Free Web NovelChapter 19: Chapter 18 The Quiet Before the Storm
When I woke up, it was 4:00 AM.
I sat up so fast I almost gave myself whiplash. I was fully under the covers of Laziel Monroe’s giant bed.
Oh, no.
I gasped, pulling the duvet to my chest. How did I get here? The last thing I remembered was reading through balance sheets, and then... nothing.
Did he put me here? Was this another one of his twisted punishments?
Anger immediately replaced the panic. What kind of bitch secretary job was this? He expected me to work until midnight, and now I was sleeping over at his house? At this rate, I wouldn’t see my daughter for the rest of the year.
There was no way in hell I was accepting this.
I looked around the dark room, my jaw clenched. Who did Laziel think he was? Just because he was a billionaire didn’t mean he owned my entire existence. He claimed I wouldn’t find another job if I resigned, but he was just bluffing. I didn’t care anymore. I was going to quit. I wasn’t even going to give him a two-week notice. Today was my last day.
The bedroom door clicked open.
All the angry speeches I was practicing in my head completely vanished.
Laziel walked in. He was already fully dressed for the day. His hair was slightly damp, and he wore a perfectly fitted, gray suit that looked like it had been sewn directly onto his body. He looked incredibly handsome. Sexy, even. It was deeply annoying.
He didn’t look at me at first. He stood near the dresser, calmly fastening his wristwatch.
I sat there in his bed, my mouth slightly open, completely caught staring.
Laziel clicked the watch strap into place, his eyes finally shifting to my face. "Are you done staring, Miss Brenner?"
My cheeks burned. I snapped my mouth shut and scrambled out of the bed, smoothing down my wrinkled clothes. "I need to go home. I need to get dressed for work."
"The driver is already waiting downstairs," Laziel said smoothly, adjusting his cuffs. "He will take you to your apartment and bring you back. You have exactly one hour to change before we head to the office."
"But sir, excuse me," I snapped, crossing my arms. "What type of job is this? What type of secretary works like a prisoner? You are literally taking over my entire life. I can’t sleep properly, and now I’m sleeping over at your mansion? What about Anastelle? I don’t even have time for myself, let alone my daughter."
Laziel stopped moving. He turned his full attention to me.
"Then bring Anastelle," he said. "You can move into my house."
I froze. I blinked once. Twice. "What?"
"Your apartment is thirty-seven minutes from the office," Laziel stated, "You waste nearly two hours commuting every day. The building security is inadequate, the neighborhood is loud, and Anastelle shares a wall with three different tenants. The entire arrangement is inefficient."
I wasn’t surprised that he knew all of this.
"I have more than enough empty rooms," he continued, completely ignoring my shock. "You can move in here. There are maids to take care of your daughter while you work, and you will see her every time you come home. It solves your problem."
Hell no.
Moving into Laziel Monroe’s mansion would be the absolute stupidest decision of my life.
Which probably meant it was exactly what was about to happen.
Across the room, Laziel turned back toward the door, but his own brow twitched slightly.
Internally, he was asking himself what the hell was wrong with him. He had never let an employee stay in this wing of the house, let alone live there. Now he was offering to move his secretary and her kid in here? Nobody in his position would ever do something this reckless. He didn’t know what was controlling him, or what kind of spell Mireya had cast on him with that sharp mouth of hers, but the words had already left his mouth.
He looked back at me one last time.
"Eat something downstairs before you leave," Laziel commanded. "The driver will drop you off. Think about it, Mireya. If you don’t like the stress of the commute, the offer stands."
With that, he turned on his heel and left the bedroom, leaving me standing alone in the quiet room, completely stunned.
.....
I was in a fucking maybach!!!
But my head was a complete mess as the private forest of the estate finally gave way to the familiar, gray streets of Milan.
I leaned forward slightly, looking at the back of the driver’s head. He looked like a professional—silent, stiff, and completely focused on the road.
I decided to test the waters.
"Does Mr. Monroe usually have his assistants stay over at the estate?" I asked, trying to sound casual.
The driver stiffened even more, he almost swerved the car into the next lane.
"What?" the driver asked, as his eyes shot to the rearview mirror.
"His assistants," I repeated, my brows pulling together. "Or other employees from the firm. Does he usually have them work from his private study until midnight?"
