Aurora had barely sat down after the morning madness when the office buzz shifted from "Who invited Cassandra?" to a much nastier game: The Jealous Whispering Circle.
It was like high school all over again, except with better clothes and more expensive perfumes.
From her corner desk, Aurora caught the usual suspects exchanging looks that screamed enemy alert—Lisa with her perfect hair and permanent scowl, Vanessa who smiled way too sweetly but had venom dripping from every word, and Tanya, the unofficial queen of gossip.
"They gave her the assistant role? No way." Lisa whispered to Vanessa, loud enough for Aurora to hear. "She must've slept her way to the top."
"Right?" Vanessa replied, pretending to bite her lip innocently. "I mean, who else gets that close to River Damon? The mafia bad boy himself?"
Aurora smirked behind her laptop. If only they knew
Only Mia knew the truth.
The truth was—Aurora had never used her body to get anywhere. Except… maybe that one night. The one hot, messy, unforgettable night with River Damon. And even then? It was supposed to be just that—one night.
But Mia? Mia knew the whole story. She'd sworn to keep it secret, and so far, she'd been loyal.
Mia slid into the seat next to Aurora, her eyes narrowed like a hawk. "Ignore them. They're jealous because they don't have River's attention. Or his millions."
Aurora laughed quietly. "Attention is overrated when it comes with a side of assholery."
Before Mia could respond, the office door slammed open.
River himself.
He didn't even look at the whispering huddle of jealous females clustered near the water cooler. His icy gaze locked on Aurora.
"What are you still sitting here for? Meeting starts in five."
Aurora raised an eyebrow. "I'm already here. Unlike some people who love to be fashionably late."
River smirked coldly. "Fashionably late means you respect power."
"Or you're just late because you're an arrogant prick," Aurora shot back, loud enough for the nearest gossips to wince.
River's eyes darkened, but instead of a snarky reply, he turned and strode away like he owned the damn place—which, honestly, he probably did.
Mia whispered, "You're a glutton for punishment, aren't you?"
Aurora grinned. "And you're my favorite enabler."
The jealous colleagues were still watching, plotting, and whispering. One of them, Tanya, glanced at Aurora and muttered loud enough for half the office to hear, "She thinks she's special just because she's River's pet."
Aurora didn't miss a beat. She looked Tanya dead in the eye and said, "Better to be a pet of the king than a stray dog barking at shadows."
Tanya's face went red, and Vanessa tried to hide her smirk behind a coffee cup.
The office was a battlefield, and Aurora was ready to fight dirty.