Lily: Captive to the Dark

by Alaska Angelini

  He nodded and I forced a smile for him as I stepped onto the elevator car. The moment the doors shut, I let my shoulders sag, even if for the briefest moment. I trusted Zain to protect me, but I also knew I could be a distraction. He had a lot on his mind and his uncle wanted him dead. I wasn’t going to risk anything. Not concerning him.

  Ding.

  An empty room full of cubicles met me and I headed to the lounge to start the coffee. As I waited for it to be done, I could hear people beginning to file in. Some placed food in the fridge, keeping their heads down or gave a quiet hello, while others knew to avoid me altogether. Taking my time, I made a cup and headed to my office. The blinds were shut and I suddenly didn’t like it. I wanted to see Zain arrive. Watch him in an environment he’d never been in before. Slade’s questions had crept in and although I didn’t doubt that my Master would do more than excel, I felt fascinated to watch.

  Heads spun in my direction as everyone watched my room become nothing more than a window to view them out of. I could see the whispers, but I ignored them as I sipped my coffee. Patrice, my secretary, stepped off the elevator, a big smile on her face…until she saw me. The fast paced walk had her hurrying to my door. The knock was a quick succession of three raps.

  “Come in.”

  “Ms. Roberts, I was told you weren’t going to be back in for another few days.”

  I shrugged, placing my cup down on the desk and standing from the edge where I’d been sitting. “It was time I came back. What did I miss?”

  “Oh.” The word sounded overwhelmed. I held up my hand, having her pause in rushing from the office to her desk.

  “You know what, just bring me the messages. I’ll read through them, it’s not a big deal.”

  Her mouth shut and his eyes blinked a few times, as if she were lost. “Yes, Ms. Roberts.” She headed for her desk and I went back to watching the elevators. People came, some left. The room calmed while the constant hum of voices took over. Minutes ticked by while I took my time reading through the thick stack of notes Patrice had made. I knew the second my brother walked in. An eerie silence had me looking up in time to see Slade and Zain halfway to my office. The dark suit Zain wore sent my pulse skittering all over the place. The power he emanated couldn’t be mistaken. God, just seeing the way his eyes were intensely staring into mine made me melt. He looked ready to eat me alive and fuck if I didn’t want him to.

  Slade glanced at Patrice before opening my door. He stayed in the doorway, leaving Zain just outside. “If you need me, call. I’ll be giving the tour. Find out what you can on Volstin.”

  “I already have Rebecca’s number pulled up. I’ll give you a report here shortly.”

  “Great.” He stepped back, shutting the door behind him. As they headed down the hall toward Slade’s office, Zain’s eyes raked over my body and back up to mine. If I didn’t know better, I’d think me being in the position I was in turned him on. Not to mention what he’d told me about the desks…

  They disappeared and I started scanning the room. Damn, there were a lot of them. Did my Master see us sprawled out on each one? Him pounding his cock into my pussy, while he imagined the person unknowingly coming back to do their mundane work the next day? I shifted just thinking about it. The fantasy was so wrong, it should have put me off. Instead, I could feel myself getting wet.

  “Volstin,” I said, under my breath.

  It was time to get back to work. I knew nothing would happen today, but we had a long road at Slade Industries ahead of us. I had no doubt he’d prove to me just how serious he was over time.

  Chapter 40

  Zain

  What was a somewhat silent room turned into a frenzy of activity. Although people sat quietly in their cubicles, a handful of men and women from surrounding offices began swarming Lily’s room, only to rush out. Some held paperwork in their hands while others skimmed through their handheld devices. She pointed, she spoke, and they either hurried off or their fingers frantically moved to produce whatever she wanted.

  Fascinated, I tried to listen to Richard as he went over what I’d have to do.

  “You can find ‘input page’ here,” he said, hitting the icon. “Just add the figures in the boxes below. Make sure the numbers match up, that way you know you’re entering the right amount.”

  “Got it,” I said, under my breath.