The driver looked genuinely horrified in the mirror. "Miss Brenner... I’ve worked for Mr. Monroe for eight years."
He paused.
"I have never seen another employee inside that house. Ever."
I sank back into the seat, staring out the window as the Maybach pulled into my neighborhood. This wasn’t normal. It wasn’t even slightly normal. He wasn’t treating me like a secretary. He was separating me from the rest of the world, and I was only just beginning to realize how deep the trap went.
The driver pulled up directly in front of my building. I practically scrambled out of the car, offering a quick thank-you before sprinting up the stairs to my apartment.
The second I unlocked the front door, Giulia was standing right there.
She took one look at me—at yesterday’s wrinkled office clothes, my messy hair, and my exhausted face—and her jaw hit the floor.
"OH MY GOD."
I groaned, pushing past her into the living room. "No."
"OH MY GOD, MIREYA."
"Stop."
"You spent the night in the billionaire’s mansion!" Giulia screamed, trailing behind me as I threw my purse onto the kitchen counter.
"Nothing happened, Giulia," I snapped, rubbing my throbbing temples. "Absolutely nothing. Why didn’t you reply to my text yesterday? I was literally typing a cry for help under the seat and then you just disappeared."
"Anastelle was drawing on the walls, and then she fell asleep on me," Giulia defended, before her eyes widened again. "Wait, don’t change the subject. Are you taking pity on him now? Are you not going to quit again? Did you actually sleep with him?"
"I did not sleep with him!" I yelled back, my voice hushed so I wouldn’t wake Anastelle in the next room. "You don’t understand, Giulia. I’m in massive trouble."
Giulia’s energy finally dimmed. She looked at my pale face and stepped closer. "What? Tell me what happened."
"He didn’t let me quit," I whispered, my hands trembling slightly. "He said if I resign, I won’t get a job anywhere else in this city or in the world."
Giulia let out a breath, her lips tight. "Okay, that’s a bit of a fight. I know the Monroe family holds a lot of power in Milan, but... are you sure he can actually do that? Or he just wants to scare you."
I looked down at the kitchen counter.
We both knew the Monroes were rich. To the rest of the world, they were just normal, high-society billionaires who owned luxury brands and real estate. But looking back at the size of that mansion, and the absolute fear the servants had in their eyes, I was starting to realize we hadn’t dug deep enough.
They weren’t just rich. They were untouchable. They owned the banks, the media, the legal systems, and probably half the companies I would ever try to apply to. Laziel didn’t need a weapon to destroy my life; he could do it legally with a single phone call.
"I don’t think he’s bluffing, Giulia," I said quietly, "He knows everything. He knows the apartment is thirty-seven minutes from the office. He knows our security is bad. He might know her father."
Giulia froze, the color draining from her face. "At this point....I think he does."
"What should we do?"
"You’re not going back to that office." Giulia said.
"But the driver...."
"He’ll get tired and leave. He can’t force you to work for him."
"You’re right," I said. "To hell with him. I’ll go find a new job tomorrow. He can’t do anything to me. This is a free country."
Right on cue, the horn blasted.
BEEEEEP.
Giulia and I both jumped. I walked over to the living room window and peered down through the blinds. The Maybach was still parked right by the curb, blocking half the narrow street. The driver was sitting behind the wheel, looking straight up at our building.
BEEEEEP.
"Is that a fucking maybach?!! He’s going to wake up the entire neighborhood," Giulia whispered, looking stressed and awed.
"Let him," I snapped, reaching over and slamming the window shut, locking it tight to block out the noise. "I’m not going back. I’m not getting into that car. He can keep the salary. He can keep the advance. I’ll sell my things if I have to, but I am done playing his twisted game."
The horn finally stopped.
"Mireya... he’s gone." Giulia peeked.
"See?" I said, trying to force a confidence I didn’t entirely feel. "I told you. He’ll get tired and leave. Laziel Monroe is a busy man. If I don’t show up, he’ll just find another secretary to torture."
But as I sat down on the couch, my stomach twisted into a knot.
I felt completely uneasy. The silence from outside didn’t feel like a victory; it felt like the quiet before a storm. Laziel wasn’t the type of man who let things slide. He didn’t take no for an answer, and he certainly didn’t let people ignore his schedule.
He was calculating. He was always three steps ahead.
