“I heard she performs stripteases for him once we’ve all gone home. Those glasses don’t fool anybody! They’re always on top of her head aren’t they?” The strident voice of a female came to Lily as she slowed just before the doorway to the breakroom. “I think we all know Lily only wears those glasses to give off that 'hot librarian' vibe.”

The voice sounded so mean, so sure, that Lily reached to feel the comforting weight of the black plastic-rimmed glasses on top of her head. Marissa was at it again then, starting her usual office rumors at Lily’s expense. Lily sighed, starting to turn the corner when a quieter, less smoke-influenced voice rang out like a bell in the quiet of the breakroom after Marissa’s snide remarks.

“You can think what you like, Marissa, but Lily has saved me from that man on more than one occasion. I think we all owe her a debt of gratitude at the very least. She takes the brunt of his anger most of the time, for us.” Beth, sweet typical Beth, sticking up for Lily.

Lily smiled and waited for Marissa’s response, pretending to answer a text message as the women inside continued to speak.

“Oh, that’s some nerve coming from the mouse of the company! Wow! You’re really sticking up for the Ice Princess?” Marissa didn’t sound too pleased.

Of course, she wouldn’t, Lily knew. Marissa was a bully and had been from day one. Lily wanted to have the woman fired but knew that would only kindle the flame of the company rumor mill. Even if the main source of the rumors went with Marissa.

“You’re just a gossip, Marissa, and it is high time somebody told you. You know, I don’t think I like you very much. Not very much at all.” Beth sounded quite positive about something she said she wasn’t sure about.

Smiling to herself, Lily finally walked into the breakroom, mainly to keep Marissa from jumping down Beth’s delicate little throat. The small woman was barely five feet tall and finely boned. Marissa would eat her for lunch if she took a notion to.

“Good afternoon, ladies.” Lily headed to the shared refrigerator to take out a bottle of apple juice and a yogurt, going to a corner table without speaking another word.

The women murmured polite greetings before picking up their phones and going quiet. Lily had greeted them with her normal frost, not letting on at all that she knew they had been talking about her. Again.

It was typical behavior after working with the man that owned the company for so long. The fact that the company operated on the top floor of one of the tallest buildings in the city was irrelevant, the women still gossiped as though it were a small firm. Touching her glasses once more, Lily adjusted the frames and considered the matter.

She wore glasses because she often had to trade them for the contacts she wore. She could see without either but the world became blurry and soft without the lenses. Her contacts would often aggravate her by drying out, no matter how often she used eye drops, so she’d trade them for the glasses. Wearing her glasses on her head had become a habit in college and she hadn’t lost it down the years. How very like Marissa to think it was an affectation.

Sipping her juice and pulling the lid from her black cherry yogurt, Lily contemplated the two women. Beth was the office Renaissance Faire Queen and always had flowers in her long red hair. She wore a lot of flowing green dresses that bordered on the edge of being too much but never quite went over the precipice. Marissa was taller, heavier, and ostentatious in her sexuality.

The gossip often wore tight dress suits that were just a little too short and far too form-fitting. Marissa liked to show off her cleavage and the work of her nail artist as she got close to the male employees, her fingers often trailing down ties as her eyes stared at the poor male caught in her dark brown gaze. It had taken Lily two months to realize her pupils were just a very dark brown and not in fact black.

Sex on well-defined legs, Marissa liked to spread rumors but she was often the butt of those same kinds of rumors. The difference, and the main reason Lily felt little sympathy for her, was that Lily acted above reproach, Marissa did all she could to fuel the flames.

A buzz from her smartphone had Lily looking down as she saw her employer’s face flashing on her screen.

“Hello?” Her voice was calm, collected, business-like as usual, not revealing the aggravation she felt while side-eyeing Marissa.

“Lily! Great, you have not gone out for your break. We’ll be working late tonight, I need to go over a few things with you.” His voice was quiet, as though he were whispering to her, for her alone.

Lily felt her pulse race for a moment. James wanted her to come to his house, not an unusual occurrence but one that always sent her brain into overdrive, seeding thoughts into places she’d rather not allow it to go to. She also ignored how James didn’t ask her if she’d be willing to work late or come to his house.

