Camille struggled hard to pull away from his grip, but Cain's arms were strong, too strong. His hold wrapped around her like steel,
"Let me go! Someone will catch us!", she hissed, voice trembling,
Cain tilted his head, a smug smile fixed on his lips,
"I'm the boss, remember? What exactly will they do to me?",
"What about me!?" she shot back, breath shaky, "They'll talk, they'll say I seduced my boss on my first day!",
She twisted again, trying to break free, but he held her easily,
"What kind of maniac is this?", she thought,
He was undeniably handsome, painfully handsome, but she had a boyfriend and this man was a blackmailer with her private photos still sitting in his phone,
Then-knock knock.
The sudden sound froze both of them, Camille, without thinking, used the split second of distraction to slip out of his hold, her heart raced, panic rushing through her veins,
Cain didn't waste a moment, he grabbed her wrist, pulled her toward his desk, and pointed to a chair,
"Sit!",
It wasn't a suggestion,
It was an order.
Her instinct screamed to resist, but the look he gave her a sharp, commanding glare made her sit down instantly, almost automatically, she even questioned herself,
'Am I okay? Why did I obey so quickly…?',
Cain slid into his large boss chair just as he called, "Come in",
The door opened, and one of his female employees stepped inside heels clicking sharply against the floor,
"I'm sorry to bother you, Sir, I know it's lunch break, but I organized the files you asked for",
Her bright smile widened as she approached his desk. Camille watched her from the side, jaw tight,
"Thank you, Rita, I see you take your work seriously. That's very good", Cain replied,
As he took the file, Rita bit her lip subtly but intentionally and brushed her fingers against his, not by accident. Not at all, she didn't even glance at Camille's way, she had her reasons, reasons written all over her flirtatious movements.
She left with a sway in her walk, closing the door behind her,
Cain didn't complain, he simply grinned.
He looked up and caught Camille's confused, irritated expression, her puzzle amused him, he chuckled,
Camille didn't care about Rita's intentions, she just wanted to get out of that office,
"Umm… sir? Am I excused now? What happened earlier shouldn't have happened at all, she could have-",
"You still don't get it", Cain interrupted, voice calm and cocky,
"I'm the boss here, don't get worked up over nothing, we didn't even do anything…yet",
That last word -yet- slid off his tongue like poison coated in honey,
"No, No!! we're not doing anything!" Camille snapped, the words burst out louder than she intended, it was the first time she had ever raised her voice at him,
Cain didn't yell back, instead, he leaned forward, elbows on the desk, fingers interlocked, his gaze sharpened,
"You have no choice, sweetheart",
His voice dropped, smooth and threatening,
"Remember? I still have your picture, Funny how you forget so easily, if you want them kept private, you do what I want",
Her heart sank, pounding painfully,
'How can someone be this cruel? This shameless?'she wondered,
But she wasn't ready to give up, she gathered courage from the thin scraps she had left,
"Why are you doing this?", she whispered, "Please…just delete them, and let's move on",
He laughed softly.
"That's not an option, darling, and why am I doing this?", He leaned back in his chair slowly, luxuriously,
"Because it's fun and you seem like a nice, free prize",
Her chest tightened, "So I'm just going to be a toy for you to play with?",
He sat up straight again, eyes piercing into hers,
"Yes", he said plainly, "Well…just for a while, until I get tired, but until then, you'll be a good girl, and the pictures stay on my phone and I'll probably delete them too",
The sinister grin that followed made him look like a villain, and she felt like an unlucky civilian dragged into his twisted game.
Camille couldn't even speak, how did such a beautiful, admired man turn out to be such a heartless jerk? Every girl in the city would probably kill for his attention…but she was trapped, suffering because of her mistake, she had been careless with her photos and now they were in the hands of a beast disguised in elegance,
Cain glanced at the clock, lunch break was almost over,
"Alright, missy, you're excused, you can go",
He stood, walked to her side, and leaned close, his lips near her ear,
"Be a very good girl…and I promise no other eyes will ever see them",
His warm breath ghosted over her ear, sending unwanted shivers down her spine, her mind clouded for a split second then she snapped back, forcing herself to stand,
Without a single word, she rushed out of the office,
Cain stayed where he was, hands slipping casually into his pockets, that same dangerous grin spreading across his face.
Stepping out of Cain's office, Camille exhaled sharply, the air outside felt lighter and safe but only for a second, his words replayed in her mind like a warning alarm,
'Be a very good girl…'
Every possible scenario flashed through her head, things he might demand, threats he could make, how easily he could ruin her life, the thoughts spiraled until her mind felt tight and suffocating,
She was so lost in her anxiety that she didn't notice someone walking toward her,
She bumped into them,
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!"
