CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 9

Cynthia

When Adam said we would get some clothes, I thought he meant maybe one or two shirts and pants that would be suitable for the office.

I stare around at my small living room in dismay the next morning. How am I supposed to fit all those clothes in my tiny closet?

He dragged me from shop to shop, getting me to try out different blouses and shirts. He’d make me model them for him, and there was something about the way he would look at me that had me pressing my legs tighter together, my body burning. I was so busy trying to get my wolf and my own burning body under control I didn’t realize he had purchased so many clothes. It was only when we got to the evening gowns and the lingerie that I had to put a foot down.

"I’m not going to model a babydoll nightie for you!"I had hissed at him as he had held the black sheer dress out to me, much to the amusement of the store clerk.

"Why not?" Adam’s smile had raised my heartbeat. "I want to see you in one."

"I will punch you in your family jewels, Adam,"I had snarled at him, finally losing my cool, and he laughed, delighted at my threat for some reason. Fortunately, he didn’t press the issue, and I realized he had just been trying to get me worked up.

"At least I know what your favorite color is," I muse to myself, feeling myself smiling. I ended up with at least seven deep red silk blouses. They’re all different designs, and more importantly, everything he chose covered me from neck to wrist. It was almost as if he could sense I didn’t want to be exposed.

After what Jonathon did to me, I want to be covered. I have this overwhelming urge to hide myself, the shame of what he made me do, of how he made me stand before Adam like a woman on sale, like someone who just existed to be used, still eating at me. There’s not a single pencil skirt in these bags. Blouses that fully cover me, formal pants, and two dress suits.

I take out one of the blouses and cut the tag before fingering the soft material, my thoughts wandering. I don’t trust him because he’s a Moore. I don’t trust him because nobody in my life has ever been trustworthy. I don’t trust him because I’m broken inside. But he treats me so gently, as if my feelings matter, as if I matter. He gets angry for me. He makes me feel warm and safe.

A tear spills down my cheek as I stare blindly at the clothes in my hand.

Can I trust you? I muse wearily, my heart aching. Will you hurt me if I side with you? Will you hurt me once you’ve used me to get rid of Norman?

I don’t know the answer to any of the questions plaguing me. It’s like a war waging inside.

My phone begins ringing, and I cast a quick look at the wall clock.

It must be Tony here to pick me up! I grab a pair of pants from the bags and rush to the bathroom to quickly shower and change. My hair is wet when I run out the door fifteen minutes later. Tony is waiting in the car for me, and the moment I open the door, I’m hit by a very familiar scent.

"Who were you just with?" I stare at him, still not having entered the car.

"Nobody," he lies through his teeth.

"You were with Maya," I say slowly.

That makes him blink, and he gives me a surprised look. "You know Maya?"

"We…" I hesitate. "We’re friends."

"Oh," Tony looks taken aback, "I didn’t know. We’ve been dating for two months now."

Tony is usually a man of a few words, so even this much information out of him is a lot.

Judging from the way her scent is all over him, he was probably just with her. I get in the car and as he begins driving, I suddenly ask, "Hey, Tony?"

He meets my gaze in the rearview mirror. "What is it?"

The last time I took a risk it didn’t end well for me, but Maya is my first friend. I have to try.

"Do you think Maya and I could meet?"

He’s about to say something when I add, "Without Jonathon finding out?"

Tony pauses, and I wait with bated breath until he gives me a small smile. "I’ll bring her over on Friday evening with some food. She doesn’t have many friends."

Pleased, I lean back in my seat. He clearly likes Maya if he is willing to break Jonathon’s rules about making sure no one approaches me.

"The pill is in the box with some water," he adds, and I pick up the box, opening it to see the red and blue pill. I hesitate and then ask, "Is this a pheromone blocker?"

He raises a brow. "Who told you that?"

"Just curious."

"Take it," he says seriously. "I’m doing this for your own safety, Cynthia. Jonathon should never know about this."

I don’t think twice, swallowing the pill. Adam had already confirmed that he believed I was taking pheromone blockers, and I fear Jonathon above anyone else.

As we drive, Tony glances at me through the rearview mirror, a strange look in his eyes. When we stop at the traffic light, he asks, “Who told you this was a pheromone blocker that I’m giving you?”

“Ad-Just a friend.”

“I see.” His jaw tenses. “And did your friend specifically call it a blocker?”

“Yeah,” I say hesitantly. “Why?”

I see his hand tighten around the steering wheel and his voice is hard. “And is this friend a male?”

I stare at the back of his head, feeling cautious, “You’re giving me pheromone blockers because you think I’ve found my fated mate, right?”

He makes a hissing sound. “Am I to understand you got all this information from that person then?”