  “I think that’s it. Pretty simple. Just let me know if you need any help.”

  I nodded, reaching out and shaking his hand. “You bet.”

  He walked to the next cubicle over and I lowered to the chair, thanking my lucky stars that mine gave me a view of Lily. She appeared calm and all of the others probably thought so, but the slight tension in her brow told me she was stressed. Her head shook and she let out a deep breath as she began to pace. It only caused the older man next to her to begin altering his tie.

  The light hum of her voice floated through and I grabbed the mouse, focusing in on it as best as I could.

  “That’s not right. Volstin was talking to Cal Corp.” Her head shook. “Get Aaron on the phone. I want dates. I want to know exactly when this happened.” The deepening tone at the end told me she was getting angry. Something wasn’t right with the account she and Slade had been talking about and it made it almost impossible to sit still. I wanted to help her figure it out, but I knew my place. Here, behind this desk, for probably the next few years. I didn’t have Lily’s schooling or experience. She’d been raised in this environment from Slade. She knew what she was doing.

  “His wife said he’s sick and can’t come to the phone right now.” The man looked downright terrified and I narrowed my eyes, not sure exactly why.

  “Sick? He’s sick?” Her voice was clipped. “He’s not sick, Willard, he’s quitting and taking over for Alec. Son of bitch. I was sure they’d give it to Winston. Okay, let me think.” Her hands came to her hips while she stalked the length of the room. “Give me the number from Cal Corp again. What are they offering?”

  As he spouted off some obscene amount, Lilian clenched her jaw. “We can’t do it. Fuck.” She paused mid-step. “Get Mr. Volstin on the phone.”

  “The owner?” he asked, quietly.

  “That’s right. You’re going to call and get him on the line for me.”

  “One minute. I’ll have to see if he can be contacted.”

  Lily’s eyebrow raised. “Oh, he can, and you’re going to make it happen.”

  The man rushed from the room and the moment he did, Lily reached up, holding her head and closing her eyes. The Master in me was desperate to do anything he could to relax her. She didn’t fare well under stress. Not with these new episodes. If she pushed too hard, it might put her right back into the past.

  “She’ll be fine,” Slade said, peering over the top of the cubicle. “Believe it or not, she needs this. Her being at home or anywhere else would only have her perseverating over what has happened. You being in her familiar environment will be the perfect solution. Just let Lily do her thing and you do yours. Do not, under any circumstance, leave this desk unless it’s time for you to. Understood?”

  “I know my place here,” I said, spinning back to the computer, but looking up at him. “Say, you want to go ring shopping with me later? I could use your advice.”

  His arm came up to rest over the top and he cocked his head. Anger flashed behind his eyes, but so did something else. Something I’d seen before. He wanted to like me. Wanted this to work. It was going to be up to me to show him it would.

  “You want me to go ring shopping with you? Does that mean I get to pick the date when you’ll be getting married, too?”

  “No, it just means that you get to help me wow her. I already know the date.”

  That had him standing taller. There was something about poking at Slade that I found all too fun, which was probably a stupid thing since he’d accepted me this much. “Do you, now? When?” The question was almost growled and I had to rein in my smile.

  “You�
��ll approve. I won’t rush this. Lily is more than worth waiting for. I’ve done it this long, what’s a little longer?”

  “Exactly. Keep that mindset. Now, back to work. We’ll talk ring shopping later.” Slade walked off and I let the smile I’d been holding in appear as I faced the screen. I’d win him over completely before it was over with. Taking our time seemed to be the watchword lately. It sure needed to get on our side.

  Numbers filled the screen and I looked down at the large stack of papers before me. Comfort settled within and I let my fingers move as I went down the page, entering them in. For something so simple, the amount of pleasure I received at knowing I’d be able to provide for my future wife left me happy. I was working a real job, or at least a legal one, for the first time in my life and it felt amazing.

  “Uh-oh. You ready? I give her five seconds.” A man’s voice had me breaking my stare from the monitor and turning to look at the white wall separating us.

