Chapter 61 THE MAN AT THE TOP

Chapter 61 THE MAN AT THE TOP
"What did you just say?" he hissed, his voice dropping into a low, terrifying cadence that made the room temperature seem to drop a few degrees. 

My heart skipped. Shit. I needed to learn to keep my pie hole shut. 

I quickly shook my head, forcing a loose, dismissive shrug.  "Nothing," I said, forcing my expression to soften into careless bravado. “I was just amazed you take care of your people, given the way people have hurt you in the past.”

His expression remained closed off, his eyes scanning my face for a few seconds. “This is the second time you are mentioning my late wife,” he commented, his voice low as if he was thinking about something serious. “Did you know her?”

My stomach rolled as I forced myself to meet his intense eyes with a blank, innocent face. “You can’t blame me,” I replied, leaning back in my chair and twirling the end of my hair childishly. “It’s no easy feat for someone to kill the wife of a powerful man such as you. They had to be daring. Did you ever find out who did it?”

Instead of getting angry or shutting down emotionally as he normally would, he looked amused. 

The anxiety and fear in my stomach blew into anger when he just shook his head and chuckled, ignoring my question.

“What’s so funny?” I snapped, straightening.

Samuel threw me a look as if he were looking at a mad woman dancing at the edge of a cliff. 

“You are,” Kanan said, then abruptly stood up from his chair. “You just made me realize that all that…” he eyed me up and down, “... bravado, you are just as emotional and illogically curious as the rest of your gender.” His tone dipped into a condescending tone. “Though it’s sweet you care about your fellow woman, you need to learn to focus on the right thing, sweetheart.”

I could swear my head was bringing out smoke with how angry I was at the moment. Did he just turn my inquisition into “being an emotional woman”?

“Illogical? What…” 

"Well, I think that is all for today," he said, his voice completely frigid as he cut me off. He pulled his suit jacket straight. "Viper or Samuel will reach out to you when your services are needed."

He was throwing me out. But too bad this new me wasn’t the type to give up easily. He had boxed me into a curious woman. Well then, I’ll act like one if that’s what revs his boat.

I eyed him head to toe, forcing my gaze to turn smoky and sensual as I looked up at him.

"That aside. How about a drink, Kanan?" I drawled, dropping my voice into a low, suggestive rasp. "Won't you like to have a quiet drink with your new asset to commemorate the partnership?"

God. Sienna’s voice was perfect for seduction. I wondered if she knew this and used it in the past. 

Kanan paused, his gray eyes locking onto mine as he leaned against his desk. 

For three long seconds, I saw the internal war raging behind his stare. Surprisingly, he looked like he wanted to say yes despite the tense moment we just had. 

It was obvious he was attracted to me… or more like to Si’s body. A wave of deep, cold hatred flared in my chest at his obvious weakness to my… or more like Sienna’s body, but I suppressed it.

Getting him to sit down for a drink, and maybe even convince him to liquor up, was the best way I could subtly question him about Detective Miller’s murder.

"No," Kanan said, breaking the silence as his professional mask snapped back into place. "We can't have that drink."

I blinked, a genuine flash of surprise crossing my face. He was clearly attracted to me, so why the hell was he holding back so rigidly?

"I have a meeting in a few minutes," he explained, walking toward the door of the office with Samuel following closely behind him. "I don't have time for a drink today."

"A meeting? What meeting?" I asked, staying seated.

Kanan stopped by the door, turning back to look at me with a faint, knowing look that made my stomach do a strange flip. “Oh, and if you’re staying back because you intend to search my office while I’m gone, don’t bother. I don't keep anything valuable here."

I let out an exaggerated sigh of exasperation. "Darn it!” I said dramatically,  throwing my hands up as I got to my feet. “I was really hoping I could break into your private safe and rob you while your back was turned."

His lips curved into an amused smirk that filled me with relief, the tension finally draining from the air. 

Samuel looked at the tablet in his hand, a worried look flashing in his eyes before he leaned closer to Kanan. 

“The council members have arrived and are waiting for you sir,” he said, his voice a whisper so low I wouldn’t have caught it if I hadn’t been reading his lips.

My ears practically popped at the word. The Council.