James was an important man; she was only his secretary and not in a position to make too many demands. She did whatever he asked of her, in most situations. The fact that she’d an infatuation with him didn’t matter in the least, she was only doing her duty to him.

Smothering the instant leap of her pulse, Lily plastered a smile on her face despite the fact James couldn’t see her. Always present a happy front, she reminded herself.

“Of course, James. Shall I bring dinner?” Lily realized her mistake as soon as she glanced over at Marissa and Beth.

Marissa was winking at Beth with a twisted, knowing smile, her head shaking as though to say she knew she’d been right. Looking away, Lily stopped herself from closing her eyes in frustration. It would only fuel Marissa’s self-righteous smugness and the rumor she was no doubt dying to spread.

“If you want,” his tone off-hand, not caring either way. Lily felt her smile slip a fraction but corrected it before replying.

“Right then, leave it to me. I’ll take care of it all.” She didn’t want to say any more than that; it would only add credence to Marissa’s dark assumptions.

“Right.” The line went dead as James hung up the phone without even saying goodbye.

“Of course, James. ‘Bye.” Lily pretended he’d not just hung up on her callously before putting her phone down.

Lily was a professional in all matters, but she’d some pride. She could deal with office rumors; she could deal with the smug hatred of women like Marissa that thought women could only succeed in the business world by trading their sexuality for position. She could even deal with how rude James could be to her sometimes. What she couldn’t stand was having her pride kicked in front of others. Privately was one thing, publicly was a completely different matter.

But, this was James Dominick; she would cover for him, as she usually did. She would take the heat for him, and let others think whatever they wanted to think. It simply was not her concern.

With a lift of her head, she tossed her empty juice bottle and yogurt cup into the trash, and walked out of the breakroom with her head held high. Marissa could think all of the nasty things she wanted to, it only showed what kind of person she was. With an extra bit of confidence in her high-heeled step, Lily walked out of the room and left the women, and their gossip, behind.

* * *

“Just a few more things, I promise.” Lily flashed a smile up at James as she filed the last handwritten correspondence into a folder. She’d type them up and send them early tomorrow before anyone was in the office. Pushing her slipping glasses back up her nose, Lily waited as James looked up.

“Don’t apologize.” James’s voice was deep, tolerant, amused; a far cry from the man who’d hung up on her without a thought only hours before. Her pulse quickened as he took the black-framed glasses he only wore at home off of his face to look at her. She would never admit it but their frames were the exact same brand, only hers were for women, his for men. He seemed to have noticed the similarities in their choice of eyewear so she kept it to herself, a secret that made her smile when she thought about it.

“You’re the one who had to go out of your way to finish things up. You should be in your own home with a glass of wine and your feet up.”

He sounded pleased, with a hint of concern, and that made it all worthwhile. She wouldn’t point out that she’d not actually apologized, she decided, as he gave her his beautiful white smile. As far as she knew, the man never stopped working. The lunches she brought him when he worked from home were usually uneaten when she came to check on him a few hours later. He often beat even Lily to the office, and he stayed late.

She also knew from emails he received that even when he went home, he was still thinking of his business ventures. Then there were the times like now, when he called her to his house to work on correspondence or other tasks that happened after business hours. He might tell her to take time off, but she knew he was glad to have someone as devoted as he was. She sensed he got lonely sometimes.

Not that he would ever admit it. James was one of the premier businessmen in the world. His reach stretched into energy, food, and cloud computing, commodities…anything and everything she could imagine, he did. He thrived on his success, and he was far too stubborn to admit anything else might be lacking. Too stubborn and too ruthless. James never hesitated to sacrifice anything that would ensure his success—and until he could, Lily knew he would never be able to have a relationship.

She’d never told him, but she liked to think she was slowly changing him. When she first came to his office, she’d been a secretary for one of the most junior staff, and everyone had been terrified of him. So terrifying was Lily’s boss that she was often sent to be the bearer of bad news; seeing how scared they all were, she couldn’t bring herself to insist they do it themselves. And when James yelled at her and told her just what to say to them when she went back, she’d done the inadvisable: told him they were scared of him, that it wasn’t good management policy, and he should be nicer to them all.