  “Ten,” a woman said, laughing quietly.

  “Fifteen,” another man chimed in.

  The wheels on my chair let me slide back to the edge quietly and I was met with a row of heads looking my way. Or…Lily’s.

  “What are we betting on?” I asked, curiously.

  A red haired woman glanced at me and pointed to the left. Willard was leaning against the wall at the other side of the room, just inside the hallway. Sweat was beginning to show through under his arms on the long-sleeved shirt as he scrolled through his phone almost nervously. My attention went to Lily, who was pacing and looking at whatever paperwork she had in her hand.

  “What happens when the time is up?” I was almost afraid to find out. Was there a side of Lily I didn’t know? Surely not. I’d seen her in every mindset she held.

  The back of Willard’s hand brushed over his forehead and he straightened his tie, walking toward her door at a fast pace. When I looked back at the men and women from the cubicles, they were gone. I rolled to my desk and watched as Lily stopped in her tracks, looking up at him.

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Roberts, I wasn’t able to get ahold of him either. His secretary told me he’s not taking calls right now.”

  “He’s not taking calls?”

  Willard’s head shook quickly and he swallowed hard, once again reaching for his tie.

  “Did you tell them you were calling for Ms. Roberts from Slade Industries?”

  Willard’s mouth opened only to close. “Well…no. I…”

  One step. Two. Lily’s eyes narrowed and standing tall, she was level with his face. Her expression was one I couldn’t mistake. I knew that dominance. Her brother held the same air about him. She was intimidating as hell and my cock hardened as I ached to put her in her place.

  “Willard, who do you work for?”

  “You, Ms. Roberts.”

  “How long have you worked for me?”

  His head dropped and he looked back up, as if he’d been trying to think. “Almost a year.”

  “And you still haven’t learned? How many times do we have to have this conversation? When you make important calls at my request, you tell them who you are and who you work for. Me,” she snapped. “Do you understand how under the wire we are here? I don’t have time to go over this again. It’s every single time.” Each word was enunciated and she took a deep breath, walking to the phone.

  Willard’s fists flexed and I turned more in my chair. My pulse jumped as I kept all of my instincts ready. He was mad. That was clear. But I didn’t expect him to do much of anything. Then again, I wasn’t sure.

  “You know, maybe if you would have given us some time to prepare instead of taking vacation at the last second, we could have had everything ready for you. You always just come and go when you please.”

  Lily’s hand paused in reaching for the receiver and she slowly turned toward the man who had his chest puffed out. The room grew eerily silent around me. I had no doubt everyone was listening. Willard hadn’t shut the door and they weren’t necessarily talking quietly.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “You didn’t even put in for vacation. You just disappeared. If one of us did that, we’d be fired.”

  “Well, he’s toast,” someone whispered a few spaces over.

  Lily crossed her arms over her chest, advancing at a leisurely pace. “I think it’s time we part ways. I’ve given you a year and even the smallest things are becoming a chore for you to remember.”

  “You can’t fire me.”

  “I think I just did.”

  “For telling the truth?” he said, his voice rising.

  I stood, but stayed firm, allowing her to take the lead. It was a hell of a thing when everything in me said I needed to protect what was mine.

  “No, you’re right on that account. I should have put in notice. Emergency situations are a little hard to plan for, so I apologize for that. As for you being fired, that has everything to do with your job performance. I understand you try very hard to be a good worker, I just think that maybe this position isn’t for you. I’ve given you more than enough time to learn and you still forget the basics. With what we have at stake, I can’t afford to allow this to go on anymore. I’m sorry, Willard, but I have to let you go.”

  “You…bitch. I have a family. You can’t fire me.”

  The hardness stayed on her face and she turned to the window, looking right at me. Still, she didn’t soften.

  “Don’t make me call security. You need to leave my office and get your stuff together.”

