Chapter 22

“I’ve had it, Sabrina!” Lucien hissed on the phone, his hand on his hip as he stood in front of the glistening glass, glaring out at the city.

“Dad, you wanted a new secretary!” she said in exasperation. “I did what you wanted!”

“I wanted a secretary, not an over-qualified genius. Kendall is a Finance expert in the making!”

“Which is exactly why she’d make a great secretary, duh?! Isn’t that obvious?!”

He tightly shut his eyes, gathering strength. “Lower… your goddamn voice when you talk to me.”

Seated stiffly on a sofa behind him, Kendall clutched her bag like it would grow legs and run from her. Her heart was beating so hard. She’d known he’d be pissed, this was terrible. She hated upsetting Lucien, his anger made her want to be swallowed up by the earth.

There was silence on the phone and then a sigh. “Sorry, I guess.”

“I didn’t ask for an apology,” he said crossly. “I’m sick and tired of you and your childish tantrums. I had an excellent, highly capable secretary, and you made me lose her, only for you to put both Kendall and me in a ridiculous situation!”

Sabrina whined. “But, daddy, I—"

“Save it!” he hissed, truly fed up. Whipping the phone away from his ear, he angrily hung up and tossed the device onto his table.

Turning to face Kendall, he put both hands in his pockets and tilted his head at her. “What exactly are you doing here, Kendall?”

Her back was so tense, it felt like her spine would shatter.

“Sabrina said—"

“Sabrina, Sabrina, Sabrina,” he said. “It’s always, ‘Sabrina said’. Do you never think for yourself, Kendall?”

She sighed, lowering her gaze.

“So, now what?” he said. “You’re agreeing to being my secretary? What about your plans to work in Finance? What about everything you’ve planned to achieve?”

Raising her gaze to meet his, Kendall felt her guilt triple. “I’ll still do everything I planned. This, being your secretary, is only for a year.”

“Only for a year? Do you know how much you can achieve in a year? Have I taught you nothing?”

She bit her lip.

Lucien stood behind the armchair directly in front of his table and rested his hands on the backrest as he looked at her. “Kendall. You’ve worked hard for six years. How could you allow her to manipulate you into—”

“She didn’t manipulate me—”

“Don’t interrupt me, young lady.”

Her breath hitched, butterflies flooding her stomach.

“Now, you can call it whatever you want,” he continued, unaware of her inner turmoil. “But I know exactly what I see, and I’ve told you before that nobody knows Sabrina as well as I do. I have no idea why you keep giving in to her. Don’t you have any pride?”

She squirmed. “I’m just… trying to help my friend.”

“Help her do what?” he demanded.

She pursed her lips. She couldn’t tell him the reason. The thing about her mother was something Sabrina kept secret.

At her silence, his frustration doubled, and he leaned over to rest on his elbows. “If Sabrina told you to jump off a building, would you do it?”

Kendall pressed her lips together. “No, Sir.”

“No? That’s surprising, seeing as you consider her words law.”

She sighed, exasperatedly, turning to face him so he could see her sincerity. “I don’t think her word is law, we just have an understanding. And, I could’ve said no if I wanted to.”

“So, why didn’t you?” he questioned. “Is being my secretary your real dream job?”

She paused. In secret? In her grown woman dreams? Maybe, yes. But she would take that to the grave, especially because it had zero influence on her decision to be here.

“No. But, Sabrina asked me to do this because she trusts me around you. She knows I highly respect you and would never step out of line.”

Her words rang with sincerity, so Lucien couldn’t even stay mad. He sighed, shaking his head. “If you respected me, you wouldn’t join Sabrina in her very disrespectful schemes.”

She bit her lower lip. “…I’m sorry, Mr Sinclair.”

He continued shaking his head in silence. A year of doing secretarial work? What had she been thinking?

Sighing, Lucien straightened. “I’m very disappointed in you, Kendall.”

It was like a dagger through her heart.

She stood up nearly automatically, taking a few steps toward him. “I didn’t mean it as disrespect, Mr Sinclair.” Her voice had become small, the way it always did when he was upset. “I… I wasn’t trying to waste your investment in me—”

“You think it’s because of the money?” he asked, looking at her with dangerously narrowed eyes.

She told herself to proceed with caution. “Oh… no, but… I thought you might demand a refund. Understandably so! I mean, I’m about to waste an entire year—”

“A refund?!”

She froze.

He scoffed, running one hand through his hair in frustration. Looking back at her, he leaned in a little over the armchair between them and dropped his voice. “Kendall, sweetheart. I could pay for a hundred of your degrees. I could keep you in school until you’re a senior citizen, and it wouldn’t put a single dent in my accounts. You understand?”

She gulped, blinking. “Yes, Sir.”

“My problem isn’t the money I spent on your education,” he said. His voice softened. “It’s how little consideration you have for yourself. It’s how easily you prioritise what other people want over what you want. That’s what I have a problem with.”

She stared at him, unable to say anything.

The disappointment in his eyes was a gut punch.

He waved at the door. “Leave. You can sit at the secretarial post if you want; I don’t care anymore. HR will sort it out.”

He turned away and went back to his table, returning to work. The frown of disappointment didn’t leave his face, and she turned sadly away, making her way to the door.

This… was the worst first day of work ever, and she wanted to run away.

But she didn’t. Couldn't.

No matter how much she wanted to act like she was doing this for Sabrina, as a friend, she couldn't ignore the silent agreement between them.

She couldn't ignore that, low-key... she had no choice.

You know, my dad has people who find out things about people for him. I could talk to them.