“What if I did?”

Tony doesn’t look happy in the least. “Does he know of your situation?”

Tony was with Jonathon when I was brought to the Moore family house. He watched my father and Jonathon tie me to the alpha with the blood debt bond.

“No,” I say in a faint voice. “I can’t tell him even if I want to.”

“Good,” Tony responds. “Don’t trust anybody, Cynthia.”

I’m already reeling from this advice when he pulls up in front of the building.

I’m about to get out when Tony stops me. "Don’t worry about Jonathon finding out about your clothes. I won’t tell him."

My clothes!

I turn pale, but he just gives me a small reassuring smile.

As he drives off, I stare after him, feeling a little shaken and confused. Had I been wrong about Tony this whole time? Something is bothering me as well. Why was he so mad that my fated mate told me about the pheromone blockers?

I make my way to my office, which is on the top floor, but when I push the button for the elevator, a lot of women rush inside, pushing past me. There is still room for me, and I’m about to walk inside when someone shoves me back.

“Sorry,” the woman who shoves me says nastily, “there’s no more room for you. Try walking.”

The elevator could easily fit five more people, but I don’t argue. There’s no point. I’d rather not be stuck in a small box with women who’re looking at me as if they want my head on a pike.

Not like I enjoy elevators, anyway.

Taking the stairs is no hassle for me. I’m used to running around from when I worked for KDL Foods, so I’ve barely broken a sweat by the time I reach the seventh floor. I walk into the room that is supposed to be my office only to be greeted by a lanky, pale-faced man.

"Cynthia!" The man who ushered me and Jonathon inside yesterday looks beyond thrilled. He grabs my hand, shaking it enthusiastically.

"I’m Gerald, Mr. Moore’s assistant. I’m just going to be here today to show you around and explain things to you. I’m so glad Mr. Moore found you. I don’t know if you remember, but we met at a conference a few years ago."

I blink. "Sorry. I’ve been to multiple conferences, but I’m sure we must have. I’m usually very tired at those things."

He doesn’t seem offended in the least. "Don’t worry. You’re going to be exhausted here. Mr. Moore is a hard taskmaster. He has a thing for perfection."

"I see." I look around. "And where will you be going?"

"I’m shifting to the finance department," Gerald beams. "Now, here’s your station. I’ll show you our current projects and then show you around the building because you will have to coordinate with all the departments. Make sure you get on their good side. Until now, they all felt sorry for me, so I never had any problems, but you’re going to be a different story."

"What do you mean?" I shoot him an alarmed look.

He smiles, not a hint of concern for me in his voice. "You’re young, beautiful, and Mr. Moore’s personal assistant. The same Mr. Moore who is considered to be one of the most eligible bachelors within the pack and outside of it. A lot of females will not be happy about this development."

I glance at him, recalling the incident in front of the elevator this morning. "Well, that’s not good."

Gerald laughs. "No, it is not."

However, my wolf feels annoyed for some reason. Is it because we’re supposed to be fated mates? The idea of other women eyeing Adam makes me want to grind my teeth.

Gerald is still chuckling, however, and he doesn’t offer any advice to deal with my current predicament. We also don’t have much time, so he gives me a rundown of his filing system, the current client list, and projects being worked on. I wonder if it is really okay for me to see all this. Isn’t Adam concerned I might hand over all this important information to Jonathon?

I won’t because I won’t do anything to hurt Adam. It’s a shocking realization, and it hits me like a ton of bricks. I don’t want to do anything that would cause Adam harm or disappoint him. So even if Jonathon asked me for his client list and all these numbers, I would not hand them over. And if I did, I would fudge it all up so he gets next to nothing.

After Gerald gives me a tour of the building, I’m quick to realize he’s right. The hostile looks being aimed my way are going to be a problem. But as long as I keep my head down and mind my own business, it shouldn’t be a big one. However, I’m proven wrong two days later.

Working with Adam means I have to be on my toes at all times. While that by itself isn’t a huge deal, Adam is always working.

"Get this to Sharon in marketing." He tosses me a file, and I catch it mid-air. He looks stressed out, and he should be since the marketing for one of his products is way behind and the launch is next week. "Tell her to draw up a launch plan and show me by the end of the day."

He’s removed his jacket and tie at this point, and his dark hair is standing up now because of how many times he’s run his fingers through it. "I also need the finance report on the Mercury company’s project and the survey results."

He looks up when I don’t answer. "You’ll have to go to the finance department on the second floor and the data analysis department on the fourth floor."

"Got it." I hurry to the marketing department. Each department gets one floor, and as soon as I walk onto the floor, I see a few females eyeing me. I ignore them. Making my way to the head of the marketing department, Sharon Wheeler, I knock on her door.

