Page 39 of Devilish Bully
“Yes, I—” Images of the “intense” fucking Lucian and I did all over his office and on trips fly through my mind. “As an auditor, I worked with all the departments, so I allocated different days for each one. I spent half the day in my cubicle and the other half chasing down reports and such.”
“Did you ever report directly to the CEO?”
“Towards the end, yes.”
He tilts his head to the side. “Can you elaborate on that a bit?”
“In what way, Mr. Marin?”
“Well…” He leans forward, placing his head on steepled hands. “If you being interviewed is enough to get Lucian Pearson to call here and tell us that he wishes he didn’t let you go, you must be underselling yourself.”
“He said that?”
“He did.”
A familiar voice is suddenly behind me.
“This is a private interview, Mr. Pearson.” Mr. Marin narrows his eyes. “We got the memo on you making a mistake in letting her go. We don’t need it in person, as well.”
“I think you do, actually.” He strolls further into the room, into my view, and my heart does the stupid thing all over again.
Seeing him after all these weeks lights me up like a furnace, and as much as I want to excuse myself from the room, I can’t. His gaze is pinning me to my seat.
“I miss you.” His voice is steady, but the words stun the room into silence. “Really fucking miss you.”
“And if you were always planning to make an exit from my company, that’s fine.” His expression softens. “I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get you back—personally, not professionally.”
“But you can’t work here.” His jaw tightens. “If you thought my company was a 0/10, I can guarantee you this one is far worse.”
“Call security in here.” Mr. Marin snaps. “Now.”
“I’ve been doing some thinking since you left,” Lucian continues, “and I think you should work for yourself instead of wasting your time being tied under anyone else.”
He steps closer. “I also think you should give me another chance so I can assure you that I’ll never fuck up or hurt you again.”
Tears prick my eyes, and my chest clenches.
“I regret not meeting you sooner.” His voice roughens. “And I’d prefer if we didn’t waste any more time without each other.”
He exhales hard. “I do have feelings for you. I should’ve told you that, too. I wrote this out in an email and I’m just now realizing I should’ve read the damn thing instead of barging in here.”
“You should not have come in here…” Mr. Marin groans, but no one is paying attention to him.
The women at the table are staring at Lucian with dreamy eyes, while the men look confused.
“Don’t work here,” he says. “Come home with me.”
I remain still, staring at him.
“She clearly doesn’t want to do that,” Mr. Marin says. “It’s obvious—this isn’t a rom-com, Mr. Pearson. This is a Fortune 500 interview.”
“Someone call security?” A guard steps into the room. “Who needs to be removed?”
Mr. Marin points to Lucian, but Lucian’s gaze is locked on me.
“Come on, sir.” Security gestures for him to move, but he doesn’t budge.
“Kendall.” His voice drops low. “Please… come home with me.”
