Crap.

Crap, crap, crap.

I strode out of Aiden Winters’s office, ignoring the curious glances of his executive assistants, and pressed the button for the elevator with a steady hand. No one watching would suspect that I was a breath away from completely freaking out. I stepped into the empty elevator and held the half smile on my lips until the door slid shut.

Then I collapsed into the corner, pressing my hot cheek to the cool metal wall, and tried not to hyperventilate.

He knew. There wasn’t a question in my mind. Aiden Winters knew I was there under false pretenses. He knew I was up to something. He probably knew my name wasn’t Violet Hartwell.

And he hadn’t fired me. Instead, he’d moved me to a position where he could keep an eye on me.

Crap.

As the elevator slid down, floor by floor, I wracked my brain for any reason Aiden might have for giving me such a coveted job. None of them were good.

He wanted to catch me in the act.

He wanted to figure out why I was there.

The elevator doors slid open and I fixed my customary, cool half smile on my face. Just because I was on the edge of a panic attack didn’t mean anyone else had to know. I made it down the hall and around the corner to my tiny office without anyone stopping me. I usually worked with my door open, but today I closed it firmly before dropping into my desk chair.

The only sensible choice was to quit.

I should pack up my desk, go home, and never come back. My plan had been a little crazy to begin with. This was so totally unlike me, I could hardly believe what I’d done when I’d applied for the job. And when Carlisle had hired me, I’d accepted before I could think better of it.

I’d just been so angry. Aiden Winters, and Winters Incorporated, had stolen Chase’s company. And they were going to give it back. I just had to figure out how to force Aiden’s hand. Somewhere around here there had to be something, some evidence of his misdeeds, proof of the kind of man he really was.

And when I had it, I’d use that proof to force Aiden to give Chase his company back.

I squeezed my eyes shut tight and rolled my head back. When I opened them, I was staring at the ceiling, squinting a little at the fluorescent light above and wondering how the hell I ever thought my plan was going to work. Had I imagined Aiden Winters would leave his diary laying out on his desk, open to a page about other companies he’d stolen or a confession that he’d cheated on his taxes?

No, I wasn’t that naïve. But I’d figured that once I got into his email I’d find something. No one was completely innocent. People were rarely what they seemed to be. If I’d had any illusions about the world of business, I’d lost them after my first job. Still, I hadn’t thought it would be this hard to dig up a little dirt on Aiden Winters.

I was running out of time. Chase would be home from his consulting job in a matter of weeks, and if he found out what I was up to…I wasn’t going to think about that.

If I were smart, I’d cut my losses and get the heck out of here. I’d been holding my own in Carlisle’s department, my inadequate skills in project management and data mining bolstered by the time I’d spent working for Chase before Winters, Inc. had cheated him out of his company.

This was not my dream job. I was a bookkeeper, and I liked it. I missed my smooth, clean columns of numbers, familiar software. I missed sorting receipts and tracking down errant payments and bills. I didn’t want to be a project manager, and I absolutely didn’t want to be Aiden Winters’s executive assistant.

I should quit. Go home and start putting out résumés for a real job. One I was qualified for. A job that didn’t have the potential to land me in jail if I got caught breaking into confidential files or hacking email.

A brisk knock sounded on my door and I let out a barely audible eep before pulling myself together and turning my chair to see my supervisor, Carlisle, in the open doorway.

“So, how did it go?” he asked.

“Mr. Winters offered me a position as his fifth executive assistant,” I said, smoothing my skirt over my knees. “He said you recommended me.”

“I did, though I have to admit I was hoping he’d pick someone else. You’ve been an asset to this department. We’ll be sorry to lose you.”

“Thank you. It’s going to be an adjustment.”

Carlisle gave a slow nod, and I didn’t miss the speculation in his eyes. I couldn’t tell him that I didn’t want to take the job, and he was too polite to point out that I wasn’t qualified for it in the first place.

I was sure he wanted to ask what was going on, but my stiff, formal demeanor held him back. I wasn’t friendly or easy-going. Not in general, and especially not in the office.

Friendliness was not a quality prized in our household when I was growing up. Composure was our highest ideal. Never reveal emotion. Never let anyone know what you’re thinking. Hide your flaws and show only perfection.

Carlisle was a nice guy from what I’d seen, and I wanted to confide in him. Not about my true reason for taking the job. I wasn’t an idiot. I wanted to tell him that I was intimidated by Aiden Winters and afraid I wouldn’t be up for the task, and that I’d really rather stay exactly where I was.

Except I couldn’t say any of that.

First of all, because that kind of confession was so far from my normal behavior I suspected if I opened my mouth to speak no sound would come out.

