Chapter 294

“Daisy, what are you doing here?” Victor asked as he got to his feet. He came from behind his desk and kissed my cheek.

“I came back to admire some of the artwork again,” I slipped my hand into the crook of his arm. “It’s exquisite. While I was here, I thought I’d stop in and say hello.”

“I’m glad you did,” Victor said. “You haven’t met my new executive assistant.”

He turned to the woman in the skin-tight dress. “Daisy, this is Chloe. Chloe, this is my fiancée, Daisy Wilson.”

Chloe gave me a tight smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Wilson. Victor, I need two more signatures, and I’ll leave you and your fiancée alone.”

I hated the way she used Victor’s first name and the way I could see her belly button and other parts of her perfect body through the light, clingy material of her dress.

Honestly, doesn’t The Association have a dress code? She looked ready to hit some clubs on a Saturday night instead of working for the leader of our government.

She was prettier than me in a sophisticated way, but my pride refused to allow her to know her presence in Victor’s office bothered me.

I smiled pleasantly at her after Victor signed the papers, and she was leaving the room with them in her hand.

“It was nice to meet you, Chloe,” I said. “I hope you like your job here.”

“Oh, I do,” she said on her way out the door.

“Control yourself, Daisy,” I told myself. “It will hurt Victor if you make a scene in his office.”

“Does this mean you missed me?” Victor asked.

“What do you think?” I stepped into his arms and kissed him passionately.

But he pulled away after a few moments. “I’m at work, my love. As much as I enjoy your kisses, I must act professionally in my office.”

“I’m sorry,” I gave him my sunniest smile. I could sense his love for me. Maybe I was making a bigger deal out of Chloe than was warranted.

She was his employee. I am his fated mate. He would never cheat on me. But jealousy is as unreasonable as love. I had to remember that even though Chloe was a beautiful woman, Victor’s heart was mine.

“If you want to join me, I have time for a quick lunch in the cafeteria,” Victor offered.

“I’d like that,” I said. “Ooh, but I’m wearing jeans and a T-shirt.”

“There’s no dress code in the cafeteria,” Victor assured me. “You look beautiful in everything you wear.”

He took my hand, and we walked into Chloe’s office together.

She was sitting at her desk, stretching her arms over her head in a way that made her breasts push provocatively against the fabric of her dress.

“I’ll be in the cafeteria if I’m needed,” Victor told Chloe without looking at her.

Chloe nodded. There was a smug little smile on her face. “I’ll text you if anything comes up.”

We walked down the hall and turned left before Victor spoke.

“You don’t like Chloe,” he said. It wasn’t a question. “I can sense you’re holding something back from me.”

Guilt made me cringe. He was right about Chloe, but I felt terrible about the secret I was keeping from him with Cassidy and Alex. But I could not tell him the truth now.

“Um, I don’t think Chloe dresses appropriately for your office, and she’s a bit too familiar with you,” I confessed.

“Are you jealous?” he asked.

“A little,” I admitted. “But I trust you.”

“I think you’re right about the way she dresses, but I can’t say anything about it to her without getting hit by a sexual harassment lawsuit,” Victor said.

I squeezed his hand. “It makes me feel better to hear you say that.”

“We should always be able to tell each other how we feel,” he said. “I adore you, my love. You have no reason to be jealous.”

I lowered my voice. “Are you sure she isn’t part of the faction?”

“I doubt it. She’s a new hire that Findlay recruited,” he replied. “I trust Findley completely.

“So do I,” I agreed. After getting to know him during my tour of the complex, I found Findlay delightful. And I had no doubt he was loyal to Victor.

We chatted about little things the rest of the way to the complex’s cafeteria. Victor had a private table, and an employee came to wait on us instead of us standing in line.

While we were eating our burgers and salads, Victor called the head of security, Rod Wells, to our table and introduced me.

Rod was a thin middle-aged man with shaggy salt and pepper hair. Victor said he had been recently promoted to his position as the security chief.

“Daisy enjoys the artwork we keep on display, and she's interested in the history of the building,” Victor told the man. “Please see to it that she is allowed privileges while she is in the building.”

“Yes, sir.” Rod Wells was very serious and polite, but he quickly excused himself to get his lunch before a staff meeting.

Victor and I finished our lunch while he pointed out various employees whose names I wouldn’t remember.

“I’ll walk you to the front entrance,” Victor offered. But he received a text from Chloe as we were leaving the cafeteria.

“I’m sorry, my love, but I must get back to my office to avert a small disaster,” Victor apologized. “I’ll make it up to you with dinner wherever you want to go this evening.”

“That sounds great,” I said.

“Can you find the front entrance?” He asked before giving me a light kiss.

“I’ll be fine,” I said. “See you this evening.”

Victor promised to call me later and hurried toward his office.

I went in the other direction, following the signs that indicated the direction of the front entrance.

As I arrived in the grand foyer, I spotted Rod Wells talking to a well-groomed man in an expensive suit. It didn’t look like a staff meeting to me. I was sure none of the security guards wore a five-thousand-dollar designer suit.

He saw me staring and said something to the other man that made him jerk his head in my direction. The way both men were looking at me made me hurry to the doors.

But before I made it outside, Rod Wells caught up with me.

He stepped in front of me, blocking my exit from the complex. “Miss Wilson, please give me your car keys, and I’ll have someone bring your car to the curb.”

“That’s not necessary,” I assured him. “I need to walk off my lunch, and it’s a lovely day.”

There was something about the man that set off my instincts not to trust him. But my main reason for wanting to walk to my car by myself was because it was parked next to the exterior entrance to the passages.

I didn't want him to ask Victor why I chose to park behind the building, which was a fifteen-minute walk to my car.

“I’ll be fine walking to my car,” I insisted. “I’ll be sure to tell Victor how helpful you were.”

I fought to stay calm as my eyes dueled with his for a moment. Finally, he relented.

“Please do, Miss Wilson,” he said. “I was following his orders to give you all the privileges he mentioned.”

“Well, thanks again,” I said and stepped around him.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw him walking back to the man in the suit. They spoke for a moment before going in opposite directions.

Walking to my car, I began to wonder if he knew I had been in the passages. Something was very off about the man.

But I didn’t have long to think about it. Before I was halfway to my car, my phone rang. It was Amy, and she was frantic.

“Daisy, please, you’ve got to come right away,” she begged.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?” I asked. I had the feeling it was a paranormal problem.

The ghost just scared one of my employees so badly she quit and ran out the door,” she explained. “It’s the second employee to quit today.

Amy lowered her voice. “The rest of the staff is scared. They see apparitions, objects move around by themselves, and they hear strange sounds. I don’t blame them for not wanting to work here.”

“But, Daisy, I can’t open a homeless shelter without staff,” she said. “Please come to Archer Manor and help me stop this evil spirit from keeping people living on the streets.”

“Hang in there, Amy. I’ll be there soon.”