The Skin Thief

Chapter 49

"Sit your arse down and tell us everything," Leo says as I come into the office. I laugh and take a seat at my desk. He rolls his chair over and sits down, staring at me.

I sigh. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything," he replies.

I raise an eyebrow and start logging on to my computer.

"Well," I begin, "the other night when I stayed late, Mr Kaiser came in. He thought I was secretly working on the confidential documents he gave me and Zoe which, obviously, I wasn't."

"What were the documents?" he interrupts. I pause and look at him.

"I'm just testing you," he says, laughing as he holds up his hands.

"Anyway, he offered me a lift home once I was done."

Leo gasps and grabs my arm. "And you didn't think to tell me?" he hisses.

"It wasn't that big of a deal," I reply, giggling.

"Not that big of a deal? Are you serious Ivy?"

"Shhhh," I say and slap his hands away, "or I won't tell you anything in the future."

"I'm sorry," he laughs and leans back in his chair, shaking his head. "So, what was yesterday about? Why did he bring you a drink?"

I shrug. "Because he's nice and knows I worked hard," I say casually.

"Hmmmm," Leo says and narrows his eyes at me.

"What?" I ask.

"You're not giving me much to work with here, Ivy."

"Because I'm not allowed to tell you most of what happened," I explain and slap him lightly. "Now, go to your desk, we have work to do."

"Fine," he says and stands. Just as he does so, the office doors open. A man walks in. Leo pauses and gulps.

The man smiles cockily as he looks at everyone. His teeth are a little too white behind his tight lips. Something about his face freaks me out. He looks to be in his late forties, but his skin lacks any sort of fault or wrinkles. It almost looks too tight and artificial. His blue, three-piece suit, looks expensive, and it fits his tall, slim frame perfectly.

"Who is that?" I whisper as he walks past.

"Serena's father," Leo replies, clenching his jaw.

"Oh," I gulp, my heart rate spiking.

He looks around the room as though we are beneath him. It makes my blood boil and I ball my hands into tight fists.

"Fuck," I mutter to myself and look away as his eyes fall on me.

"Poor Zoe," Leo sighs.

"Mmm," I hum in agreement.

The man disappears into Zoe's office without even knocking.

"What an arse," I mutter.

"Now you can see where a certain someone gets it from," Leo laughs.

Talking about a certain someone, the sound of her clicking heels tells us she's arrived without anyone needing to look at the door. I close my eyes and groan, leaning my head on my arms.

"I'd best get back to my desk. Good luck with your day," Leo sighs and pats me on the back.

"Thanks," I muffle.

I force myself to sit up and pay attention to my work. As I look through the documents for my latest assignment, I struggle to comprehend what is before me. All I can think about is what is being discussed by Zoe and Serena's father.