And second, because if I did manage to confide in my supervisor, and if he did feel sorry for me and intercede on my behalf, Aiden would tell him I was an imposter and kick me out on my ass.

I was on my own, and if I had any hope of succeeding at my task I had to keep cool and stay focused.

So Aiden wanted to keep an eye on me?

Let him.

I’d figure out a way to work around him.

No man with that much power, that much money, could truly be a good person. I’d met enough men like him to know the truth. He could be compromised. I just had to keep looking for a way in.

I let a detached, polite smile curve my mouth. “I have an appointment with HR in two hours, but before I leave I’ll make sure I put together a summary of my current projects so whoever steps in will be up to date.”

Carlisle’s eyes flicked away for a long moment before they met mine. “That would be helpful. I’m assuming he wants you to start tomorrow.”

“He does,” I confirmed.

“Violet,” Carlisle said. I raised my eyebrows and looked up at him expectantly. He opened his mouth to speak, then snapped it shut. When he opened it again, he only said, “Stay on your toes with Winters. This is…unusual. You’ve been a hard worker and like I said, I’m sorry to lose you. Just stay alert, that’s all.”

“Is there something I should know?” I asked. I didn’t like his hesitation or his concern.

Carlisle let out a huff of air and shook his head. “Not exactly, it’s just that Winters’s assistants are known for being cutthroat. Territorial. I know you can take care of yourself, but just keep an eye out, okay?”

“Of course,” I said, coolly, my heart sinking.

Great.

Perfect.

So now I didn’t just have to deal with Aiden Winters, I’d also have to fend off his rabid pack of executive assistants.

“Good luck, Violet,” Carlisle said, before smacking his hand against my doorframe twice and shutting the door behind him.

Good luck.

I had a feeling I was going to need it.

The meeting with HR took over an hour. I signed papers and nodded along as I was updated on the changes to my salary, benefits, and title. By the time I got back to my desk, a headache was brewing behind my eyes. I ignored it and settled in to finish updating my project notes.

Again, I thought wistfully of my old job in the accounting department at CD4 Analytics, before Aiden Winters had cheated Chase out of his company and kicked him to the curb. Every single employee had been fired. Aiden had wanted Chase’s technology and his contracts. The rest—the people, the years Chase had spent building CD4—none of that had mattered to Aiden Winters.

I’d loved that job, but it was gone, and if I walked out of this office and looked for another one like it, I’d lose my chance to get Chase his company back. I owed him too much to give up now.

It was well past dinner when I finished wrapping up the details of my project management work. Before I left for the day, I decided to take another trip through Aiden’s emails. Maybe I’d get lucky and find something.

After an hour of scanning through endless communications about acquisitions, employee issues, budgets, and spreadsheets, my head was killing me, and I was no closer to finding dirt on Aiden Winters than I had been my first day on the job.

I knew his business emails were succinct, direct, and always on-topic. He didn’t share off-color jokes or make inappropriate comments. He didn’t forward questionable emails and when he received an email with any of the above, his reply promptly shut it down and brought the discussion back on track.

Only in his messages to his family did his professional composure fall away. There he never hesitated to joke, tease, or bust someone’s chops. It was clear that he loved his family, and despite the long hours he worked, they seemed close. If I’d hoped his banter with any of them would give me the smoking gun I needed, so far I’d been disappointed.

My stomach twisting with hunger, I retrieved the empty box I’d grabbed from the copy room and packed the meager personal contents of my desk. My favorite red stapler I brought with me to every job. My coffee mug. The cactus Chase had given me for my birthday the year before, saying it reminded him of me: prickly on the outside, protecting my soft insides.

Most people who knew me would laugh at that description. Not the prickly part. They’d tell you I was anything but soft. I’d been called a lot of names—ice queen, frigid, you can probably guess the rest. Never soft.

Only Chase really knew me and that was fine. I wasn’t looking to make friends. Especially not here. Not at this job.

I slung my purse over my shoulder, hefted the half-full box in my arms. The rest of the floor was deserted when I made my way to the elevator. I pressed the button, expecting a short wait. I stood there, staring up at the number ten illuminated above my head. The executive floor.

Maybe I should take the stairs.

I considered hiking my way down seven floors in these heels, carrying a box. It had been a long day. My head was killing me, I was dying for food, and the last thing I wanted was to negotiate seven flights of stairs in four-inch heels. I just wanted to go home, have a glass of wine with my leftover spaghetti, and binge watch some TV.

Before I had a chance to make a decision about the stairs, the whir of the elevator sounded through the closed doors. The light above moved from ten to nine to eight. Seven had barely illuminated when the doors slid open to reveal Aiden Winters, his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the back wall. He didn’t look surprised to see me.