TRAPPED BY HIM

Cily

One, two, three...

The thumping of my heart was loud in my ears, and blood rushed to my face, as I counted under my breath, waiting for what was to come.

All around me, the party went on, and the very first rendition of Billie Holiday's song rang through the speakers.

It was a lovely evening, almost magical, but I didn't feel lovely, and I sure as hell didn't feel magical.

"What are you doing here?" Lucas half yelled, his eyes narrowing under the dim lights in the room.

His eyes searched mine, as I stood with bated breath, not sure what to say.

I was not supposed to be here. Other than the fact that I wasn't invited, which I chalked down to being a new employee, I should be sorting through stacks of files that were probably written by a bitter woman.

Who writes things down with a pen and paper these days with all the technology and the innovation of Google Docs? I thought to myself, irritation coating my features.

But I didn't dare say my reservations out loud.

I mumbled out words that I did not understand myself, and took a step backwards, while I searched for a way of escape.

My boss, Lucas towered over me, his gray eyes digging into my hazel eyes as he waited for an answer. I opened my mouth to respond, but words failed me, and I simply stared back at him.

The company's annual fundraiser was in full swing by the time I'd arrived despite warnings from my boss that I had to finish the work he'd piled up on my desk earlier that afternoon.

As I recoiled under his icy stare, I realized that I had no way of escape. I had just one job and on my first day of work, I'd flunked that. But no boss in his right mind would give his assistant that much work to do.

That was what I chose to believe as I held his gaze for as long as I could. Finally, I looked away, shy.

"Look at me when I talk to you." His eyes raked over me as he half yelled. A cold chill ran up my arms and I rubbed at them to steady myself.

I was suddenly self conscious and blamed myself for my choice of clothing that evening. I stepped back, careful not to step on my limited edition black slit dress from Prada. The only piece of expensive clothing I owned.

I dragged my eyes to his, and forced myself not to look away. He was particularly striking that evening, and try as hard as I was, it was hard to deny how good Lucas looked.

His hair was slicked back, and he was dressed in a gray tuxedo that made his eyes twinkle under the dim light. For some reason, I wanted to bury my nose in his neck as his rich cologne enveloped me.

Not bad. I murmured absentmindedly.

"What?" He regarded me closely, and for a split second, his eyes flickered to my cleavage.

"I said, I wanted a break and decided to pop in and out." I smiled tightly at him, doing my best to distract him from openly ogling me.

I should have been uncomfortable with the way he looked at me, but instead, my hairs stood on end, and I suddenly forgot how to breathe.

"I know I had asked you to get those files finished by the end of the day." The music had slowed down and I could hear him clearly. He wasn't happy.

"There was no way I would have finished that before the end of the day." The hardness of his stare made me want to take back everything I'd just said, but it was already too late.

Lucas stared back at me, his eyes widening slightly. He opened his mouth, and then closed it , deciding that it was not worth it.

"Get back to that office and get those files sorted." He took a step forward, his eyes shimmering under the dim fancy lights.

The champagne I had earlier was beginning to get to me as he closed the distance between us. I should have moved away, especially considering the fact that his jaws kept clenching and unclenching, but I didn't move away.

"Miss Tate, don't make me fire you." He whispered, his lips hovering dangerously above my ear.

I took a step back, and away from him as I tried to process my thoughts. Everyone else was at the party, even the new interns, but he was making me work at the desk all night.

"Please...I..." I started to say, but was cut off.

"Go back to work. I mean it."

"Are you always this uptight?" My hand flew to my mouth, but it was already too late. I could not take back those words. Mentally, I applauded myself. I was doing and saying all the wrong things.

"No one asked you to stay." He deadpanned. "You can turn in your resignation tomorrow and save me the stress of firing you."

There were no emotions on his face, even as the lights flashed off us, creating a slow kaleidoscope of colors.

"No..I'm sorry. I didn't...."

Lucas hissed impatiently and grabbed me by the elbow, cutting me off. I stared back with wide eyes, willing myself to fight back. To prove that I wasn't a pushover.

