Page 16 of Lord of the Dark

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop the small smile creeping onto my lips. "Hilarious, Tom."

Lisa let out a throaty laugh and shot me a sharp sidelong glance. "Who didn’t see them leaving the building together? Fiona and the big-shot lawyer. The whole floor was buzzing."

"Big-shot lawyer?" Tom raised his eyebrows mockingly, stirring his coffee. "Moves like his suit alone makes him superior to every one of us."

"It does, Tom," Jane cut in, settling beside Lisa. "He's like a god. A Roman god of seduction," she declared, clearly already under his spell.

"Just the way he walks—so self-assured. It's fucking hot," Lisa added, her cheeks flushed.

"Hot?" Tom scoffed, crossing his arms. "He's completely arrogant. Bet he has mirrors in his shower just to admire himself."

"What’s so bad about shower mirrors?" I asked.

Rachel snorted, nearly spilling her coffee. "Tom, come on, you’re just jealous because Russo dismantled you in that contract negotiation yesterday."

Tom huffed indignantly, though his ears turned suspiciously red. "That was pure strategy!" he defended, slamming his cup down with exaggerated emphasis. "No wonder he always wins—he stabs you in the chest and still has the nerve to smile while doing it."

Jane leaned back, her gaze drifting dreamily. "Honestly, I wouldn’t even have noticed the knife," she mused. "I’d have been too busy looking into his eyes. They’re like—" She waved her hands, searching for words. "—dark, dangerous whirlpools that swallow you whole before you even realize what’s happening."

The group burst into laughter as Tom threw his hands up. "I give up. You’ve all lost your minds. The guy could read you a tax return, and you’d still find it erotic."

Rachel clapped him on the shoulder, grinning. "Well, Tom, that’s just the league Russo plays in. And you? You’re the one stuck writing the tax return. And that’s probably his real talent—making us all kneel without lifting a finger."

Jane reclined, stirring her coffee with a sly smile. "Honestly," she purred, "I wouldn’t mind kneeling for him."

The other women dissolved into giggles while Tom rolled his eyes in disapproval. "Oh please, Jane. Any more of this, and we’ll need a fan to cool the room down."

Rachel shook her head, laughing. "You’re all impossible. Fiona, how do you even handle it? I mean, you had him all to yourselfyesterday."

"Exactly," Lisa chimed in, eyes glittering with curiosity. "If his presence alone is that overwhelming—what was it like sitting across from him? Spill, we want every detail!"

I shook my head but couldn’t suppress a grin. "I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t intense. But I don’t impress that easily."

"Of course not," Jane murmured with a cheeky wink. "But if he wanted to impress you, he probably could without even trying, right? Does even our ice princess feel the effect?"

Another round of laughter erupted.

"Rachel’s right, you’re all truly impossible," I snapped playfully, ignoring the heat in my cheeks—though Rachel caught it instantly.

"Oh, it’s working," she muttered, half to herself. "Fiona looks like she’s run a marathon every time she talks about him. How did that invitation even happen?"

I set my cup down, faced the expectant stares around me, and sighed. "Naturally, in his style."

Rachel’s grin widened. "That sounds promising. Let’s hear it!"

"He stood in my office, calm and self-assured as always, and suddenly said, ‘How about coffee?’ Completely casual, like it was nothing. Then he added, ‘Totally harmless.’"

Lisa choked on a laugh. "Harmless? With that man? Never!"

"That’s what I thought," I continued. "So I asked if he really needed to convince me it was just harmless coffee."

The women giggled, and Lisa leaned in eagerly. "Oh, I bet he said something that threw you completely off balance."

"He just flashed that dangerous smile and said, ‘Harmless isn’t exactly my strength.’" I gave a faint smile, shaking my head. "He didn’t even try to hide or downplay his real intentions." The skin at my nape prickled at the memory of his bluntness.

Jane gasped, propping her chin in her hands. "My God, Fiona. How did you keep from just—I’d have collapsed on the spot. Orjumped him." Now everyone spat out their coffee.

"Oh God," Tom just rolled his eyes. His tolerance had clearly reached its limit.

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