Page 12 of The Associate

“Because I was hoping it would have gone away by now.” I shrug.

“No fucking shit,” Sal spits at me. “And this is the reason why you are now solely on bodyguard duty.”

I open my mouth to protest but the sound of wooden chair legs scraping across the floor cuts me off. That is something Sal always does when he is done with a conversation: remove himself without uttering another word.

Viv is wide-eyed as she watches her father walk out of the office and towards his bedroom.

I look at Viv still staring at the open door before she turns her head to look at me. I place my hand on her knee. “Are you ok?” She blinks a few times before placing her hand on top of mine.

“I think so.” She gazes around the office. I follow her eyes looking into every corner of the room.

“It’s ok, there are no cameras in here.” Her eyes meet mine again and her shoulders relax. I squeeze her thigh gently “Look, I —”

“Shhh, for a moment, please.” She stands up, regaining the composure she’d held when she first walked into the room. I glance up at her standing before me and it is like she turns into a whole new person again; with a quick turn of her head, a smile, and a quick wink, she walks out the door.

It feels like my jaw has dropped to the floor. She is no longer the innocent girl I once knew. This woman before me is pure power, attitude, and lust. The way she moves does things to my heart and my cock. The way my body is reacting to her makes me feel like a horny teenager again.

She rounds the corner of the office and calls out to me: “Hurry up, tough guy.”

I practically run after her as she powers her way towards her room down the hall. “You do know that I had nothing to do with this?” I say.

“Sure you didn’t.” She whirls around on me so fast I nearly run into her, slipping slightly on the smooth tiles of the floor. When I regain my footing, I lean against the wall. “You must have recognised me at the bar last night.”

“I swear I didn’t, but even if I did, I never saw this situation coming.”

“Ok, so why does my father think I am in danger?” She places a hand on her hip.

“You do remember your own father, don’t you? You haven’t been gone for that long.” I roll my eyes. She has been gone for years, though I don’t know when she came back to the mansion. “He is still a paranoid old bastard. Has been since before your mother ran off with you.”

“So then who does he think has threatened my life?” She tilts her head, her silver hair falling over her shoulder.

“I have no idea.” I shrug. “But if there is anyone that is threatening your safety, it’s now my job to stop them.”

“So you’re going to keep me safe?” She sighs. “Because I thought you’d hate me now. You seemed to back then.”

She turns and walks back towards her bedroom. “I didn’t hate you, Princess.”

She turns and looks at me again, shock crossing her face. “ You always tried to get rid of me when you were forced to look after me back then too.”

I smirk and step closer to her, pushing her up against the wall. Her breath catches at the sudden movement. My lips move closer to her ear. “I just found you a bit annoying and stubborn back then. It was infuriating, but I could never hate you.”

She places her hands against my chest, her touch electric. Her lips graze my earlobe. “I am not stubborn,” she whispers as she ducks and leaves me standing there, looking at a blank wall. The lingering touch of her lips still sends shockwaves through my body. I growl deep within my chest, the air cold where she was once before me.

There are cameras in the hallway, but they are video only. Will it look like I am just showing her who’s in control? Or something else?

This woman is going to be the death of me.I bite my bottom lip and count to five before pushing off the wall and following her again.

I quicken my steps as I catch up to her. “Do not walk away from me.” I grab hold of her wrist, stopping her.

“What are you going to do to me, Viper?” She looks at my hand, the name everyone else calls me is like venom on her lips. I don’t like it. “You wouldn’t dare hurt a hair on my head, especially since my father is your boss.”

“I am not afraid of your father, Darling.” I imitate the way her father said her nickname when she was younger as I hold her gaze. She flinches at the nickname, but it’s only small, and I am in the mood to rile her up.

“Oh, but I think you are. Otherwise, you would have already left me alone to go about whatever it is you do.” She waves her free hand around in the air. “You’re scared of what he could do to you, what he could take away from you, like giving you worse duties than being my babysitter. This is your way of trying to get back into his good books so you can go out on your own again.”

My eyes widen and I release her wrist. She is right: I want to be back out in the field. I want to scope out the targets, learn everything I can about them, and learn what makes them tick. Once I have learnt that information, then I know exactly how and when to strike and, when I do, it’s always deadly. That’s how I earnt the name Viper.

She knows she is right, and a smile spreads across her face.

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