  Willard stormed from the room and one minute, I was looking at Lily, the next, blinds slammed closed, disrupting my view. I sat, hating that she was in there dealing with this alone. Lily wasn’t cold like that, no matter how much she projected it. There was no way she enjoyed what she’d just gone through. Which only meant one thing—she was in her office now, probably in tears, and I was supposed to sit here like I hadn’t just witnessed any of it.

  Fuck. My hand clamped to the desk and I tried stopping the anger as it grew by the second. Slade strolled casually from the office at the end of the hall, stopping at Willard’s door. I couldn’t see inside, but from the silence and Slade moving on, apparently there wasn’t much more of a threat. He checked his watch before knocking and walking in. I could hear her voice, soft, sweet. She was on the phone, probably with the owner of that company. I didn’t get to hear much as the door closed behind Slade.

  Silence continued and seemed to turn into a living thing as Willard walked through with a box and waited for the elevator. I couldn’t see from my angle, but I knew when he disappeared inside. The buzz throughout the room grew and I twisted my mouth as I let it all sink in.

  “The Ice Queen strikes again. I wondered how long it would be before the next. At least he lasted longer than the others.”

  “He was her personal assistant, though,” the woman said. “He doesn’t count. It’s the team members that she goes through like candy.”

  Two men came to her door, knocking. When Slade called out, they headed inside. A woman pushed through at the last minute and I turned away from it all, going back to my numbers. More laughter rang out from one of the cubicles and I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Was this what everyone looked forward to? Lily and who she would fire next? Did she terminate a lot of people? What sort of drama went on in this office building? Did it always revolve around her? There were too many questions and I wasn’t sure of the answers, but I knew in a few hours, I’d find out.

  Chapter 41

  Lily

  The smile on my face couldn’t have got any bigger. I kept my back to Slade and the team on purpose, trying my best not to show my excitement through my posture. When I delivered the news, I wanted it to hit them as a shock. I damn sure deserved at least some satisfaction. To get ahold of the owner was usually impossible, but my name and reputation were taking me far. I used it to my advantage every chance I got. I was a damn hard worker and the news I was about to deliver was proof.

  “Thank you
, Mr. Volstin. It was a pleasure talking to you.” I turned around, placing the receiver down. Slade’s eyes widened while he shook his head.

  “Well?”

  I shrugged, collapsing into my chair to stare at my team. They fidgeted and looked nervous, trapped in the same room as my brother and me. It was bad enough watching them when it was just me, but Slade’s appearance had them squirming. They knew he wanted Volstin and they also knew how he’d react if he didn’t get it.

  “Well…” I hit my mouse, making my screen come alive. I pulled up the calendar and typed in the time of the appointment. “You, Mr. Roberts, have a meeting with Mr. Volstin tomorrow at ten a.m.. He’ll have his lawyer present. If he likes what he hears, he’s willing to sell.”

  A smile lit up my brother’s face. “Excellent job, everyone. I knew you wouldn’t let me down. Be ready by nine, Lily, you’re coming with. Also,” he spun, looking over the team, “you, you, and you,” he said, picking out Patrick, Charlie, and Vanessa, the leaders. “Team up and discuss who’s moving to Atlanta. We’ll have Volstin by tomorrow and that’s where I’m building the headquarters to the new Slade Industries.” His smile grew bigger and he turned, strolling from the room. The team was right behind him, shutting my door and leaving me in silence. For the first time since I’d arrived, I felt myself completely relax. The break between accounts was my down time and come tomorrow when Slade bought out Volstin, I’d finally be able to get the breather I’d been hoping for. At least, until my brother set his sights on something new.

  The darkness that surrounded me felt so comforting that it didn’t take long before I could feel the floating sensation of almost being asleep. I held to the feeling, not letting myself go to the one place I didn’t want to. Instead, my mind replayed firing Willard. I hated having to let him go, but truth be told, I never should have kept him on for as long as I had. He didn’t have the drive it took to keep up and he wasn’t willing to learn. He did enough to half ass it and I knew at times he cared, but a majority of the time he didn’t, which was putting more stress where it didn’t need to be.