"Come in," she calls out.

I walk in and see a pretty brunette talking to someone.

She studies me, and I introduce myself. "Director Wheeler, I’m Cynthia Rose, Mr. Moore’s PA. He wants you to come up with a launch plan by the end of the day for this product."

I hand her the file, and when she just stares at me, I begin to feel uncomfortable. I place it on her desk and she says sharply, "Did I tell you to put it there?"

"No, but I––"

She picks up the file and throws it at my feet. "I have a lot of work to do. The meeting for this launch is in two days. Don’t try to be proactive. It won’t be getting you any brownie points."

It’s hard to control my temper when she’s talking to me like this. However, I force my tone to remain polite. "I understand that, but Mr. Moore––"

"Next time you want to see me, book an appointment. I don’t have time for any Tom, Dick, and Harry. Rachel, show her out."

I have no choice but to pick up the file from the floor as I’m basically shoved out of the office.

I hear a few titters, and my face flushes as I pick up the two papers that fell out of the file and flew outside the door. I turn around, but the door slams in my face.

Closing my eyes, I breathe to ten to calm myself.

I’m not getting past that door for now, so I had better deal with the other tasks and then come back. I make my way to the other departments, but I’m forced to wait one hour for the Director of Analysis, and when he does show up, he tells me his assistant will send me the data. His assistant, however, gives me the evil eye and tells me she’ll get around to it when she does, and if I’m in so much of a rush, then I should figure out a way to carry out the analysis myself. The finance department head is a female, and she refuses to give me the time of day, much like Sharon. I go back to the marketing department but end up having to wait forty-five minutes before being informed that Director Wheeler is too busy right now.

I return to my desk, discouraged and angry. I peek in at Adam, who is pacing his office, talking to someone on the phone. I quickly brew him a cup of chamomile tea and leave it at his desk. He goes through far too much coffee a day. Some soothing tea will be good for him. My wolf is satisfied at having taken care of him, and I head to my own desk to deal with this mess.

It’s clear that no one will work with me. My eyes harden.

If they want to give me a tough time, then I also know how to play hardball.

I send out an email to the directors and screenshot the emails. I have a feeling these screenshots will come in handy. This is a place of business, not a children’s playground. Rolling up my sleeves, I prepare myself a cup of tea as well and get to work. I’ve worked alongside different departments and know how the work is done. Downloading the software onto my laptop, I send an email to Gerald, asking him how to access the raw data on the surveys and the previous finance reports, and the data for the current project. He replies fairly quickly with a mild apology. So he knows what just happened.

I get to work.

I first deal with the analysis. Running the numbers in, I let the system do its job while I work on compiling the finance report. I go through the previous ones and extract what I need. When lunchtime arrives, Adam steps out of his office. "Lunch?"

I don’t bother lifting my head from my work. "Not right now."

"What’re you working on?" He approaches my desk. I don’t stop him from looking and he frowns. "Why’re you working on these? I told you to––"

"They don’t want to do it. I was kicked out of their offices," I say calmly.

"Cynthia," Adam begins, and this time I look up at him, my expression steady.

"They are underestimating me. Let them. All this is not new to me. I’ve worked in all of these departments before. I know how things are done."

When he opens his mouth, I frown. "Let me handle this, please. This is my area of expertise."

Adam doesn’t look pleased but just nods. "Fine. I trust you."

His words hit me right in the heart, and as I stare at him, he smiles. "What? Nobody ever told you they trusted you?"

"No," I respond simply. "It’s a nice thing to hear."

He leans down and kisses the top of my head. My wolf rolls over, happy.

"I’ll order some lunch and we’ll work together."

He gets us Chinese food and brings his work to my office, sprawling on the couch, working away on his laptop while we both eat. The day draws to an end by the time I’m done.

"I’m emailing you the reports," I tell him. "And the marketing launch plan. I’ve come up with three plans, and details are attached to all of them. They’re fine-tuned, no rough drafts. You can take a look. I’ll print––"

"That’s enough." Adam takes me by the arms. "I’ve been watching you work like crazy. I’m sure everything will be fine. I’ll drop you home."

"Tony will drop me. He’s outside," I tell him. "You still have work to do, and you have a meeting."

I pack up my things and am about to pick up my laptop when I hesitate. I look over to see Adam watching me, and I give him a small smile. "I’m going to leave this here."

He doesn’t tell me to take it, and there’s a small sting in my heart, but I know he has to protect his company and my loyalty is still to Jonathon.

As I head downstairs, my heart feels a little heavy.

He says he trusts me, but I know that’s not true. His reasons are fair, but at the same time, they don’t hurt any less.