But I did not. I could not.

His eyes seemed to hold me in place, and freeze me to the spot.

"I only work with strong people, and not lazy, entitled rich kids who think the world should be at their feet simply because their parents could afford to buy the things in life that make it worth living."

His voice was getting loud and drawing attention to us. I felt like a deer trapped in the headlight as everyone slowly turned their attention to us.

"Don't think for once that just because you finished from Yale or whatever trustfund school, that you cannot take orders. I will not stand for that in my office. You might as well just quit."

The disdain in his voice felt like a poisoned knife slicing through my flesh. Non stopping.

I bit the insides of my cheek as I stood there, willing myself to stop trembling in front of this awful man. He did not deserve to see me weak, and trembling.

I could feel the judgment in everyone's stares even though I dared not raise my eyes to anyone's. I was mortified.

He was wrong. He didn't know me. How could he judge me that way, so cruelly.

My lips quivered as I fought back tears that were sure to be hot if they fell down my cheeks.

Lucas laughed. A mirthless laughter that seemed to mock my very being.

"Are you going to cry now? That's rich." He mocked, his eyes digging holes in mine.

The world seemed to tilt as I held my breath. I was scared that if I let myself breathe, then I'd cry. I heard the snickers, and my eyes flew to the people who were standing there.

I glared at them, as if daring them to snicker again. It was my silly way of trying to gain some control, or prove something.

Without warning, I turned away and ran.

How can a human being be so terribly ruthless? It was even worse than I had heard.

I didn't stop running until I was out of the building.

I barely heard my footsteps as they slapped against the wet pavement. The cold night's air whipped at my face, mingled with wet slim drops of rain.

I sighed, gathering the hem of my prada dress as I ran down the street.

This was not happening to me. I murmured as the intensity of the rain increased.

My lips quivered as I felt the familiar sting of tears. A single drop slid down my face. I didn't bother to wipe it away as it mingled with the rain drops on my wet face.

Taxis flew by as I stood on the sidewalk, finally too tired to walk. My heels weren't helping as they felt like stones attached to my feet.

It was happening again. I could not outrun it, or change my life.

Pressing my lips together, I struggled to stop crying. I didn't want to feel weak and defeated on my first try at independence.

My father would want this. I whispered to myself, standing there, rain pelting against my skin.

This new job was not a cause to celebrate. It was a sentence, some cruel trick that the universe was playing against me.

With a boss like Lucas Ross, how was I ever going to survive? The man hated my guts, even though I was sure that I didn't do anything to him.

Maybe he was right. Maybe I should quit, go back home and curl up on my couch.

But to accept defeat was to prove to my father that I could not survive on my own. And I could.

But not tonight.

Tonight, all I wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry.

Lucas

Damn it." I cursed loudly. "One more tap and I swear to God, I'll not be held responsible for slamming your face into the wall, Derek."

It was 7:30pm on a Saturday and I was standing in the middle of a sauna wearing nothing but a towel and sweating out of my ass, while Derek, my best friend, tapped carelessly away on his laps. It irritated me.

Derek stood up, and joined me, his green eyes twinkling with mischief. The idiot was enjoying every bit of my misery and it prickled.

If it was not for the fact that Derek was like a brother to me, then maybe I would have gone ahead and slammed his face into the wall.

There were two things I hated and one of them was people mocking me. I also hated jokes, and I didn't play around. I preferred people when they were scared of me.

Derek was the only exception, since we've been friends since middle school. But today, I wasn't in the mood and he was pushing it. And especially on a day like this that rankled with the bitter taste of my own defeat.

In fact, it was Derek's idea to come sit in a hot room–an excuse for a sauna. His twisted idea of cheering me up.

"Remind me again why you lost that contract?" Derek cocked his head slightly to the side as he stared at me down. He was possibly the only person on earth that was not scared shitless of me.

Ignoring him, and putting a safe distance between the two of us, I fished out my phone from my robe and turned it on.

