"Good morning, Ms. Aether." The receptionists instantly stood up as Isaldora walked in through the front door, her heels clicking on the marble. She didn't even bother to look over. She just made a beeline for the elevator, jamming the button with her thumb. The polished steel doors opened with a soft ding.
The second the doors closed, she leaned back against the cool mirrored wall and let out a slow, deep breath. She closed her eyes. It felt like the harder she tried to fix her life, the more tangled it became.
It was time to shove all that noise to the side and finally get her head back in the game. The real game.
The one that would end with her hands wrapped around the throat of the actual bastard who was behind ruining her life. She'd already lost too much time.
For weeks, she'd been caught up in this mess with Kaelith, trying to wrap her head around the whys and hows, all this crap she never asked for. And the bond was relentlessly getting stronger at a hellish speed with the passing time—probably because she and Kaelith were both powerful, royals on top of that. The stronger you are, the harder the bond hits.
However, it ended now.
And first off, she had to discuss matters with Hyden and Lyna today. Hyden was already here as for Lyna she might have arrived as well.
Isaldora already had planned for them to dig out deep on who was really behind the whole rogue situation or why the rogues were attacking. Someone was definitely playing mastermind, pulling the strings, and she was going to find out who, and more importantly, what they had to gain by trying to pin it all on the Doomwitch.
The elevator dinged and she stepped out. She was almost at her door when she heard muffled voices coming from inside. Her eyes flicked to the floor-to-ceiling windows, noticing the blinds were down. Hmmph, odd.
She didn't bother knocking. She just turned the handle and pushed the door open.
And then she just stopped dead in the doorway.
The sight that greeted her was so explicit and shocking that it took a moment for her brain to fully process it.
There sprawled right on the pristine surface of her white desk, was her soon-to-be-fired assistant. Ria's head was thrown back, a string of muffled, breathless moans escaping her swollen lips. Her blouse was hanging open, her skirt was awfully shoved around her waist. And hovering over her was Hyden, his own shirt hanging open and his hair a mess. His face was flushed, and he was totally lost in the moment, murmuring something against Ria's neck.
Isaldora could clearly hear the sound of their frantic movements and ragged breathing.
They were completely and shamefully absorbed in each other, that they had no idea they had an audience. And that audience was pissed.
"What," Isaldora said loud and clear, snapping herself out of her stunned state, "the hell is going on in my office?" Her eyes narrowed in anger.
And the duo guilty as charged, froze mid-motion as her voice broke their heated spell like a bucket of ice water.
Hyden's head snapped up, his eyes wide with pure panic as they locked onto hers.
"Oh, shit," he breathed out. He stumbled backward so fast he lost his balance and crashed onto the floor with a grunt.
Ria jumped off the desk, her face flushing a deep red. Her hands trembled as she desperately tried to button her blouse, fingers slipping in her panic. She sneaked a glance at Isaldora and a cold knot of fear instantly tightened in her stomach.
Isaldora couldn't shake their image out of her mind, it was burned there. She was officially scarred for life.
"Ms. A-Aether, I'm s-so sorry, I didn't—" Ria stammered, as her voice trembled.
"Just shut the hell up," Isaldora snapped at Ria cutting her off without looking at her. "I'll deal with you later. Now, get out before you lose your job right now."
Without wasting a second, Ria practically tripped over herself, picking her heels from the floor, and scurried out the door, not daring to look back. Isaldora finally turned her full attention to Hyden, who was pulling his shirt together, scrambling to his feet.
He ran a hand through his messy hair. "Izzy, look, just let me explain—"
"Explain what, Hyden?" she cut him off, her voice dangerously calm. "That I just walked in on you banging my assistant on my damn desk just a moment ago? Or did I just imagined the whole shit?" Isaldora's voice dripped with sarcastic mockery.
Hyden gave a weak, nervous laugh,
"Whoa, didn't know you've got one heck of a wild imagination, Izzy, not to forget detailed. I didn't know you had that in you. You should write romantic novels. Haha." he offered with a clumsy attempt to tease her that instantly vanished under her glacial stare. "Bad joke. Really bad joke."
