The one rule I swore I would never break was falling for my boss—and then Kyle Ferrante heard me confess that I wanted to know what he looked like without his expensive suits. Before the night was over, I would discover something that made that humiliation feel almost harmless. Because Kyle overhearing my secret was not the most dangerous thing waiting for me in that empty office.
The one rule I swore I would never break was falling for my boss—and then Kyle Ferrante heard me confess that I wanted to know what he looked like without his expensive suits. Before the night was over, I would discover something that made that humiliation feel almost harmless. Because Kyle overhearing my secret was not the most dangerous thing waiting for me in that empty office.
My name is Vesper, and the day Kyle Ferrante underestimated me was the day he destroyed himself.
It was 6:40 on a Thursday evening.
Nearly everyone had gone home.
The computer screens around me were dark, the workstations empty, and I was still sitting at my desk pretending the Harland report could not wait until morning.
My best friend Pippa was on the phone.
“Is he still there?” she asked.
“No. He left early.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
“You’ve worked with the hottest man alive for eight months. You expect me to believe you’ve never wondered about him?”
“Eight months and two days,” I corrected.
Pippa burst out laughing.
“I knew you were counting.”
Heat climbed into my face.
I glanced around the silent office.
I was certain I was alone.
“So,” Pippa continued, “what would you ask him if you had one chance?”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Humor me.”
I leaned back in my chair.
“Fine. I’d want to know what he’s really like when he isn’t wearing those ridiculously perfect suits.”
“That isn’t what you were thinking.”
I laughed.
“Okay. Maybe I was wondering what he looks like… without them.”
The words had barely left my mouth when a familiar voice spoke behind me.
“Interesting question.”
Every muscle in my body froze.
Slowly, I turned.
Kyle Ferrante stood directly behind my chair.
His jacket was folded over one arm. His white shirt sleeves were rolled neatly to his forearms, and his expression was perfectly controlled.
Except for the faint curve at the corner of his mouth.
He had heard everything.
Pippa’s voice crackled through my phone.
“Vesper? Who was that?”
I ended the call so quickly I nearly dropped the phone.
“I thought you left,” I whispered.
“So I gathered.”
“I can explain.”
“I’m sure you can.”
“I was joking.”
“Were you?”
“Yes.”
The answer came too fast.
Kyle placed his jacket on the empty chair beside me but did not walk away.
“My friend was teasing me,” I said. “I thought I was alone.”
“That part was clear.”
I wanted the floor to open beneath me.
Instead, Kyle glanced at my screen.
“The Harland projections?”
“Yes.”
“They aren’t due until Monday.”
“I told myself I would finish them tonight.”
“And disappointing yourself isn’t an option?”
“Not lately.”
Something changed in his expression.
Then he ordered me to pack my things.
I refused.
He reminded me that the trains were delayed and offered me a ride home.
I refused that too.
Kyle pulled the empty chair beside my desk closer and sat down.
“I can wait,” he said.
“For what?”
“For you to finish your one page.”
For ten minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then I found the discrepancy.
Operating expenses had increased by twelve percent, but the supporting schedule explained only four. A consulting fee had been divided across three departments, almost as though someone did not want it noticed.
Kyle leaned closer.
“Open the original submission.”
His shoulder brushed mine as I pulled up the file.
The entry had been added six days earlier by Martin Hale from finance operations.
“Is it a mistake?” I asked.
“Possibly.”
“Should I flag it?”
“Not yet.”
I turned toward him.
“Why not?”
His eyes stayed on the screen.
“No changes. No questions to Martin. No mention of this discrepancy.”
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Kyle closed my laptop and escorted me downstairs, but the strange entry followed me home.
Hours later, alone in my apartment, I opened the earlier Harland forecasts.
The fee had never appeared before.
The vendor was Aster Row Advisory.
The archived invoices were restricted.
Then I noticed the approval field.
It was not blank.
Two initials were sitting inside it.
K.F.
Kyle Ferrante.
He had acted surprised when we found the payment.
So why had he approved it?
Before I could close the spreadsheet, my phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number.
Do not open the Harland files from home.
A second message appeared.
Company access is monitored. Close the document now.
I stared at Kyle’s initials on my screen as my hands went cold.
Then the unknown number called.
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