I didn't necessarily need to use it, but I was in no mood to be reminded that I had just bonked a very important contract.

But Derek would not be ignored.

I felt it before I registered whatever was happening. The next thing I knew, I was smack dab against the hot wall, my towel coming loose, and my vision blurred. The ringing in my ears disoriented me even more.

My shoulder blades stung and the back of my head burned. It was hard to pinpoint the exact place I felt discomfort, as pain consumed me. He'd punched me. Hard.

"Ready to talk now?" I heard Derek ask from somewhere around me.

I peeled myself from the wall, and tried to focus my vision. The walls of the sauna painted a soothing mixture of sunset gold and white, spun slightly, and for a brief moment, I felt like I was attached to a spinning wheel.

Derek was a professional wrestler and MMA fighter which made him, unapologetically an unpleasant person to be with at times. Although, I wasn't one to talk. I could hardly call myself pleasant–I lived alone in a penthouse Condo with walls as gray as my heart–or so I've been told.

The truth was, I didn't really care about anything that was not directly affecting my finances.

Well, until her.

"You didn't have to do that. I would have talked anyway." I spat out through gritted teeth. The pain in my head was reduced to a dull throbbing now and my vision was getting clearer.

At least I could make out Derek's smug face.

"You've never been this distracted since our college days. What happened? You prepared for this for months." Derek was peering directly at me, his forehead scrunched up in confusion.

I bit my lower lip and swore under my breath. I refused to admit it to myself for while now, but the moment the words fell out of my mouth, I knew they were true.

"My new assistant, Cily Tate. She's driving me crazy."

"A woman?" A small smile crossed Derek's face as his eyes widened. He could not believe it.

Known as California's most dedicated playboy, a woman was the last thing to make me lose my game and my edge.

"I can't believe it either. But that Cily just drives me, so..."I trailed off, clenching and unclenching my fists.

"This is crazy. Lucas Ross, In love with a woman. I'm proud of you Lucas." He said, smiling up at me reverently.

I glared at him, un smiling. "I am not in love."

I didn't understand her and it made me furious. It also made me furious that she carried herself in a way that silently challenged my authority.

I was losing control amongst my employees and that was not a good look.

But instead of admitting all that to Derek, I glared at him instead and pushed his hand away when he tried to help me up.

"Forget it. I'll make it so hard for her that she has no other choice but to quit." I grunted to Derek. "She's got to pay for making me lose this contract."

I could not explain why my blood boiled whenever she walked into the room, or whenever she handed me my schedule like any good assistant would, I'd prickle with anger.

"You're just an asshole. Have you ever considered that?" Derek asked, returning my glare.

I fixed Derek a look. "Have you ever considered that maybe she thinks she's too good for the rest of us? She has a degree in Computer Engineering and from damned Yale!"

"That's fancy. Why did you hire her, then?" Derek went back to his spot and I watched with disinterest as he relaxed into the sauna.

"That is the problem. I didn't hire her. HR did." I replied, and then cringed at how whiny I sounded.

"Then just fire her."

"I cannot do that. Not without reason." His eyes were trained on me.

I also didn't tell him that the reason she infuriated me so much was that she affected me so much.

Her eyes–those hazel eyes that made something inside me stir.

Her lips. "Fuck." I muttered under my breath as I tried to push the image of her pink luscious lips from my mind.

All I wanted to do was pin her to the wall and bite those lips, and it doesn't help that she keeps talking back.

No one affected Lucas Ross, and definitely not Cily.

I would make sure of that. Even if I have to break her to get her out of my mind.

Whatever it took.

Cily

"Get into the car."

The cold air whipped savagely at my face, as I tried to process what was happening.

One minute, I was having a good day settled behind my desk, and then the next, my wrist is hurting and I'm staring into the icy eyes of my boss. Lucas.

"W...Why?" I pressed my lips as I waited for an answer.

"Why?" Lucas asked, letting go of my wrists. He was staring at me with eyes that bore no warmth. "Aren't you my assistant?"

