I had barely sat down in my office when King marched in. "Hello King," I said sarcastically.
"So I see you and your bodyguard are getting along just fine," he said as he crossed his arms in front of himself.
"Don't you have a company to run?" I let my head fall into my hands. "Wait," I sat back up. "How did you know who he was?" I asked.
"He sent me an email last night, explaining the misunderstanding that happened. I ran a background check just in case, he's completely clean by the way," King said proudly.
"He did what? He never told me!" I bolted up. "King, I don't trust him. Last night-"
"Ah ah! He already told me everything that happened. See unlike you, he actually keeps in contact with me. He knows who I am and I know who he is. He's got a nice sense of humor too! Did you know he skis?" King asked.
"What?!" I shouted in outrage. King just shrugged his shoulders at me.
"He's clean, so stop being suspicious of him, you're making him feel bad," King scolded. He gave me a smug look before walking out of my room. I watched his back as he exited. What a way to start my morning.
***
Shortly after King left, the strange man from before knocked on the door. He opened it and came in with a smile on his face. "What a coincidence! You're the woman from the elevator!" He said with a huge smile. I looked up at him from my laptop.
"Yes. I'm sorry you had to see me like that this morning. It wasn't what it looked like," I tried to explain. I stood up and came from behind my desk. I reached out to shake his hand.
"That's a relief, because I couldn't help but notice how stunning you look!" He gently took my hand in his and brought it up to his mouth. He kissed my hand. "My name is Jasper Cunningham, the new CLO," he said. His voice was low and I could feel the floor vibrate when he spoke.
"Oh! I just threw this on," I could feel my face darken as he kissed my hand. "I'm Grace Simmons!" I said, slightly flustered.
"Beautiful name to match a beautiful face," he stared deep into my eyes, something mysterious lurking behind his hazel eyes.
"Oh, Mr. Cunningham you-" I was cut off before I could finish.
"Call me Jasper," he finally let go of my hand and straightened his posture. He was stunningly tall, at least 6 foot 3.
"Well Jasper," the words felt weird in my mouth. I rarely ever used first names with anyone. It was all about professionalism after all. "I'm happy to be working with you. If you ever need help around the office just let me know," I pushed a stray hair behind my ear.
"How sweet of you. Actually, I was wondering about the chap that was here before. I heard he passed away suddenly," Jasper said. He crossed his arms in front of him and leaned on the wall as he spoke. I suddenly felt my stomach flop over.
"Yeah, Arthur Ryan. He was....He fell down the stairs..." I said as I shifted from one foot to another.
"Three flights? How impossible is that. He must have been spooked by something to fall so hard and for so long. Almost like he was being chased," Jasper's eyes stared directly into mine as he spoke. The way he spoke made the hairs on my neck stand up.
"I-"
"I guess anything really can kill you. Watch your step from now on, okay?" Jasper put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze before he exited the room. On the way, Park came in. The two exchanged pleasantries before Park came in. As soon as the door shut, his face turned serious.
