A Deal With The Devil

Amelia’s pov: “This should be easy,” I told myself in a determined murmur, trying and failing to stop my heart from beating too wildly. “What are the odds of us crossing paths?” I was sitting at my desk, in the main branch office of the company, exactly where I needed to be, even if it was the last place on earth I wanted to be at. Avoiding the CEO, my old sweetheart, was the plan for my first day. It should be easy. I should have no business even approaching that man’s office. And yet, to my utter and complete dismay, the plan went awry far too soon. A colleague dropped a folder on my desk, an expectant look on her face. “The CEO is expecting this. You should get going.” Her tone, demanding, rather irritated, and somewhat haughty, grated on my nerves… But her words did more than just startle me. They threw me into a fit of nervous laughter. “Me?” I pointed at myself dumbly, even though it was pretty dam*n obvious she meant me. “Who else?” She rolled her eyes, shaking her head slightly in disapproval. “But I…” I tried to argue, but I never had the chance to finish my sentence… She shot me a look cold enough to freeze a lake over, “I wasn’t asking.” I sighed in defeat, and was soon dragging my feet out of the department, my chest constricted, my heart even more out of sync than earlier… but not before shooting a nasty glare at her retreating back as well. I muttered curses in the elevator, and was ready to bail out on this first task, when the dam*ned doors opened. The top floor was as luxurious as I figured it would be, and more minimalist than I recalled. I plastered a smile on my face – years of practice should make that easy – and soon was conversing amiably with the secretary, “Hello. I am here to drop these files.” Behind my normal and feigned casual attitude, I was beyond nervous, I was a wreck… Yet, I needed to appear professional, knowing what was at stake. “Thank you,” she nodded at me, a small smile stretching her lips. “Which department would that be?” She started looking through the folder even as she waited for my answer. “The marketing department,” I gulped down nervously, doing my best not to let the smile slip off my face. An inhale was all it took for things to get messy… in my head at least. Heavens have mercy, I shouldn’t have lingered! I inwardly chided myself. The smile froze, becoming forced all of a sudden, as the smell I was all too familiar with reached my nose. My heart tightened, and I shivered, even before hearing his voice. “You’re new around here,” his comment made my jaw go slack for a moment there. “What’s your name?” I was shocked, hurt, and somewhat angry too at the nerve of this man. I turned around slowly, and for a moment there, I hesitated between giving him a good old-fashioned slap, consequences be dam*ned, or behaving like a civilized person and telling him my name, feelings be dam*ned. Not wishing to make a fuss, I ended up saying in a barely controlled voice, “Hello, thank you for having me. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” “The pleasure is all mine,” came his curt retort. “Although that wasn’t the question.” The way he raised his eyebrow reminded me of the scarce times I tried to defy him when, truth be told, Hunter freaking Williams wasn’t a man to be crossed. There was a hint of mockery – or was it disdain? – in the depths of his once beloved blue eyes, and my skin crawled, making it difficult to repress a nervous twitch. “My name’s Amelia,” I answered at long last, even as my cheeks burned in shame. He nodded in response, and I wondered why he’d even go to such lengths to humiliate me. Now wasn’t the time to think about his motives though… I tried to make a hasty retreat, but I didn’t even make it past the secretary’s desk, when his voice stopped me, “My office. Now.” His voice left no room to argue, and I wondered for a moment who he was addressing. The secretary left her chair, but he simply shook his head at her, before tilting it in my direction. My knees wobbled ever so slightly, and I wondered what he’d even want to talk about. I was but a new recruit, and someone from the past too… Surely, he’d let bygones be bygones? I gulped down my nervousness and dread, and soon followed him into his office, as if my legs had a mind of their own, as if I had no choice… Whether I was meant to inherit this company or not, Hunter Williams had always had quite a strong hold on me.