The muscles in Isaldora's mouth twitched.
"How long has this been going on, Hyden? And don't even think about lying to me."
Hyden scratched the back of his neck, shifting his weight nervously. He hadn't expected to get caught like this by Isaldora- not today, not ever if he was being honest. But when Ria had stepped into the office wearing that, looking sexy as hell.
The truth was, he'd been hooking up with her assistant, Ria for a while now. She was smoking hot, and he just couldn't help himself.
"Umm, like... a day or two after I took over handling your business," Hyden admitted, still avoiding her eyes. "You know how it is - late nights, stress, one thing led to another..."
"So let me get this straight," Isaldora said, her voice dripping with disbelief. "You're telling me that you've been messing around with her since basically day one?" She let out a harsh scoff as all the pieces clicked into place.
The delayed calls, how Ria had answered, breathless and flustered, always claiming some lame excuse like was "running between meetings" or "just ran up the stairs."
She never believed her excuses but didn't expect this as well. Now, the real picture was crystal clear, and it made her want to set something on fire.
"Hey, not day one," Hyden argued weakly, holding his hands up in surrender. "It was after the first day. I had to put in a little work, you know? Buy her dinner, smooth talk and flirt with her a bit. To ease her up. It's not like I just pounced on her the second you left. Or maybe I did." He let out a sheepish chuckle.
"Cut the crap, Hyden," Isaldora snapped, her patience gone. "I asked you to handle things here while I dealt with my own mess. Was it really too much to ask that you do your damn job without jumping into my assistant's pants? She isn't even your regular flings, she's human."
She looked at her desk and wanted to puke feeling sick. Her glare snapped back at him, "And seriously? On my desk?" she spat, her voice thick with disgust. "Really? Of all the places in this entire building—in this entire city—you didn't even bother to find a closet. You had to do it right on top of my goddamn workspace?"
"What were you even thinking?" she seethed, not waiting for an answer. "Oh, right. You weren't. You were thinking with the one brain cell that isn't in your head."
He gave a nervous chuckle, trying to lighten the crushing weight of her glare. "Izzy, it wasn't planned! It just... happened! Just a rush of adrenaline plus the desk was just...convenient! And that desk was comfortable and sturdy as hell. It can handle countless rounds without collapsing."
His pathetic joke just made her want to strangle him more. She looked back at the desk, her nose wrinkling. Ewww, did they really had to do it here, over her goddamn desk—the one where she signed important deals. I need a new table. Damn, I need a new everything in this room. She was suddenly skeptical now. Was the entire office now a biohazard zone? Who knew what corners they hadn't spared? She shuddered visibly.
"Look, it was a mistake, a huge, stupid mistake," Hyden heaved a sigh, desperation creeping into his voice. "It was just... a moment of very poor judgment, okay? We got carried away..."
"Carried away?" Isaldora scoffed, her voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "Getting 'carried away' is accidentally buying too many snacks. What you did was turn my office into your personal hookup spot. Right now, I don't even know if a single corner of this room can be considered clean. For all I know, every surface in here is contaminated with your... essence on it." Her eyes scanned the office with new horror. Was the door safe? the walls? the floor?
Hyden let out an awkward cough. He rubbed the back of his neck, unable to meet her eyes. "Well...uhh.. yeah.. the, uh... the couch is actually surprisingly comfortable. Not to mention the walls." he offered weakly.
Isaldora glared at him in disbelief. Yeah, I'm definitely burning this place.
"Whoa. Did I walk in on an intervention?" a voice chirped from the doorway.
They both turned to see Lyna leaning against the doorframe, her eyes sparkling with amusement as she took the scene in. Isaldora's furious expression and Hyden's look of pure regret and the general vibe of utter humiliation.
"Did I miss something good?" she asked, a slow grin spreading across her face as she noticed Hyden desperately trying to smooth his wrinkled shirt. "Oh yeah. Definitely missed something worth seeing."