Thankfully, the person wasn't upset, a young lady in a red but elegant fitting gown steadied herself and smiled warmly,
"Hey, hey, it's okay! You seem distracted, you're the newbie, right?" she asked with a friendly grin,
Camille blinked, surprised,
"Yeah, I am, how did you know?",
"Come on", the young lady laughed lightly, "We might be many here, but this company is social, everyone notices when a newbie arrives, I'm Grace", She offered her hand,
Camille shook it, grateful someone wasn't giving her a hard time,
"Nice to meet you, Grace, I'm Camille ,guess you're the second person to talk to me today", She smiled awkwardly,
"Really? Who was the first? I'm jealous already", Grace joked, "Just kidding! Hahaha! But seriously, who was it?",
Camille hesitated, no way was she telling her the real story, she didn't know Grace well enough, and she was terrified the truth would spread like wildfire through the entire company,
"Well…um, it was just Mr. Balister, no biggie—",
Grace cut her off with a gasp, "No way! Seriously? You're lucky! I've been wishing for him to give me personal tasks just so I can stare at his drop-dead gorgeous face",
Camille stared at her, confused,
Grace continued dreamily, "Girl, he's literally the most attractive man I've ever seen, young, rich, and a CEO? He's a whole package, honestly, half the women here probably got hired just to admire him from up close, he's like a dream come to life",
Camille looked at her like she was speaking another language.
They're all crushing on him? This jerk?
He was handsome, yes no doubt about it, painfully so but if they knew who he really was…they wouldn't look at him like that,
"Whatever, I don't see what you all see", Camille muttered, "To me, he's just my boss",
Grace gasped dramatically, placing a hand on her chest,
"Are you blind!? He's a hunk! I sound crazy, I know, but I'd do anything to be with him",
She closed her eyes dreamily, Camille gagged internally,
'Who crushes that hard? That's so weird, she thought,
She didn't argue further, she wasn't looking for more trouble on her first day.
They chatted a bit more before heading back to work.
The rest of the day felt calm, no one bothered her and for a moment, she even forgot about Cain, the boss slash blackmailer.
Soon it was 6:00 p.m., closing time, everyone walked to their cars,
Of course…Camille had none.
She stood outside wondering how she'd manage a cab when a sleek Porsche pulled up beside her, Grace lowered the window,
"Hey, Camille! Going home? Where's your car?",
That question hit worse than she expected, not having a car wasn't the problem, being the only one without one, in a place this fancy…it stung.
She swallowed her pride,
"Uhh…I don't have a car, for now",
Grace's eyes softened, "Do you want a ride home? I don't mind dropping you",
Camille shook her head quickly,
"No, no, no! It's fine, I'll take a cab, but thanks for the offer",
"Alright, Camille, but if you ever need a ride, I'm here, take care! See you tomorrow", Grace waved, then drove off,
Camille waved back, awkward and a little embarrassed.
No! she wasn't going to accept rides from anyone here, not because of pride alone…but because it would crush what little self esteem she still had.
Left alone in the parking lot, she wanted to check the time on her phone only to realize her purse felt light,
"Damn it, Camille…you forgot your phone inside", she groaned, smacking her forehead,
She went back in, passing Cain's office sent a chill through her; memories from earlier flickered in her mind, she hated how nervous she felt, but she forced herself to keep walking.
At her desk, she snatched her phone, eager to leave,
Now she has to pass his office again, She sighed.
But as she walked by, a sound froze her in place,
Muffled noises, strange noises, intimate noises,
The door was slightly ajar.
Curiosity mixed with disbelief pulled her closer until she peeked inside.,
Her eyes shot wide.
Cain was making out with a female employee,
Loud kissing filled the room, the woman's hands slid around his neck while his gripped her waist, the sight stunned Camille not because she liked him, but because of how shameless and reckless he was,
'He's really doing this in his office? With an employee? That's low even for him', she thought,
Still, she couldn't look away, something about the scene kept her rooted in place.
He lifted the woman onto his desk, she bit her lip as he shrugged off his suit jacket, revealing carved abs,
Camille felt the heat rise to her face, She hated it, she hated that her body reacted even a little,
Grace wasn't wrong, he really did look like something sculpted by the Roman gods,
But Camille quickly shook the thought out of her head,
She should leave, she wanted to leave,
But something, something she couldn't explain held her in place,
Cain hugged the woman closer, letting her kiss down his neck,
And that was the exact moment Camille's hand pushed the door a tiny bit more open,
And Cain saw her, their eyes met.
Her heart slammed against her ribs, He didn't yell, he didn't even stop, he only smirked,
A slow, wicked smirk.
Camille's entire soul dropped,
She stumbled back in horror and bolted out of the hallway,
'Oh God… oh God… what have I done?'
'He saw me!!'
'He saw ME!!!'......