Why the hell were people as high as the council waiting for him?

“Well,” I said, casually following them out of the office. “Since there’s nothing to steal. I’m out of here too.”

I walked like I was going in their direction, subtly hanging behind them as they headed for the private elevator. 

Several times, I tried to lean closer, straining to listen to what the two of them were whispering to each other, but their voices had dropped into a low frequency I couldn't catch.

When we reached the private elevator, Kanan stepped inside while Samuel remained behind. 

But before the doors could slide shut, Kanan turned around, his intense gray gaze fixing onto me as I stood in the hallway. 

"Do you want to join me downstairs, Siren?" he asked, a faint, testing smile playing on his lips.

I considered it for a moment. But I needed to see if I could get more information about whatever meeting he was going to have with the council from his assistant. 

I shook my head, offering a smooth, dismissive smirk. "No, thanks."

Kanan smiled, a slow, predatory expression settling into his features as the automated elevator bell chimed. "I make you nervous, don't I?" 

"In your dreams, Maddox," I shot back, leveling a teasing smirk right back at him.

But as the heavy, mirrored elevator doors began to slowly glide shut, Kanan leaned forward, holding the doors open. 

His eyes were completely heated now, filled with a raw, heavy sensual promise that sent a sudden, violent jolt of electricity straight down my spine. 

"Be ready for that drink, Sienna," he whispered, his voice a low, raspy growl right before the gap vanished. "Remember the contract. When I call you, you have to answer."

The doors clicked shut with a solid, definitive ring before I could say anything.

I stood completely frozen in the empty corridor, my heart hammering a frantic, chaotic rhythm against my ribs.
A strange, suffocating warmth was tingling in the pit of my stomach. It was a purely physical reaction, a dangerous flare of attraction that I couldn't control. 

When I was Elena, Kanan had never directed that playful, intoxicating, playboy side of his personality toward me throughout our very short marriage. He had been a cold, distant stone. So hearing that raw, flirtatious command from his lips was entirely intoxicating.

Annoyed with myself, I immediately turned toward the assistant who was already heading down the hallway. 

"Hey," I called out, catching up to his stride.

Samuel stopped, turning to look at me with a professional and slightly annoyed expression. "You are free to leave the building."

"What meeting is he going to?" I asked, keeping my tone casual. "Do I need to go down there with him as his new enforcer? I am on the payroll now, aren't I?"

He let out a dry chuckle. "Why on earth would you need to go down there with him?” He said, looking at me with amusement in his eyes. “He did not ask you to come; that means he explicitly doesn’t want you there. Besides, specifically, he doesn't want you anywhere near that part of his business."

I narrowed my eyes, stepping closer into his personal space. "Do you even know what that part of his business is?” I sneered, making my tone condescending. “Aren’t you just a paper-pusher for his company?"

His brows raised. "Of course I know. I work for him. I handle his entire itinerary. And though you are an asset from that specific side of the world,” he retorted, making air quotes with his fingers when he said the word specific. “Kanan is very clear about keeping you separated from his other… businesses."

"Well, what is the meeting about then?" I pressed, my voice dropping into a sharp whisper. "I heard you mention the Council. Why are the members of the council meeting a guy who is trying to go legal? Is there some kind of problem?"

The assistant stared at me for a long, quiet beat. A look of genuine surprise crossed his face, as if he couldn't believe I was asking something so incredibly basic.

"Problem? They wouldn’t dare," he repeated, a slow, grim smile appearing on his lips. “He’s the one who called the meeting.”

I stared at him, confused. “How can he call a meeting?” I asked, my brows furrowing. “Don’t you know only the heads can do that?”

He stared at me, looking genuinely bewildered. “That’s exactly why he can do that. Mr Maddox is the chairman.”

“What?” I muttered, smirking at his mistake. “Yeah, I know he runs the council because he is wealthy now, and they are wary of his power. But Mr Jebidiah is the official head of the… ”

Samuel smirked at me, happy to know something I didn’t. “For someone who claims she’s street, you really know nothing.” Mr Jebidiah is dead.” Then he adjusted his glasses as if he’d merely commented on the weather. “Every decision and rule the council makes can now only be made if Mr Maddox approves it. He is the official head now.”