

Jamison is just as sexy as his brother, but he is a complete and utter asshole. He finds every opportunity to let me know I don’t belong and makes sure to remind me just how grateful I should be that he is keeping my secret. He also constantly reminds me to stay away from Jonathan. If Jonathan was a dick like his brother, it would certainly make life much easier. The upside is, working for Bolt Corporation has increased my bank account substantially. The pay is incredible so I can’t afford for to lose this job. Hence me attempting to stay off Jamison’s radar and away from Jonathan. Alas, I’m feeling extra weak tonight and I’ve only had one drink just to relax. I need someone to talk me down from this ledge I’m about to jump off of. I scroll through my notifications and realize I have a couple of missed calls from my best friend, Ben. ‘Just theperson I can count on to catch me before I fall,’ I think, smiling as I click his contact to call him back. The phone rings and rings before going to voicemail.

“Hi friend,” I say into the recorder. “I’ve only had one drink, but I need you right now. I’m feeling like I might decide to go impale myself on…” I look down at my phone screen when I hear the beep of an incoming call and see Ben’s contact flash on my screen. I quickly switch calls.

“Bestie! Please stop me from being a pathetic little bitch tonight.”

The line is silent for a minute.

“Ben?” I ask again as I look down at my screen to make sure the call is still connected.

I hear a sigh before a gruff voice comes up on the line.

“Hey Kaz, It’s David, Ben’s dad.”

“Why do you have Ben’s phone?” I ask, hesitantly.

“Listen, Ben’s missing. We haven’t seen or heard from him in four days. All his stuff was at his place. There was no sign of a struggle. The authorities said they can’t do anything more and are closing the case.”

“What? That doesn’t make any sense. I just spoke to him a few days ago.” I scroll through my call log before realizing our last conversation was six days ago.

“Do you know where he could have gone?” His dad asks me.

“No, I mean he wouldn’t have just left like that,” I respond. “Why didn’t you guys call me sooner?” I ask, angrily

“The authorities tried to call you but you didn’t answer. I’ve been a little busy looking for my son and consoling my wife," he bites back, making me cringe.

‘Fuck,’ I think to myself when I realize I have multiple voicemails I haven’t checked all week. Work has been slammed and I haven’t had a lot of time to catch up on personal stuff lately.

“I’m sorry. Will you please let me know if anything changes?”

David sighs. “Yeah, I will. But Kaz, I’m not stupid. I know what Ben was into. It was only a matter of time before everything caught up with him. I was kind of hoping he had run off to hide with you in New York.”

I scrunch my eyes together in an attempt to hold off the tears. I don’t think I can believe he would have run away without telling me. Something tells me, whatever happened to my best friend isn’t good. The worst part is that there is not a damn thing I can do about it.

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