Page 11 of Assistant to the Billionaire CEO

“Huh. Not what I was going to say, but that’s fucking genius!” Miles sounded thrilled. I heard a beer can crack open. “Problem solved then. Talk to you later, bro.”

“What? Wait. Don’t hang up. What the fuck? What were you going to say?”

“Well, thatshecan ask him, get him to open up. Female sensitivity and shit. But your idea is better!Waybetter.”

“What’sway betterabout it? It’s fucked up. Investigating a company is one thing, butsnoopingon our friend‚ via my sister—of all people—is something else entirely. Don’t you get it? Stella is my blood. Not a fucking spy. I could never do that.”

“Why not?” Miles’s voice sounded calm. “We can’t use Harris. Your own investigations will only get us so far. And time is running out. If Ace isn’t doing anything wrong, then nobody will be hurt by it. And if heishiding something, then he’s no friend of ours. It’s a win-win situation. Easy-peasy.”

“Sending in my sister to fucking spy is not a fucking win-win situation. No matter the result.”

“Bro, you’re thinking about it the wrong way. She isn’tspying.She’spaying attention.”

“Paying attention, huh?”

“Yeah, dude. We’re not asking her to go through his drawers. She’s justkeeping an eye out.You know? Nobody will ever know. We merge, we’re all happy. Done. Flawless idea.”

“No. It’s a shit idea. It’s shady as fuck.”

“But we’ve got to do our due diligence. It’s procedure. Those were your words, Damon.”

“I fucking know,” I grumbled, annoyed.

“Like I said, no harm no foul, if Ace isn’t hiding anything. And he isn’t—we all agreed on that. She’s not going to find shit. So fucking loosen up. I don’t think asking Stella to ‘keep an eye out’is shady atall. It’s legitimate. She’ll enjoy pretending to be a ‘double agent.’ She’s a nerdy geek like that.”

“Hey. That’s my sister.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s not true.” Miles chuckled, and I couldn’t even prove him wrong. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t presented proof of her geekiness just this very evening. I heard Miles take a swig of his beer. “Just think about it. It’s fucking perfect.”

“Fucking perfect,” I grumbled, staring into the glowing red fire in front of me, sorrow filling my mind.

“Get her on board.”

I should have gone to bed, not fucking called him. “All right. I’ll ask her.”

“Don’t just ask her. Get her on board.”

“You’re wrong about one thing though: I don’t think she’s going to like it.”

Miles ended the call, and I sank further into the couch.

Double agent, my ass.

The room spun around me. The cool air seeping in through unseen crevices chased the fire’s heat around the space. Darkness enveloped me with one more worry. Precisely, how thefuckwas I going to bring this shit up with Stella?

But first things first: she needed to get the job. Then, and only then, would I approach her—and not a second sooner.

The desire for a bottle of Pinot Noir was completely gone.

5

STELLA

Sitting up in bed, I looked over at the red alarm clock on my bedside table. It read 6:30 a.m. Superb! I loved early starts. Lazily, I stretched my arms upward and brought my frizzy hair into a messy bun.

This would be a perfect day.

I swung my legs off the bed. My humble but lovely apartment’s well-worn wooden floor felt cold beneath my feet, and I bent over and stuck my arm under my bed, searching for my fluffy slippers.Where did the darn things go?My fingers brushed against their fuzzy surface, and I whipped them out, hastily wiggling my feet into them.

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