CHAPTER THREE
LETTIE
Two weeks.
Two bizarrely normal weeks.
Needless to say, I got the job. It wasn’t hard once I watched two applicants go in perfectly normal and come out in restraints screaming their undying love for Mr. Apocalos. So after yet another gentleman, the one just before me, ran out crying hysterically, and the man behind the wall bellowed for his kindly old secretary… my remaining competition decided to cut their losses and apply for the mail room instead. By the time Mr. Apocalos stormed out and his secretary rejoined us, I was the only one left. Ms. Higgins turned to me and said, “You’re hired, toots. You start at 8.00 a.m. on Monday.”
I had spent my first weekend packing away the last of my office at the library, since I never planned to return. I’d hoped to make it a quick trip, but my asshole older brother, James, cornered me as I was coming in. He spent the next four hours belittling me and forcing me to memorize the layout of the Victory building, only leaving when my father summoned him; otherwise, I was sure he would have loved prolonging my torture.
Seconds after he left, and in case he decided to return, I booked it out of there with the last of my stuff and went home as quickly as possible. I would have liked to have seen Liam before I’d left, but with him as Lord Decay’s lapdog that wasn’t happening without a formal request. At least that was what I was told by the guards on my last attempt. God, it hurt. I felt like I was failing my mom and Liam, but once I knew it was safe, that I could trust the Horsemen with what I’d learned, I would start making plans to get Liam back.
On the third week at my new job, mid-Monday morning, Ms. Higgins asked, while covering the mouthpiece to the phone headset, “Did you fax the quarterly profit estimate Connor dropped off last night to that hardass Henderson?”
“Yes. I did it this morning,” I answered with a nod. I’d learned the Henderson account was one of HHF’s, Horsemen Hedge Funds’, largest accounts and their biggest headache. Hubert Henderson, most likely grumpy since the day his parents named him Hubert, was a hardass, as Ms. Higgins proclaimed. This account is exactly the type of information Lord Decay and the Council want to help cut the Horsemen’s funds. Too bad I’m never going to give it to them. Mr. Henderson called in weekly for progress reports on his accounts. Even though it was only early on the first day of the five-day period in which his quarterly report was required, he’d already called four times. The first three times, I had assured his secretary it was already sent; this time they got Ms. Higgins instead.
“Cindy, put Hubert’s ass on the phone. I am done with this shit.” Oh man, it wasn’t even lunch and Ms. Higgins had hit her limit. “Hubert, zip it and turn on your damn ears, ’cause if some dumbass calls from your office one more time asking for shit we sent hours ago, I swear to all that is holy I will cut your accounts. Trust me when I say Connor will thank me. No other firm will pick you up if you’re dropped by HHF before your contract is up. They will know you’re a problem child and no amount of money is worth that. So I suggest you get off your goddamn ass for once in your overindulgent life and toddle your wide load over to the freaking fax machine that no one in that office can seem to find. I also recommend you not call this office again unless it’s to pull your accounts, otherwise you will receive your quarterlies as contracted, and may make an appointment after to discuss shifting assets.” With that, Ms. Higgins slammed the phone down with such force I jumped. “I fucking hate Mondays,” she mumbled before moving on to the next task.
Thankfully the rest of the day went relatively smoothly. My job was not too hard. I was basically Ms. Higgins’s secretary. My desk and hers flanked the door to Mr. Apocalos’s office like we were the gatekeepers. I answered the phone, responded to routine e-mails, arranged meetings, filed and retrieved documents as she needed them…. Really, anything she needed I did, and happily. Ms. Higgins was like no one I had ever known—loud, strong, sometimes rude or crude, but in a loving, teasing way. She was a badass and I wanted to be more like her. I found myself thinking at times WWMHD—What Would Ms. Higgins Do? I never thought I would find a place that made me as happy and comfortable as my library had before Lord Decay showed again, but those last two weeks away from under the thumb of the Order had been the happiest I had ever experienced. That was till I remembered it was all a lie.
My father and older brother had been calling daily for updates. I wasn’t answering, and the voice mails had become increasingly nasty. My time was running out, and the problem was I had yet to actually meet a Horseman. Except to see Conquest’s sexy backside angrily striding away during my hiring process, none of them had come up to the office, nor had he returned during business hours. I was at a bit of a loss as to what my next step should be.
Sighing at my own hopelessness, I decide it was time to call it a day. Closing down my workstation, I glanced at the clock and muttered, “No wonder I’m so damn hungry. It’s 7:45 p.m.?” As if to answer my question, my stomach sounded off a loud growl. Guess I’ll be stopping for dinner on the way home. I grabbed my bag and started toward the elevator. I had my head down, both hands digging in my bag for my keys, which was why I never saw coming the wall that knocked me on my ass.
It wasn’t a wall I ran into at all, unless they’d started sprouting legs encased in motorcycle boots and jeans. Damn it, I’m a klutz! Embarrassed, I started to gather the few things that had scattered out of my bag without looking up—till he spoke. “Shit, sorry. I wasn’t even looking.”
My head snapped back almost painfully as I glanced up, and up, and up—damn, he was tall—to the face of the one and only Connor Apocalos.
My eyes widened and my body shivered.
I had grown up knowing of the Horsemen, about how they were all handsome. Even Lord Decay, if you looked beyond the obvious icky stuff, you could see he was once good-looking, but Conquest was always the most gorgeous to me. Also the most visible, especially with the birth of social media; before that, I would see the surveillance photos of all four brothers from time to time in my father’s office. Connor had become the fodder to many fantasies, even as I got older and learned exactly what a manwhore he was.
But as I stared into his eyes in person, my heart did a painful twist in my chest. He was almost too beautiful to be real.
Dropping my gaze allowed me to regain a bit of my composure. “It was my fault. I was rushing and not paying attention, Mr. Apocalos.” Still a tad winded from the fall—and man in front of me taking my breath away—I put the last item into my bag and stood to introduce myself. This was my chance, the moment I needed desperately, and I was screwing it up. Gathering my courage, I slowly brought my eyes back to his, enjoying the journey as I went. Up the well-worn, loose hang-on-the-hips jeans, to the When The Zombies Come I’m So Tripping You graphic T-shirt, back to his fine-looking face that was currently gaping at me like a fish out of water.
Er… okay. Not the reaction I normally get from an apology.
“I’m Nicolette. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Well, at least he managed to shake the hand I held out while I introduced myself, but he still said nothing, only stared at me with what looked like a mix of awe and the need to vomit.
Geez, I know I’m not as hot as the girls he’s mostly around, but I know I’m not vomit worthy.
“I have to go!” my boss—the man I had had a crush on since I was seven years old, aka Conquest of the mighty Five Horsemen of legend—shouted in a girly squeak before taking off for the stairs.