Silent Screams (Hollow #1)

CHAPTER 8

On Tuesday, I’m officially on my own since Katherine no longer works here. Damon barks orders at me all morning, my mind worried I’ll forget a task he throws my way.

It doesn’t stop. I even shoo Emon and Marie away at lunch time.

It’s stressful—there’re too many things Katherine didn’t show me, so I’m stuck trying to figure them out while he expects perfection.

Hours later, I’m knocking on Damon’s door, stepping in as he calls for me to come in.

I can’t shake the fact that his manly voice leaves a tingle all over me.

I shouldn’t be feeling this way, this pull toward another man, not when I have Harv. But the thoughts are there, the feelings are there, as every step I take inside his office leaves a trembling sensation inside me.

“I need a few signatures,” I say softly, walking next to his chair to place the papers on his desk. He quickly stares at my heels before he signs everything with his left hand .

His signature is neat, cutthroat—like him.

I can’t help admiring the vanilla and spicy aroma of his cologne.

“Anything else?” A shiver runs through my spine at his voice alone, and suddenly despite my burgundy satin blouse, I’m cooler than a frozen piece of metal.

“No.” I pick up the stack of papers and make my way out when he stops me in my tracks.

“I’ll need you to do a summary for a few reports. Three of them can wait until tomorrow but I need a briefing note for the first report tonight...”

I turn around, wishing, hoping, that I could tell him off. This means staying way past five o’clock. This means not being home with Harv... and Claire potentially overstaying.

“Problem?” he asks, brow raised, with a fire in his eyes begging me to argue with him.

I don’t give him the satisfaction.

Instead, I straighten my shoulders. “Not a problem.”

I head to the copy room, scanning the documents he just signed. While I wait, I text Harvey to let him know I’m working late.

Once I’m back at my desk, I check Damon’s email, attaching the report, and get to work for what feels like hours.

“Well, well, and you are?” I lift my head from my computer to find a cute guy walking toward me.

“Gemma Ackerman. Mr. Dreygon’s newest assistant.”

He snorts, looking toward Damon’s door, where my boss now stands, eyes narrowed at this newcomer who’s leaning on my desk.

“You make your people call you Mister?” The guy smirks at Damon who rolls his eyes.

“Ms. Ackerman, this is my overly annoying friend, Matt, who will now get off your desk. ”

I laugh. “It’s okay. Nice to meet you, Matt.” I extend my hand, and he takes it.

“Likewise . . . are you single?”

I’m taken aback by his question.

“Matt,” Damon warns him with the purest look of evil as if he invented the word itself.

His friend backs off right away, but not before he flashes his pearly white smile. They head to his office, and he closes the door, preventing me from hearing what they’re saying.

Not that I care. I have no reason to care. I should be finishing this summary so that I can go home to Harvey.

Yes, Harvey. Who’ll be in his room when you get back. Who will ignore you.

I reread my work several times, hoping to avoid any mistakes for Mr. Everything Has To Be Perfect. This morning, he chastised me for a missing comma in a document that I’d drafted for him.

I hear them laugh inside Damon’s office. I wish I knew Matt’s secret for making Damon laugh.

I’m done revising when I knock on Damon’s door, telling him that I sent him the brief.

“Fuck off, Matt,” he says.

“The game’s on, dickhead.”

All Matt gets in return is a severe look from Damon while I hold my breath, unwilling to add fuel to the fire. Seeking a distraction, I finally notice the flatscreen TV hung on the wall of his office. Matt leaves, and my heart thumps fast against its surrounding flesh from being alone with my boss again.

Damon sits and starts typing on his laptop, and I use this opportunity to drink in the sight of his jaw with a stubble a few days old, and it takes everything for me to look away.

Then his eyes lock with mine, and I’m frozen in time with rosy cheeks.

I can’t breathe .

His looks are so intense—it’s as if he wants to sin with me. I stare elsewhere, unable to keep hold of his glare.

Is it because it’s been so long since I’ve had some? My hormones are acting up?

I try justifying it in my head, several times over and over, as I wait for him to finish.

“Thank you, Ackerman.”

I wait for him to say more, to let me know if it’s good or not.

“Is it okay? Any changes?” I pry, hoping I’ll get to leave. I’m exhausted.

“No changes.” He refuses to say more. He stands, as Matt walks back into the room, heading for the couch.

I leave Damon’s office, shut off my computer, and gather my things.

“Need a cab back home?” Damon asks me, his body leaning in the doorway. God, he shouldn’t be allowed to look this good in a suit. It’s disconcerting.

“I drive. I’ll be fine. See you tomorrow.”

He scratches the side of his head and nods, his eyes inviting me into whatever attractive spell he’s got going on.

“Tomorrow I need you to accompany me to a lunch event. Dress appropriately.”

I walk in front of him—too close—the closest we’ve ever been.

“Sure, sure. Anything wrong with what I’m wearing?”

Curiosity gets the best of me. His eyes travel to my neck before landing on my chest, then my black pants. I’m swallowing hard, waiting for him to answer me—for him to look at me.

Anything will do.

Anything except me liking the fact that my boss is checking me out.

“Absolutely nothing,” he whispers seductively, and it’s all I can do to head out the door before I do something stupid, something I’ll regret .

I need to stop.

To put an end to this stupid crush that’s developing. I need to touch myself more, to keep myself in check. Harv clearly won’t be the one to do it.

As soon as I’m walking into the underground parking lot, the cold air is sharp enough to shake me from my fantasies.

So you think your boss is hot?

The first step is admitting it. That’s what Gia always says. I’m halfway through my Dreygon detox already. Next, I’ll be able to move forward despite my attraction to him. He could be tied down to a long-term girlfriend, fiancée, or wife for all I know. Though I didn’t notice any rings when I sneaked a peek.

I get home late in the evening, so after eating and showering, I check on Harvey in his bedroom. Gone are the apartment days where I used to come home and greet him right away. It became clear as time went on after the accident that he hadn’t missed me, so I’d taken to dealing with my personal needs first.

He barely acknowledges me, my mouth dying to ask whom he’s texting as I catch him smiling on his phone. We talk briefly, about his and my day, before silence takes over.

So I let him be and head to my room.

Despite wanting to know more.

Wanting to know why he’s smiling but not with me.

I prepare my outfit for the next day, a gray skirt with a white blouse and my sister’s heels. I read a few chapters before shutting off my lamp and calling it a night.

Except tonight, Harvey’s not part of my dreams. Not even close.

All I see is Damon.

Damon Dreygon.