Being a bad boy in business, a man that took chances and pushed the envelope was fine in business deals, but it was terrible for human resources management. Lily took a chance that day and told him how it was, quietly shivering in her high-heeled shoes as sweat trickled coolly down the heated nape of her neck. James had stared at her, mouth agape, the flare of defiance in his eyes making her shrink as she began to imagine all of the things he could reply.

“You’re right. I’ll make a note of it.” His words had been the very last ones she’d expected. Yet, he’d been man enough to admit it.

She’d been his secretary ever since, and if a few cynical people complained that it was just to make his image better without having to change at all, she liked to think he saw the value in it. He’d even wished her a Merry Christmas this year, which was something she couldn’t imagine when she began working for him. He was making progress and she knew it was all down to her efforts.

And she…well, Lily didn’t like to think about her own life. Everything had been going so well lately: business contracts falling into place with eerie precision, her apartment clean and cozy, a new satin nightgown…

She’d to buy it when she saw the silky-smooth confection in the mall. James had sent her to buy a new tie to replace the one he’d spilled ink on. He’d often told her to buy herself something with the company credit card, often hinted he’d like her to buy herself something he might like to see her in, but she’d always taken it as light teasing.

She would replay those teasing flirtations to herself late at night when the day had been too stressful or some little slight at work had hurt her feelings. In her mind, she could see perfectly the slight tilt of his grin, the way it lifted higher on the right than on the left. She could hear his deep voice and the way it rumbled, making her body tighten in response. That was why she’d bought the gown. He’d started making those flirting comments more often than before and she secretly hoped, even if she’d never say it out loud, that soon James would take it further.

The peach confection of silk and lace had caught her eye from the start, and had filled her with longing for both her out-of-reach boss and the gown. Even now, sitting so close her knees would brush his if she moved just right, she thought of the material bunched in his powerful hands as he drew it up her thighs, their lips hovering only centimeters apart as they debated internally about finally unleashing their passion.

Her pulse raced and her cheeks flushed as the image filled her mind and she closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the sweet thrill that coursed through her long untouched body. It could happen, he could make all of her fantasies come true, if he’d only just take a minute for himself and push away the drive to be the world’s best at everything he did.

They could have a perfect life together; she’d make the perfect partner for him. If only. If only he’d realize she was right in front of him, more than just his secretary, with a longing to be even more than that. She wanted to be his everything, but those words would never cross her lips, not without some prompting from him.

It would have to be more than just the occasional light teasing he tormented her with so expertly now. He knew just when she needed teasing to push her on, and he knew when to withdraw from her to get the response he desired. She’d often seen him eyeing her critically but she didn’t know whether that was because he wanted more from her as his secretary or as a woman. Or if he was just deciding which tact to take with her to get what he wanted out of her.

Lily tried to smother a sigh, she just wanted his love and to love him in return. He needed affection in his life. To be touched and caressed, and she could give him those things, if only he’d allow himself to take those precious few moments for himself. She was realistic and knew her fantasies would likely never come true, and the nightgown, so virginal but so sensual, would forever hang unused in her closet.

It would remain the nightgown that no one ever got to see. Lily tried to shove the thoughts away, but for weeks she’d been looking at her neat little life—well-packed lunchboxes, pretty work clothes, perfectly-worded emails—and wondering if something was missing. She’d always done everything perfectly. Wasn’t it supposed to feel…better than this? She would find herself dreaming over a glass of white wine, about doing something reckless, something poorly-behaved. Something bold and daring, and beyond her normal behavior.

Something like daydreaming while at a one-on-one meeting with her boss, perhaps? She shook her head to clear it, realizing he’d been staring at her whilst she’d been staring off into nowhere.

“I’m sorry, did you say something?” She heard the nervous edge to her voice and cleared her throat.

