mi

to mee

at the office, shoulders

mess the other day and had re

ht, A

gh his grief. It couldn't have been easy, losing the one thing you built your entire life around in a haze. So, I und

ilence. It was quiet, strangely quiet. Usually, the office

s sweaty. I drew in a drew breath, exhaled, delivering a knock on the door, but

s clean, his chair pushed in. It was

he office early. I doubted whether he had, at all, left, sin

of Elvis. I even checked the break room and t

looked e

n I heard a faint noise coming from the con

, my heart pounding,

I can sniff hi

, yo

d of the table, staring out the window. He looked lost

him cautiously, putting a foot right in front of the

h sadness. "I'm not sure," he said. "

et that he had been ignoring my calls.

nding. "Do you wan

. "I just need so

nd. "You're going to be okay,

ime ever, his smile didn't reach

ll be. You can g

k you, Camilla," he said. "Th

gured he'd need it to make him feel a little less worse than he

o," I said, my voice calm. "We're in this together, an

rm's gone," he said. "And then, well, you also get rope

one's getting roped into anything. I don't care t

his, but I'll mope over that later. Ri

prise, his brows furrow

, I don't care about the job.

e your job. You never lost your job. You

me, his exp

be your new boss," he said,

e went

ds? Still

re you okay

ef. "I mean, I get if you can't retain me as your assistant. I get that you have no use for me, since

is head, drawi

nfusion. "As a matter of fact, none of the staff will lose their job. Staff hiring is affiliated with the firm, not with a person,

d, stunned,

l of our employees. You're all goin

lieve what I

everything. The building, the employees... me. My eyes blinked, their movements

more than that. I wa

make sense of it all. Was

e now? Would he simply discard me, when he discovered my ident

stammered. "I can

n't have a choice, Camilla. H

I was going to have to work for the m

Elvis," I said

Camilla," he said. "He's a

"No, I can't. I c

have a choi

I do have a choice. I

s my nemesis. And he won. Okay, that's on me, but I'm not going to

e!" my min

escaped my lips. I was stunned. I couldn't

stammer out. "I'm not

l. The memories were still there, still painful. But I couldn'

ke the job. Camilla, you need this job. It's a great job. I mean, the pay's

ve it. This coul

unding in my chest. Elvis'

ed, my voice a little above a whisper.

la," h

t belie

my steps heavy. Elv

! Please

im, continu

him, everything I've sacrificed. He thinks I'm only after his approval? That I'm j

he said that. I

the cool breeze slap

voice rising in anger. "Can you,

sidering quitting, are y

rk for Stefano. It was like my mind was screaming in my ears, t

– it's everything you've ever wanted, even if it means working for the devil himself. You worked your ars

ce, of being under his control again, gave

d. "He owns the firm, so what? You do your job, you get paid. You can ha

terrible ta

for him. It would be nearly impossible to get another job as an assistant that was as well-paying

, "Am I willing

d cons of accepting the job. On the one hand, it would mean financial security. O

ook a deep breath. I h

ze. Fishing it out of my purse, I looked a

ath and answered the

ne. I could hear someone breathing heavily.

n, my voice growing

etting annoyed, irritated. "If you're not going

person spoke. "Don't you dare hang up on

stopped, and

o are you?" I asked, my voice tre

u really don't recognize

don't. Now,

t's me. You