"Your assistant, not slave. Where are you taking me to? I cross checked the schedule for today and there's nothing for 4pm." I replied, doing my best to maintain my composure. Deep down, my mind was screaming at me.

4pm was usually my time. The only time of the day when I am not obligated to wait on Lucas hand and foot. That was my free hour, but today he was determined to take that joy away from me.

"Slave, assistant, they all mean the same thing." His eyes raked over me, slowly. Deliberately. The first sign of trouble. "We're going to the Gemini." He said with an air of a man who was used to making statements and was never questioned about them.

An uncomfortable silence ensued as I stood there, staring him down and waiting for an explanation I knew was not coming.

"You say that like I'm meant to know what it is." Hot anger rushed up and through my body. I was mad at him, which was a daily occurrence, and I hated how unbalanced it made me.

If Lucas had heard me, he made no effort to respond.

Instead, his eyes darted reverently to the Porsche that he'd had me pinned against some minutes ago.

"Get in!" Was all he said, as he entered into the car and revved the engine, leaving me standing by the door, not sure how to open it.

One thing was for sure. Lucas was no gentleman.

"You didn't get the door for me." I half yelled, before clearing my throat. Half yelling was a constant thing now and sore throat was the norm of the day. It irked me each time I picked up lozenges and pain relievers from the Pharmacy.

At this point, you're wondering why I just didn't open the door by myself. I could not. I didn't know how to, but I'd rather swallow bile than admit to that.

The engine of the car revved with a rude boom. Lucas was at it again, pushing my buttons.

"How is any of this fair?" I heard myself say, as I tugged on the car's handle.

Again, he revved the engine and the car roared, as if annoyed at me for not entering. "Stop it!" I yelled, as he revved it again.

It was driving me crazy. He was driving me crazy.

"Need help there, darling?" Lucas called out, but I heard him chuckle after.

A thousand needles pricking my skin was the sensation I felt. "Get out of the damned car and help me!" I screamed in frustration.

I was past caring about what anyone would say or what he thought. I was even done caring about retaining my job.

Which was better? My sanity or a couple hundred dollars a month?

"The first step to expressing your emotions is shouting. I understand." I heard him say, turning off the car's engine and stepping out of the car. He didn't bother closing the door behind him.

It seemed like forever as he walked over to me, his hair falling over his face disrespectfully. His shirt was open, three buttons down revealing a nice set of muscular abs.

I swallowed, willing myself to drag my eyes away from his body and even with a disheveled and tousled look, Lucas was still gorgeous.

I hated him for that. It had to be legal to look that good. Sadly, Lucas knew that too.

When Lucas got to me, his eyes raked over me, and then he sighed, and ran his hand through his hair, in a gesture that made me seem exhausting.

Was he serious? I almost blurted out, but then wondered why I hadn't.

I stared at him, unable to make words come out of my mouth. I could not bring myself to talk, because I was using that energy to keep from lunging at him, and burying my hands in his hair. And not in a good way.

"The one thing you should always keep in mind, dear Cily..." His voice, silky and smooth washed over me, as he placed a finger under my chin, lifting my face to his.

In the movies, the female lead would look away, or try to fight against the male lead's touch, but I was not in a movie and such never happened in real life, anyway.

Something stirred in his eyes–the first reaction I'd gotten from him in days–it was almost as if he was trying to figure out why I was not talking back.

His voice was sinfully low when he leaned in, his finger still under my chin. He was dangerously close. Too close.

"The next time you scream at me..." He trailed off as his eyes fell to my lips, then continued, hsi gaze never leaving my lips. "I will leave marks, and I promise you'll be helpless to stop me."

What was it? I wondered as my legs suddenly became weak. I wanted so desperately to understand why Lucas affected me in ways that I could not explain.

He let me go, opened my door and walked over to his side of the car.

I stood there, watching him, and unable to unscramble my scrambled senses. All I could think about was his voice doing tricks to my body. All it took was his damned voice to undo me.

Mechanically, I ran a hand through my hair, while I breathed out of my mouth, but eventually, I got into the car.

I had no choice.