5. The Devil's Deal

In all her life, nervousness had never consumed her the way it did at that particular moment when she was standing face to face with the very same man who had managed to get on her nerves In a very long time.

All she wished for was for the ground to open up and swallow her. She could only imagine how flushed her face would have been if all the blood hadn't drained from it.

And the devilish man was still grinning at her. Much like the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland. For some reason, that story always scared her especially the cat and now she was simply terrified of it.

"Ms. Whistledown?" Amelia asked in confusion. "From the tv series?"

Ella couldn't move having been frozen to the spot, she could only pray that somewhere in the heavens her grandma was watching her and begging the big guy to have a little mercy on her only grandchild.

Mrs. Vazquez shook her head. "No this is Annabella Hart the PA your father insisted I get for you. And to the best of my ability, I have done so. She fits all the requirements, impressive score sheet, and she's absolutely capable."

Ella would have smiled if not for her entire system refusing to work.

Pretty man -apparently Kaiden Blaq- tucked a hand in his pocket and undid his jacket button with the other. He grabbed a file from the table and examined it. After leaving them all in suspense, he lifted his gaze to the three women who were desperate to hear his next words.

"We'll just have to see how capable, won't we?" He smirked suggestively like there was something he knew that none of them didn't.

Ella's heartbeat skyrocketed. What was that supposed to mean?

Mrs. Vazquez sighed deeply. "Well," she left Ella's side and grabbed a suitcase on the desk. "I've done my part, I'm afraid I've stayed around your..." she stopped and gave him a strained smile. "warmth for a substantial amount of time. And now I have to go back to London."

Kaiden, still smirking looked at her. "We wouldn't want the whole branch to go to flames without you."

Mrs. Vazquez smiled genuinely this time. "Exactly." She faced Ella. "It was lovely meeting you, Ms. Hart, I wish I could stay for much longer and help you settle in but Kaiden is right. The whole branch would go to flames if I'm not there immediately." She patted her on the back, leaned closer, and smiled. "Between me and you, I think you can handle him very well." She whispered conspiringly. After she made sure Ella understood her meaning, she turned around and walked towards the door. "Be gentle, Kaiden, wouldn't want a lawsuit on our hands." She stopped at the door and turned slightly. "Again."

After that, she and Amelia left the room, the latter offering a thumbs up before she left.

Silence resonated in the room. Her heart was racing wildly, she was mere seconds away from taking off never to return.

She could feel his eyes on her, he scanned her, and his gaze left the hair on her neck rising. He wanted to say something. She could sense it. But he was very comfortable making her uncomfortable. But she was stronger than that, and she wouldn't stand around like a pig waiting to be slaughtered.

Determined and fueled by unknown courage she faced him only for the words to die on her lips.

Was it legal for someone to look that good?

True enough, his intense gaze was fixed solely on her, not even wavering in the slightest when she faced him.

He still had a hand in his pocket but the other rested on the table while he watched, not stare, but watched her.

She thought of something to say, anything at all to quell the echoing silence in the room. But nothing came to mind.

So they stood there, both watching each other waiting to see who would break first.

Kaiden's gaze only intensified as his pupils seemed to become darker, his eyes unblinking as he watched her. Ella swallowed but refused to back down. She had never backed down from anything in her life. And she wasn't about to start.

After what seemed like a lifetime, Kaiden finally looked away and Ella almost fist-bumped the air.

"So..." Ella swallowed. He was intimidating though, wasn't he? She wondered if it was an art he practiced or if it came naturally to him. His deep baritone voice echoed in the quiet room. "Annabella Hart." He emphasized her name, making her wince slightly at the amount of malice he said it with.

She closed her eyes for a minute to clear her thoughts and calm herself before speaking. "I would like us to forget whatever has transpired between us in the past, to ensure a healthy working relationship." She almost hi-fived herself. She'd gone through all that without quivering or taking off. Lord did she want to.

