Darkest Devotion

Chapter 9

Zaide's POV

We convened our last meeting this after noon bringing our traveling work trip to an end. I won't lie and say that I'm not a little upset at the fact that I won't be that close to Elara all the time anymore. 

After the situation at the bar, she passed out in the car so I carried her safely to her room, tucked her in, and concluded the night in my own bed. I stayed up late thinking about how cute she looked when she was sleeping, her breaths soft and her lips parted slightly as she mumbled here and there.

The way she handled that man at the bar stood out to me; it took a lot of guts. But something about what she said stuck with me. 

"I have practice with that stuff."

My brain spent every groggy moment trying to figure out what she meant by those words until my brain was spent, sending me off to a deep sleep.

I blink, coming back to the moment. 

Elara and I sit in the private plane, facing each other like last time, only sitting closer to each other, sharing a table between us. A soft smiles takes place on my face as I look at her furrowed brows. She sits hunched over her computer looking at some of the documents from the weekend meetings we had.

"I just don't get their stipulations here, it doesn't make sense." She mumbles to herself as she agonizes over the particulars. 

"If it's confusing then send it to me. As the boss I'm the one meant to look over the specifics." I look up at her over my glasses. I don't usually wear them but when I have a migraine or feel the need for them then I wear them. Currently the latter is the incentive. 

She looks up at me, a breath catching in her throat which causes me to quirk a brow. Is she okay? "Of course, Mr. Castellan, um, I just wanted to try and help lessen the load for you."

A gentle smile spreads across my lips as I lean forward, my computer in my lap. Her chest rises and falls at a faster pace than just a moment ago, catching my attention. I feel my eyes darken as I catch a subtle raise where her nipples are against the shirt. I clear my throat before looking up at her. "I appreciate the thought, but I have been doing this since I started my company. My eyes are trained on what to look out for so I can get it done swiftly and accurately."

She swallows hardly before clearing her throat, her head nodding. "Of course, I will make sure to send it to you right away then."

I nod in approval before leaning back in my seat. "Thank you, Ms. Austen."

She smiles quickly before turning to her work.

As she works on sending me the document, she pauses, looking up at me. "Uh, Mr. Castellan?" I hum in acknowledgement as I continue on the document. "Why did you use a woman's name when you were setting up the interview with me?"

I pause at her inquisition before slowly looking up at her. "I'm sorry?"

Her face flushes with nerves. "I'm sorry I just have been curious ever since I found out Karla Hurtz never worked at this company."

I take the computer off of my lap, placing it on the table in front of us before leaning back. "It's just a precaution I take."

"For what harm?" The question clearly seeing through my indirectness. 

"People."

"People?"

I let out a heavy sigh, crossing my arms over my chest before turning my head to look out of the plane window. "There were times, in the past, that I would be inquiring to take on new employees for my company. At this point, my company and I were very well known to those who stayed up to date with the news. So, whenever there was a new job posting, I would get women trying to get close to me. When they saw that I was answering emails personally at times, things got... weird.