Page 30 of The Reluctant Hero

“If she comes back in, can Mikael throw her out? With force, of course,” Jake asks blandly without turning away from the TV.

I hit the button to connect with Vanessa.

“The head of filing isn’t welcome back in the office,” I tell her coldly. I expect that to be the end of it, but she has to say something.

“Yes sir,” she oozes subservience over the line. “Can I get you anything? A coffee? Or juice?”

“No,” I cut her off before she can keep going.

Another pretty face without substance that thinks sliding into one of our beds will net her money. I try not to pay any attention to her despite her penchant for coming in without knocking to hand deliver things that could be emailed. Cade is on distraction duty for her. He’ll let her down easy as opposed to the rest of us. Why I’m bothering with it, I don’t know.

This is supposed to be my new start without my father’s influence surrounding me. I’ve been drowning myself in work instead of wallowing in the sudden silence from him.

I’m an adult who’s finally moved away from the empire he’s built. I’m sure he’s waiting for me to fail and crawl back to him, just like he did with Andi. He’s forgotten that we virtually raised ourselves without his help. And we’re all sly with our money and the things we purchase to keep it flowing. Even Shade, raised outside our father’s influence for the most part, has a penchant for penny-pinching.

I shuffle through the highlighted pages, making notes on the side as time passes. Ace comes back in with a single sheet of paper and a scowl.

“New hire,” he mutters and drops the sheet in front of me.

Amanda Jefferson. Her employee ID photo is so blurry I can’t make out much. Twenty-seven, previous employers go from a diner close to this building all the way to a receptionist at a bank. Odd that she’s here of all places. Her address is on the more affluent side of town, far from here. Did she fall on hard times? If so, it will be easy to manipulate her with a bribe.

Cade can turn on the charm. Mikael and Ace can maintain their stoic, menacing silence. Jake can stay as far away from her as possible. Just another day in the shit-show we call life.

I’m in the middle of making a notation when the door opens. Not a single polite knock. It makes my teeth grind. Irefuse to look up at whatever dramatic pose the two women are striking up. They all think that the proper lighting on their figures will make them irresistible. It doesn’t.

“Amanda Jefferson, sir,” Vanessa says in a completely unnecessary, seductive tone.

The oddest thing is when Mikael softly clears his throat, something he does when he sees something he likes and is trying to get my attention. Ace suddenly relaxes back against the wall, just out of my view, until I see him cross his feet at the ankles. Even Cade has tensed with a frown. Jake is completely oblivious, still focused on the TV.

I tip my head enough to see the women without being obvious and feel tension steel down my spine. A rippling effect I’ve never had, as each vertebrae gets squeezed by muscles one at a time. I’m frozen in place as I stare.

Ms. Jefferson is something unexpected. Her dower skirt suit doesn’t fit properly, covering her frame to make her a bland square. Her skin is pale as milk and looks naturally silky smooth. I can’t see a speck of makeup on her face. Her vibrant red hair is coiled into a bun at the back of her head, several whisps falling from it to cup her face. Her eyes are wide and a melted brown that sparkles. A dowdy librarian, missing her glasses. All of that alone is startling, but the look on her face is priceless.

Vanessa is posturing to emphasize her breasts in her low-cut blouse. One foot is propped up on her toes behind her, giving her a false sense of innocence. She’s wriggling to draw attention to her ass.

Ms. Jefferson…Amandais staring at her with the oddest expression I’ve seen a woman give another woman. She’s a mixture of confusion and concern as she watches Vanessa’s show. I’m used to the posturing. Amanda is not. She has one hand subtly extended as if she’s about to catch Vanessa if she falls.

The moment extends until I snap out of it.

“That will be all,” I tell Vanessa firmly.

I keep my head ducked down as if I’m still reading, but I see it when Amanda stiffens at the sound of my voice. A slow crawling blush enters her cheeks as her attention snaps around.

Instead of looking at me, she eyes the desk and takes in the opulence of the room. I’m expecting her eyes to light up over the apparent wealth. There’s a certain amount of pleasure and greed that enters people’s gaze when they see it. The need to possess fine things can be covered quickly if someone is self-aware.

Amanda looks less than impressed. In fact, she seems to despise her surroundings. The more she sees, the tighter her plush pink lips get until she looks like she swallowed a lemon.

My eyes narrow as I take in the unusual response. Money may not be a great motivator for honesty. Unless it’s an exorbitant sum. Everyone has a price.

She looks at me, and her brows furrow. I’m not what she was expecting, either. Now that her attention has hit me, my arms have frozen. I should be turning a page and acting as if she isn’t here. The sudden paralysis lifts as soon as her eyes shift away, allowing me to shuffle the papers a bit.

Her eyes hit Mikael, and her shoulders hunch at his regular, menacing expression. He shifts under her wary stare like she touched him with her gaze. He does another subtle throat clearing that carries to me and Ace alone. He’s keeping up his stern facade, but he’s uncomfortable with how uneasy she looks.

She moves on to Ace, and her eyes narrow. Whatever she’s seeing in him is making her irritation go up. Considering the casual stance that he’s never displayed before, she should be drooling.

We all have pretty faces hiding vicious monsters. It’s as if she’s seeing right past the illusion of civility down to our cores with one look.

Her eyes roam to the couch and pass over the back of Jake’s head without much expression. Then she sees Cade, and her shoulders slump as her lip curls with disdain.

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