He watched her for a heartbeat then scoffed lowly. "Healthy." Opening the file, he sat halfway on the table and crossed his legs. Goodness gracious the man was handsome. Every movement seemed perfect, he moved with ease, as though perfection and beauty came naturally to him. She took a second to watch him admiring the way his grey suit complemented his eyes. The way his hands flexed as he turned pages of the file. Veins popping and muscles straining beneath the tight confines of his blazer. She watched, transfixed as every muscle in his hand bulged and moved with the slightest movements. She had never been a muscled guy kind of girl, but somehow, this man she didn't even like made her wonder what he looked like with his shirt off.

"Your ogling again." She nearly stumbled at the intensity in his voice. He closed the file and watched her. Ella swallowed and forced her gaze to meet his. "You can sit, you know. This isn't a military school. I will treat you like you are in one, but this is not one."

She frowned at his words but moved her jelly legs to sit before she fell from nervousness.

After taking the seat, she almost regretted, because this way, they were in much closer proximity, with him looking down on her while she had the disadvantage of being in his line of sight.

"Annabella Hart. Twenty-six years old." He paused. "At least there's something you didn't lie about."

She bit back her response. He was trying to get a reaction out of her, for whatever reason, she wasn't sure. But one thing was certain, she wasn't going to fall headfirst into his scheme.

"Did you know you scored the highest on the test?" He didn't wait for a reply before he continued. "Ninety-six percent. The second highest so far." He mumbled the last part to himself and stayed quiet for some time almost like he was pondering something. Ella's increased heartbeat slowed down at his words, relief washing over her. Her confidence getting restored slowly.

Kaiden shut the file and placed it on the table then faced her. "How did you do it?"

Ella frowned and faced him. "What?"

He gestured to the file. "I wrote those questions myself. Some of them, their answers I came up with myself. The second person before you scored sixty. Did you know?" He folded his arms and leaned towards her. "The highest on that test in the history of this company is a hundred percent." He narrowed his eyes at her. "So tell me, how did you do it? Did you have an insider or someone wrote it for you?"

All she could do was stare. Rage, confusion, and joy at having to be the second-highest in the company all churning mixed reactions in her.

Did he insinuate that she had someone else take the test for her? Was he that daft, or sexist piece of shit? She couldn't decide. She closed her eyes and curled her fist before replying. "I wrote the test myself." Letting out a breath to calm her nerves she continued. "I know I may not look capable for this job seeing as I have no work experience," she looked him dead in his eyes, locked in a battle of will. "But I am capable. And all I need is your time and I don't make empty promises, but I will work efficiently and effectively to meet every one of your needs."

He raised an eyebrow at her just as his lips tilted to the side. "My needs are quite... insatiable..." He faced her more fully and dropped the file. "Do you think you can meet every one of them?"

"To the best of my abilities and if it's to my reasoning, then of course. I don't see why it'll be a problem." She mentally patted herself on the back at her response, it seemed to have left him deep in thought.

"You'll come to see, Annabella," He emphasized, her name rolling off his tongue in such a sensual way she fought the feeling that settled in her lower stomach at the sound. "I'm not a very easy person to please and my work schedule is probably the most hectic you'll ever face." He walked to the other side of the table and took his seat crossing his hands over the wide expanse of the table he watched her golden eyes unwavering. "Can you handle it, Annabella? There will be no such thing as a slip-up, a mix-up, or even a late day for you. And definitely, no harassing any important persons or wishing they'd choke on a croissant and die."

Ella felt all the blood rushing to her cheeks, she could only imagine how red her face was by now. She had always been a terrible blusher, something she constantly got teased about. Jamie had once told her she wore her feelings on her face and it was never too hard to get her to flare up.

Kaiden taking notice of her current state of embarrassment smirked at her red face. "If you can only follow those rules, my rules, then this work relationship will be more healthy than you think." He leaned closer. "Deal?"

Ella took a moment to weigh her choices, before making a deal with the devil himself. On one hand, she could work for the company of her dreams in the city of her dreams but under a tyrannical boss. On the other hand, she could pack up her things and run back to Connecticut to continue her boring, secluded lifestyle.

She took a deep breath and touched the locket around her neck seeking comfort from the cold metal.

Coming to a decision she met the invasive eyes of said tyrannical boss and held his gaze before speaking her answer.

Heart in hand she replied, "Deal."