Chapter 5

"You've been working at this company for two years, don't do anything stupid, stick to the rules and do your job."

"I won't fail again, Mr. Ashcombe, I promise."

"I want actions, not promises," he glared at her, not believing a single word she said.

"Of course."

Taking a few moments to analyze his secretary's attitude, Sebastian watched her and watched; she only said what he expected to hear, and that angered him even more. He had to impose a punishment on her so that she would realize that money has to be earned.

"For the next month, you'll have to work Saturdays to make up for the hours lost due to lateness covered by Miss Hartley," he announced with perfect calm.

"But I've a son, I've no one to take care of him." She squealed, making excuses.

"Well, it's only Monday, find someone, you've time."

"It's not fair," he protested.

"It's not fair that I'm paying you to keep to a schedule and you arrive whenever you feel like it. That's all. You can leave."

She opened her email intending to return to work, but Lavinia didn't move; on the contrary, she opened her big mouth just to ruin things even more.

"That can't be legal!" she shrieked furiously, unwilling to give up her Saturdays.

"Legal?" He stood up from his seat with his intimidating presence and walked around the desk until he was standing in front of her. Now he was truly furious.

"Yes, I signed up to work Monday through Friday, not on weekends."

"Miss Mercer, do you want me to review the security camera footage and calculate exactly how many hours of work you owe?" he threatened, holding back his anger.

"That's not what it's about, I'm not going to work on Saturdays."

"Of course, what you'll do for the next 4 Saturdays is make up for lost work hours, nothing more," he insisted.

"I want you to know that I'll file a complaint with the human resources department. I'm not going to waste quality time with my son because you're upset about the mess on my desk. You're exaggerating." She accuses him.

"Was that a threat?"

"I don't intend to work on Saturdays, let some other fool do what he's asking."

"So, another fool.." He nodded, repeating his words.

"I already told you, I didn't sign up to work on Saturdays."

"Very well, Miss Mercer, pick up your toys from the desk and go home to spend quality time with your son."

"What did you say?" she asked, puzzled.

"She's fired," he sighed in relief; it was always a pleasure to get rid of trouble.

With the color draining from her cheeks, and her mouth wide open, Lavinia looked into her boss's eyes and could almost glimpse a smile on that sour face she wore most of the time.

"He can't... no..," he stammered, unable to form a sentence.

"Bye bye."

He pointed to the door with pleasure before going around the desk to pick up the phone and tell Eleanor about his recent decision, so that she could inform human resources.

Surprised by how badly the argument with the boss had ended, Eleanor waited for Lavinia to leave the office, then grabbed her arm and took her to the break room.

"Couldn't you keep your big mouth shut? All you had to do was nod and say it wouldn't happen again," Eleanor scolded her, furious.

"That son of a bitch.." he complained, intending to insult his entire family.

"Enough," she interrupts. "I don't want to hear insults. You're the only one responsible for this. You're too used to me covering for you."

"Are you calling me lazy?!" she shouted, taking a couple of steps back.

"Yes, but that's beside the point! You were just fired!"

"I know! Eleanor was there!" she shouted furiously, too angry with that Demon to control her tone.

"Okay, just... wait at your desk for a call from human resources."

He walked away, leaving her alone with her anger. He wasn't going to serve as a shield to absorb all the hatred she was surely feeling for Sebastian.

"Ellie, no, I'm sorry, don't go," she pleaded, realizing what she was doing.

"It's okay, just don't screw things up again."

"What am I going to do?" she whimpered.

"I can't talk right now, I've to get back to work." She stops in the doorway—. I'll stop by your apartment as soon as I get out of here.

"I made an appointment with the pediatrician, Hugo, he's a bit of a cold.."

"Then later— he smiled, trying to be friendly."

"Actually, now I need you to come with me, since I've become unemployed and I'll need your charms to seduce Hugo's doctor, you know he goes crazy when he sees you."

He looked at her, unsure if she was joking or serious. He chose to believe she was joking.

"Okay, try to stay calm, he might change his mind, you know he's kind of fussy and a bit of a crybaby."

"He's a monster, I doubt it," he growled, hating the boss with every pore.

Throwing a sad face, he turned and left the break room at once, only to find Mr. Ashcombe, arms crossed in front of his desk, furious, with those gray eyes almost completely black and the vein on his temple bulging and with a heart of its own.

"Where were you?" he demanded, his bad mood visible from miles away.

"I went to the break room for a few minutes."

"7 minutes," he insisted.

"I went to the break room for 7 minutes, sir," he clarified without hesitation.

"Take your things and come with me," he ordered, ignoring her defiant gaze.

"Where, sir?" He hurries to the hanger with his suit jacket.

"Does it matter?" he silences her with his cold gaze. "Take your bag too."

Without waiting for her to be ready, he strode to the elevator. Eleanor had to run to catch up, but she managed to get in with him, straightening her jacket and slinging her bag over her shoulder. Sebastian remained silent, offering no explanation of their destination or directions; he simply pressed the button for the underground parking garage and waited for her to follow.

And of course he did. At least he had the decency to open the car door for him, although he didn't wait for him to get in; he just left it open and walked around to get behind the wheel.

They spent the entire afternoon supervising a construction site. Surrounded by workers who couldn't stop staring at her and making lewd comments about her appearance, her short skirt (though not that short) didn't help matters, and her heels were utterly uncomfortable on an uneven surface. She had to stifle her curses every time her ankle twisted or she tripped.

Finally at 7 p. m., two hours after his scheduled departure time, Sebastian announced that he was leaving.

"We're finished, go home."

"Home?"

"Yes, or wherever you please, I'm no longer interested. You're free."

They were on the other side of the city, and she had no idea how to get back to the office. Nervously, she left the construction site and started looking at a map on her phone to try and get her bearings. Not knowing where the hell she was was making her incredibly nervous, especially knowing all the eyes on her.

"Miss Hartley.."

A deep voice startled her, making her look up from her phone screen. Fearfully, she turned until she found the owner of that unfamiliar voice.

"John?" she said, not entirely sure that was his name.

"Yes, Oliver Grantchester, we met at the meeting this morning."

"Hi, I'm sorry, I'm not very good at remembering." She apologizes with a halfsmile.

"It's okay." He smiled amicably.

"Are you in charge of this project? Can you help me find a bus stop?"

"It's not very safe at this hour, let me take you."

"I don't want to bother you, you're probably coming with your girlfriend or wife." He tries to dismiss him.

"Luckily for me, you know, I don't have any problems being late, I'm single."

"Oh.." She blushed, sure that it had been a hint.

"Where are you going?"

"Ah, the office is fine."