THIRTY-FOUR

“Please have a seat Ms. Harris.”

That was all that had been said to Yalda on arriving at the station. She wasn’t surprised that they suddenly knew her name, and neither was she surprised when Zayn was led away uncourteously. She hadn’t completely settled down before she began dialing Alexander’s line, she was unsettled and her heart kept hammering against her chest with every ring; she didn’t want this escalated. She didn’t want Zayne, Defne, or Nora to find an excuse to stick around in her life for some time.

She lowered the phone from her ear with a trembling hand when he didn’t answer. Letting out a heavy breath, she flexed her fingers; something she had subconsciously been doing since she punched Zayn. Her knuckles were sore and stiff from merely punching him, she found herself wish she had taken self-defense classes or something; at the very least she would have known how to throw a proper punch without hurting herself.

Her gaze flickered to the door at once when the assertive sound of confident strides came from the hallway, and it wasn’t long before Alexander walked into the office she had been asked to wait in looking perfect in an all-black suit which made him look more of the intimidating billionaire he was supposed to be at the moment. His gaze found her’s at once and he walked up to her.

“Are you alright?” He asked as he offered her his hand to help her to her feet.

She took his hand and he gently helped her up as his gaze raked over her quickly to ensure that she was fine.

“What’s going on?” She asked him, disregarding his question.

“Nothing you ought to worry about.” He replied.

She shook her head.

“I don’t want this escalated, please.” She told him. “Tell them to let him go.”

“They’ll let him go after a few hours; he needs time to reflect on what he did.”

She shook her head.

What if Zayn decided to bother her again for this? What if he told Defne? She knew Defne well enough to know that she would never fault Zayn for any reason.

“I don’t want them bothering me over this.” She spoke.

“They can try and see what happens when they do.” He replied.

The subtleness of his threat chilled her spine, but she said nothing more; she knew trying to get him to listen to her would be useless.

“Come, I’ll drop you off at the salon.” He spoke after a moment of silence.

She merely nodded; it was all she could do. He led her out of the office while holding her hand, but on getting to the reception, he let go of her hand and walked slightly ahead of her to avoid talks and gossips; after all, he was Alexander Monroe and she was his secretary. It shouldn’t have bothered her but it did, it ached her heart slightly knowing that they could never truly be anything more.

On getting outside, he walked to his car and opened the door for her. She got in quietly; she was in no mood courtesy and small talk. She tiredly leaned her head against the headrest as she closed the door and made his way around the car to get in.

“A new car will be sent to your apartment by evening.” He said as he slid in and shut the door. “Don’t go around walking the streets of New York like you don’t have a bloody choice.”

So walking was a crime now? She ignored the fact that her throat clenched painfully.

“Thank you.” She replied quietly.

Nothing more was said as he started the ignition, the car came alive with a soft hum and he veered it out of the parking lot. Her gaze fell to her hand as she flexed her fingers absentmindedly, and her thoughts drifted back to what Zayn had said earlier, it caused her heart to ache and her eyes to pool with tears. Now that she was away from him and everyone else that had been watching, she let herself crumble; she blinked and a lone stream of tears went sliding down her cheek.

“I was told you punched him; how’s your hand?” He asked her.

She wiped the tears away sharply before dragging in a deep breath. Her tender knuckles were the least of her problems right now.

“it’s fine.” She replied quietly.

A short moment of silence stretched between them before he spoke again.

“Why did you punch him?” He asked her.

She wasn’t a violent person and he knew that, it was obvious that she had been pushed to far to react that way.

“He upset me.” She replied, her voice thick with emotion.

“I know. What did he say to get you to react as you did?” He clarified.

She blinked and yet another stream of tears went streaking down her cheek, she didn’t bother wiping it off.

“Nothing that isn’t true.” She replied quietly. “I only got this far because I’ve been sleeping with my boss.”

He shook his head.

“That’s not true.” He said.

Was he trying to make her feel better? It was too late for that now. A humorless chuckle left her.

“I was a broke and crappy student before I met you; there was no way I could have ever come this far without at least getting on my knees.”

He stepped on the brake and the car jerked to an abrupt stop. Her gaze snapped up and she realized he had parked the car in the parking lane.

“Is that what you think?” He asked her in what seemed to be disbelief.

She inclined her head to face him before nodding once.

“Yalda, don’t be silly. You are smart and entirely deserving of your job.” He told her. “You worked so hard to get here.”

“Yes, in more ways than one.” She replied quietly.

He glared at her for a moment before his eyes softened. He reached out and gently brushed a lock of hair from her face before caressing her cheek softly and wiping her tears off.

“I’m not stupid, Yalda,” he began. “I wouldn’t employ you if I wasn’t convinced you’d well; I wouldn’t just throw my money around.”

That was true, he was a calculative business man, he most definitely wouldn’t throw his money around aimlessly.

“Yes, it seems like I employed you only because of our relationship, but wouldn’t that mean I would employ every other woman I’ve slept with?” He asked her. “I could have simply kept on fucking you without offering you a job if you didn’t have any potential.”

She averted her gaze from his; his eyes were suddenly so intense.

“I saw a smart young woman with a lot of potential; I still do.” He told her. “And it’s left to you to see yourself as you please”.

More tears left her eyes as she blinked once more, not because she was still bothered about what Zayn had said but because of how deeply Alexander’s words had gotten to her. Just like that, he had rebuilt her confidence and made her feel better. He freed himself from his seatbelt before leaning in to kiss her.

His lips molded against hers gently and his fingers slid into her hair to cup the back of her head, a small left her as his tongue slid into her mouth to tangle with hers and explore thoroughly. She was glad the tinted windows were up because she found herself also undoing her seatbelt, and it wasn’t long before he was carefully guiding her over the center console to seat on his lap. She arched against him as his hands roamed gently, and it surprised her that there was no urgency to his touch; he was being entirely calm and gentle with her.