She wondered what he saw when he stared at her as intently as he was doing now. The perfectly set French twist at the back of her head that showed off the gloss of her light brown hair? The perfect curve of her dark eyebrows and the way her honey brown eyes were delicately rimmed with the perfect shade of dark brown eyeliner? All perfect because she’d paid good money to learn the techniques needed to produce the results she’d wanted. That she knew he expected of his secretary.

“Lily? What are you daydreaming about?” His beautifully full lips quirked as his dark eyebrows twitched, giving him a boyishly amused smirk that made her heart beat faster for a moment.

“What? Don’t be ridiculous, I wasn’t…I…nothing, I was just thinking about something that happened at work today, that’s all.” She brushed his too intimate question aside as easily as she brushed her hair back into place, and straightened in her seat.

“Ah, it must have been something good then. Tell me about it?” He really seemed interested and for a moment she wanted to give in, to share a truly intimate moment with him as she told him about Marissa.

Lily looked into his imploring eyes and wanted to sink into his arms, to beg him to make it all slip away as he kissed her the way men kissed women in old black and white movies. She knew it would never happen though, and sat up even straighter in her chair as she gave a dismissive smile.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” She opened up the next folder and looked down at it, back to her professional self. “All right. I got a very strange email earlier today from a…Kenneth Watts.” She looked up and saw him go still.

“What did it say?” He asked without looking at her, his voice tight now, all signs of the tenderness of moments before gone.

Lily stiffened, his response totally unexpected and setting her on edge. Oh no, what had she done wrong?

“That he knows what you did. Frankly, it seems very much like some of the other emails you get. People are always angry about successful business deals, you know.” She tried to tempt him into a laugh or a smile, but he didn’t respond. For some reason, his jaw went tighter rather than softening.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?” He demanded, his hard hazel gaze pinning her to the chair.

“Because you were in meetings all day,” Lily protested, her left eyebrow raised. “You told me to interrupt you only if the transnational trade bill went through.”

“And it didn’t occur to you to look this man up?” His hand ran through his shock of longer dark brown hair. The perfect style, for the perfect businessman, long on top, short on the sides and back. All business. Always.

“No,” Lily said firmly, recognizing the downswing of his temper. “It didn’t. There was no reason for me to do so. Whatever you think I should know about this man—”

“When did the email come in?” Terse and hard, already thinking of a solution.

“Ten o’clock this morning.” She gave him the short answer he sought, knowing anything more would bring his irritation levels back up.

He swore. Not the answer he’d wanted, then.

“James, what on earth is going on?” She stared at him in consternation, becoming slightly irritated at his behavior.

“That man,” he said savagely, “has taken it upon himself to police the business world. He doesn’t like my deals. He wants to punish me for them.”

“It is hardly wrong to make business deals everyone agrees to,” Lily said gently. It was the refrain he used in such situations, and she felt confident that it would calm him. When he only looked at her bleakly, she felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. She knew. She knew he’d done something terrible, she just didn’t know what. “James, what did you do?”

“Nothing,” he hissed, his face hard and defiant.

She met his eyes, and he grimaced at her.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.” His words hurt her with their dismissive tone.

“I’m your secretary! I send all of your emails. I know your secrets.” I’m the woman that loves you, her mind whispered to him with defeat, the hurt in her eyes now.

“Not all of them.” His voice was clipped and he refused to meet her gaze.

“What on earth don’t you want me to know?”

“I—” But his phone buzzed, and his face went white when he looked at the screen. “I have to make a call.”

“But—”

He was already gone, taking the stairs two at a time. Lily slumped back, thinking furiously. Something about the email had seemed off to her. People normally railed at James in their emails, telling him that karma or God or luck would come to get him for what he’d done. She was used to ignoring those. This one, so short and chilling, had gotten her attention.

The door behind her opened so quietly she almost didn’t hear it at all. The key had been turned near-silently, and the door itself swung inwards with only the faintest creak. But at the creak, and a faint swirl of cold air, Lily felt the back of her neck prickle. Heart suddenly pounding, she turned, telling herself that it was the settling of the building and nothing more. But she knew, even before she turned and saw them, that danger had surrounded her in its dark embrace.

