“Tell me everything,” I demand.
“I don’t think that’s any of your business. You’re my employer,” Pearl mumbles nervously as she steps behind Colleen, like she wants a physical barrier between the two of us.
“As your employer, I need to know if there’s a risk to my company and the projects we’re working on.” I know that there is nothing I can do to force her to tell me the details of her divorce, but this is a unique situation.
Colleen quirks her eyebrow at me before stepping from between us and turning toward Pearl. “If there’s a chance you have any affiliation with another company, we’ll terminate your employment immediately and take legal action.”
I smirk, knowing full well there is nothing we can do legally to Pearl, but based on her shocked expression, she doesn’t know that. I’d better come up with a big gift for Colleen after this stunt.
“Even after divorce, he still has a hold over my life.” Pearl digs into her bag and pulls out a stack of papers. “Here is a copy of my divorce decree, and the non-disclosure agreement I signed to ensure I don’t leak any of Xue’s confidential information.”
Colleen holds her hand out to take the paperwork, but I snatch it out of Pearl’s hand and head back to my desk. As I leaf through the papers, my anger rises even further.
Kyle Bates is even more of a bastard than I took him for. Not only did he leave her with nothing, but she’s also forbidden from owning or operating a business within the technology industry for the next five years.
“I see,” I say as I take a seat behind my desk. “You’ll have to sign a non-disclosure agreement for Nth and will be on a one-week probation. If anything seems amiss during that time, you will be dismissed, no questions asked. Agreed?”
Pearl’s shoulders sag in defeat as she nods in agreement.
“Fabulous.” I smile at both of them before spinning my chair toward the window. “Colleen will show you around the office. Now, both of you, get out. I have work to do.”
The door clicks softly behind them as they exit my office.
Kyle Bates stole the only thing I ever wanted from me in high school. But now, the tables are turned, and I plan to make Pearl mine.
By any means necessary.
Chapter Three
Pearl
I’ve busted my ass for the last week keeping up with Clay’s demanding schedule. He eats, sleeps, and breathes Nth Technologies, so it’s no surprise that this company is at the forefront of the industry.
He’s always pushing himself and his employees to do better, be better, at everything they do. Even after being here for a week, I see the admiration his entire staff has for him. They genuinely want to come into work and do their best to ensure Nth is successful.
It seems Clay has the same philosophy for himself. Gone is the shy, skinny boy that I sat next to in math class, replaced by a man who commands respect the minute he walks into a room. His once-shaggy dark brown hair is cut stylishly, making him look even more handsome. A chiseled jaw and muscular frame fill out his custom-made suits perfectly, different from the boy who could barely do pulls in gym class.
Even with the physical transformation Clay went through, there’s still something about him that draws me in, like a moth to the flame. Whenever we’re within a few feet of each other, the need to touch him, to run my hands through his luscious hair, is overwhelming. The tension crackles between us, and at times I don’t know what to do with it.
I find myself imagining how he would take me in different parts of the office, for everyone to see, fantasizing I belong to him in every way…but then I come back down from the clouds. Not only is Clay beyond successful, but he has a woman like Colleen by his side. What would he want with a middle-aged divorcee living at her parents’ house? No matter how much I imagine a life with Clay in the future, it’ll never happen.
Almost everything about Clayton Matthews differs from what I remember, but in a good way. Instead of coasting through the last fifteen years, Clay busted his ass to get where he is, working on himself as well as his company, unlike my ex-husband. I realized after my divorce that Kyle has always done the bare minimum, ensuring he remains mediocre for the rest of his life.
“This is why Kyle will never succeed,” I mumble to myself as I pull copies from the machine and head back to my desk.
The last time I spoke to him, Kyle was going on about a major project he secured, but I haven’t seen anything in the papers. If I’m being honest with myself, I want him to fall flat on his face and lose everything, including his precious company, and come begging me to take him back. I won’t, of course, but it would be nice to tell him to fuck off.
As soon as my butt hits the seat, Clay’s voice filters through the intercom.
“I need the Jameson file.”
No please or thank you. Just demanding what he needs.
“Now,” he growls through the phone, wanting everything immediately, as usual.
I resist the urge to inform him that he can get more flies with honey, but I take a deep breath. “It’s already on your desk, along with the revised copy of the proposal from marketing.”
I hear the rustling of papers as he searches for the files in question.
“To your right, directly below your day planner.”
Every day, he’s come up with a new ridiculous demand, anything from where to place different files on his desk to how I’m to enter his office. I want to scream and tell him I’m not his slave, but we both know that until my probation period is over, I have to be on my best behavior and deal with his stupid tests and demands.
I wait a few moments for a thank you or some acknowledgment he found what he was looking for, but I get nothing but silence.
“I guess you’re done with me,” I mutter to myself before getting back to work.
I continue inputting the information I got from marketing after lunch, losing myself in numbers and formulas. I’ve always been good at math, but there was no room for me to have dreams of my own when I was married to Kyle. He always wanted me by his side, claiming that he couldn’t bear to be away from me for too long, but after a few years I became less important. I had become nothing more than his secretary.
No more long lunches or lazy mornings in bed talking about our future. It was always about the next big idea or him wanting me to help him with a problem he was having on a program. I should have taken that as a sign of things to come. Instead, I stuck my head in the sand, hoping every time that once he finished with a project, he would have time for me, but it never happened.
The intercom buzzes loudly again, breaking the silence and bringing me back to the present. “Tell Colleen I need to see her in about an hour to go over the proposal.”
“Yes, sir,” I say as I grab a pen and make a note on the small pad near the phone. “Do you need me to make notes?”
“No. Nothing serious is happening. But don’t leave. I need to speak to you before you head out for the day.”
I nod, forgetting for a second that he can’t see me, but it’s too late. Shaking my head to clear the fog from my brain, I get back to work.
I push back from my chair and head toward Colleen’s office, only a few doors down from Clay’s. I knock softly, not wanting to disturb her, but after a few moments and no response, I peek my head inside. Colleen seems to be in a heated phone conversation with someone.