Her rant left him more surprised than angry. And maybe a little bit disgusted. No, definitely. Samuel was stunned. There was no other word for it. And clawed at himself for not realizing sooner. The place was practically crawling with sex demons and he had not stopped to think about the work ethics the company had or the possible health code violations. When he when he bought the company and when he was managing it.
He had been with a few literal sex demons and he could attest to how messy and freaky fucking could get. And it could get pretty messy. In both ways.
It was clear he had abandoned his duties somewhat. It appeared Nexion needed flushing after all. Perhaps, what Xander said was true, the whole Irina thing was throwing him off a bit. And maybe he needed an escape that was not pussy or a bottle of whiskey. He had been so focused on the events of last month that he was blinded to everything else he thought insignificant. Samuel smelt fear on her. Fear and slight rage. And...arousal? Definitely what he did not need at the moment. He pushed back against the wanton images flooding his head. Images that involved them both in very compromising positions, specifically with the desk playing a major role. He fought with the growing discomfort in his pants.
Samuel was not sure if he should apologize, just conclude the issue, count his losses and leave or keep it going with the argument and the present torture. Plus, there was still the fact that he still felt bad about...everything. There was still a very much missing file to be found. And his PA looked about just ready to claw at him or sink into a mini panic attack while trying to hide it.
“It seems that I have been neglecting most if my duties. I apologize, for that and my outburst. The matter will be taken care of.” The confused yet relieved look on her face said it all. She taught she was getting fired. Well, she was not but a few others will. “Um...Thank you Sir.”
“Don't thank me yet. There is still a missing file that needs to be found.” Samuel's hands drifted into his pant pocket to retrieve his phone. He had a feeling someone was going to call him. He did not like the inkling that it was going to be bad. “There's still a thing called a salary cut and that's what you'll be getting if you don't find that file.”
“Understood Sir. I'll start searching for it. What was in it?” asked Rita, already rounding the desk. Samuel went back into his office and got on his computer wondering why fate seemed to be dishing out corporate messes for him to clean up. A bit late for spring cleaning but it had to be done. Rita deserved a more fitting apology. He intwined his fingers and stared at the computer screen as it loaded. How does a guy apologize for being a dod?
****
Samuel's gut feeling had been right, though wished it was not. He had just been on the phone with his father. Samuel had until the end of the year to get back to Astoke. The Delezes had stirred up trouble again and one would think it was because of their mother. Fat chance. Those two bastards did not care about each other let alone anyone else for that matter. Least of all, their own mother.
They were causing trouble for two different reason. The first was money and the other, inheritance. It was like those two were begging him to fucking kill them. A vicious thought passed his mind, he smiled. Although that would be easier, the bastards had a lot of human minions that would pounce on anything to get him in a silver collar. Dylan and Klaus would probably add a chain. A very short one. There was no going around it.
Meaning, he had only four and a week to get Rita forgive him and for her feelings to change. A small laugh escaped his lips and he leaned his head back on his room sofa. He could finally admit it to himself. He liked Rita. And at this point he would do anything she asked. That was how far he had fallen down the rabbit hole. His siblings would have a field day if they knew.
First things first. Time to deal with Nexion. Samuel pulled up Nexion's security feed and was truly at a loss for word and began to question if he bought a company or an open walk in pornstar studio. When Rita told him, he thought it was just a basket full of people, turns out it was the whole damn company. Like what the hell?! Ok, financial and personal interests aside, this had to be stopped. It just could not continue. Another thing that caught his attention was that some cameras were blocked with a password and some footage had been erased.
Samuel was sure whatever was cut and now captured by the blocked cameras was damning. Excessively so. Since what he found seemed more than able to do the job. He did not mind or care how or why incubi got their food but turning their partners into addicts and practically raping them by forcing their consent was against common morale, decency and the law. There was ambushing, blackmail, mind games and just about anything that could be described as harassment to those who fought back which turned out to also include getting fired or badly demoted.
Samuel had picked up on the way Rita had been gingerly picking up things. It had changed more than slightly, even the way she walked. For once, those human laws were going to be good for something. He was going to let them handle this.
*****
THE NEXT DAY
Rita was still mauling over why she had screamed at her boss. Behind those slightly understanding words, he was probably thinking of the next thing to make her work life an utter misery. He was probably making a full on sadistic list in his office.
Not even the thought of hot soothing soup and fluffy clouds could tame the quizziness in her gut. She dreaded lunchtime and was ready to honker down like she had never honkered down before. Speaking of before, she knew now that neither Miguel or his groody friends had dropped her home that night. Miguel had basically blasted that piece of info in her face after he had cornered her in the parking lot. Just why was it her luck that she got to work in companies like this? Truth be told, she was relieved that it had not been them but at the same time scared. The question was, who dropped her off at home, brought in her car and locked the door after? Did they take any liberties? With the house? With her? The thought made her run cold.
The Intercom buzzed, Rita snapped out of it, took her eyes off her computer screen and pressed the receiving button. “Yes, Sir?”
The speaker buzzed to life and a short command came. “Get ready. We'll be leaving in three minutes.”
Probably going to a place where he could publicly humiliate her before firing her and saddling her up with a massive debt she had no chance of paying in her single lifetime. “Yes Sir.” This was going to be bad.
////
Ok, this was not her definition of bad. This was not even close to the definition of bad. Five star restaurant with decently sized meals and not those baby rat portions. Great decor and all but she felt out of place in her blouse and pants. This place was the kind of place you would wear gowns and dresses to dine. As much as she was self cautious she could not win against her stomach now.
He sat across from her, looking like he owned the place and every bit the part of what the magazines said. Except, she knew from a short-lived but personal experience that he was all that and more. This just had to be a trap. He was going to give her one last good meal before he humiliated her and tossed her out on the streets.
She had to play it cool. For now. But the way he was staring at her made her feel like a deer caught in headlights. Just before it got hit and smushed by a truck with a driver who could care less about animal rights and had a special obession with running over deer in particular. Rita cleared her throat and he blinked. “Sir, is there anything to discuss?”
“No, Rita. We are just here for lunch,” He replied. His voice was sounded a tad bit different. Deeper? It was probably her imagination trying to mess with her. “but since you brought it up, we do have things to discuss.” She sucked back in the breath she had let out.
So he was not going to wait until the she had a meal huh. Ok then. She already had a plan in place. Get the stuff she can carry out of the house, grab her car and head for her little sister's place. Piper and Declan were pain in the asses but beggars could not be choosers. The plan made her cry and bleed on the inside but if worst comes to worst, push came to shove that was her last card. Under the table, she fisted her hands. She was sure the knuckles had turned pale already. And probably find a witch to curse this bastard too. She donned on a calm but serious expression. “Go on, Sir.”