Three men in black stood there, heavily armed with their faces covered in dark knit face masks, staring her down.

Lily screamed. She ran for the kitchen, for the exit at the other end of the house, knowing that she couldn’t possibly outrun them and knowing she had to try anyway.

“James!” Her voice echoed up the stairs. She looked back and felt another prickle. They weren’t following her, the men with guns. They were just watching her go. Why?

The next second, she knew. She collided with a fourth as he stepped out of the shadows of the kitchen, her scream hastily covered by one black-gloved hand, arm twisted behind her and her body locked against her captor. She struggled, wishing like hell she’d worn pointy heels, and wishing as well that she’d started doing all the strength training she’d planned on this year. She was no match for this man; his muscles might well have been iron, for how little he moved at her struggles.

With a kind of hysterical clarity it occurred to her she’d not been pressed up against a man like this in years. She could feel the rock-hard muscles of his thighs, the flatness of his stomach, and the bulge of his bicep where he held her in place. Ice-blue eyes met hers with piercing clarity, and something stirred in their depths. A deep breath moved his hard chest…

“Search the house.” He spoke over her head, and then turned Lily forcibly, picked her up, and carried her back to the couch, his hand still pressed over her mouth. Lily made a strangled noise that was supposed to be, why? And his muscles tightened. “Don’t. Make. A Sound.” His breath stirred the hair by her ear.

She shivered, telling herself not to be stupid, that he was a hired thug, a man who would likely kill her sooner than bargain with her. What could she say to him anyway, what could she offer to someone that had broken in and taken her captive? For a moment she lost her train of thought as she felt the heat of his skin through both their clothes.

Lilly let herself escape for a moment in her mind, the fear was gone and replaced with an unexplainable responsive heat. It didn’t matter: her body was on fire and she couldn’t stop shaking. She was aware of where the buttons on her blouse had opened, and cold air caressed the heated skin of her breasts. She was very aware of his arm on her stomach, locking her in place, and her back pressed against his body where they sat together on the couch.

The man jerked her as she began to slump against him and Lily felt a moment of revulsion as she realized what she’d been thinking, of the way she’d reacted to the man, but she still couldn’t stop her brain from appreciating the scent of his cologne. It almost made her giggle hysterically as she realized the man had worn cologne to a break-in. Who did that?

The rest of them came downstairs a moment later, and Lily blinked. There were four now. Another one must have come in the windows, getting into James’s highly protected house so easily that she could barely breathe for terror. They’d been talking and these men had been coming for them, implacable and deadly…

“Well?” Her captor asked, and one of them shrugged his shoulders angrily.

“Safe room,” the other man said, muted anger running through his voice. “It’d take hours to get in there, and our call block will run out soon. We need to be out of here quick.” His gaze traveled over Lily.

“Who’s that?”

“Good question.” Her captor took his hand away. “Don’t scream.” The threat in his voice made her tremble in fear and her throat closed up. “Who are you?”

Who are you? Lily thought. I can’t think of my own name, who am I? More importantly, why is this happening?

“Lily McDermott. I’m Mr. Dominick’s secretary.” Her voice came out steadily but with a slight tremor and she lifted her head, staring off into space with indignation as she fell back on her normal response when she felt threatened. Cold and calculating. Do what it takes to get out of the situation.

The realization that she was these men’s, this man’s prisoner, suddenly came crashing down on her. What would they do next?

“Think she could talk him out?” One of the thugs asked, and the ringleader gave him a look that Lily couldn’t see.

“He left her here. In a word? No. But I think she could give him a good reason to change his mind on certain issues. Come on.” He started moving, dragging her toward the door.

“What?” Lily’s voice came out strangled this time, panic giving it a terrified edge.

“You’re coming with us,” the man said, as if it was simple. He released her, making her stagger and thrust her toward his second-in-command.

“But why?” Lily whispered. She twisted to look at him, and the second-in-command met her gaze with melting brown eyes. His voice, a pleasant alto, was almost regretful.

“Mr. Dominick will need to change his mind on a few things before he gets you back.”