Chapter 267: Mission Accomplished

David’s POV

The drive to the office felt like walking a tightrope over hell.

Every red light was a chance to second-guess myself. Every time the engine purred too loud, I heard Justin’s voice in my head again… You’re nothing but a murderer. A monster wearing my brother’s face.

Maybe I am. But they made me into this person.

I gripped the wheel harder.

Not today. Today I wasn’t going to be the villain in someone else’s story. Or in mine as well.

Today I was going to be the man Holly wishes to see.

I pulled into the strip mall on Maple instead of going straight to the parking garage. There was this little flower shop tucked between a dry cleaner and a coffee place that always smelled like burnt espresso… Petals & Promises. I’d driven past it a hundred times, never stopped. Today I did.

The bell above the door jingled like it was surprised to see me.

The older lady behind the counter…silver hair in a loose bun, reading glasses on a chain…looked up and smiled the way people smile when they recognize money in a suit.

“Morning, handsome. Looking for something special?”

I didn’t smile back. Because I wasn’t feeling friendly. I just went straight to business. “I’m looking for the kind of bouquet that says ‘I’m serious about you’ without screaming it.”

She studied me for a second, then nodded like she’d heard that request before and knew exactly what it meant.

Ten minutes later I walked out with a tight, elegant bundle…deep burgundy roses, soft white gardenias, sprigs of eucalyptus that smelled clean and expensive. Not too big. Not flashy. Just… intentional. The kind of flowers a woman would want to keep forever, even after they dried.

I paid her for it and walked out without wasting any second.

Next stop: the jeweler two doors down.

I’d called ahead on my way here. The piece was already waiting.

The saleswoman slid the velvet box across the glass.

Inside, a delicate gold chain, almost invisible, holding a small pendant shaped like an elegant heartbeat line…two soft peaks and valleys in rose gold, tiny diamonds marking the rhythm. Understated. Modern. The kind of thing Holly would wear every day and still feel like a secret between us.

I paid without looking at the total.

Back in the car, I set the flowers carefully on the passenger seat like they were made of glass, the jewelry box tucked inside my jacket pocket, close to my chest.

The office building was still quiet when I arrived…8:00 a.m. Most people didn’t drag themselves in until closer to nine. Which will give me ample time to fix what I have planned.

I took the service elevator to the 14th floor, the one nobody uses because it smells faintly of bleach and detergent. The cleaning crew was already there, carts rattling, vacuums humming in the distance.

I found Maria near the break room…short, no-nonsense, the woman who’d been keeping this place livable for fifteen years.

“Morning, Maria.”

She turned, eyebrows lifting. “Mr. Hunt? You’re early. Is everything okay?”

“I need a favor.” I kept my voice low, calm. “I need my assistant’s desk moved into my office. Today. Before she gets here.”

Maria blinked. Then a slow, knowing smile spread across her face. “Your pretty assistant?”

I didn’t hesitate. “Yeah.”

“Into your office. Permanently?”

“Permanently.”

She laughed under her breath, soft and delighted. “You’re in deep, huh?”

“Deeper than I’ve ever been, Maria.”

She patted my arm like I was one of her sons. “Give me twenty minutes. I’ll get two of the boys to help. We’ll make it look nice.”

I waited in the hallway while they worked…watched them wheel her chair, her monitor, her little succulent in the tiny ceramic pot she’d brought from home, the stack of colorful Post-its she used to leave me passive-aggressive reminders about meetings. They tucked it all against the far wall of my office, opposite my desk, so she’d have her own space but still be right there. Close enough to reach out and touch if I wanted to.

When they finished, I tipped them each a hundred and thanked them quietly.

Then I was alone.

I set the bouquet in the center of her new desk, stems wrapped in kraft paper, tied with a simple black ribbon. The flowers looked softer in the morning light streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows…like they belonged there.

I pulled the jewelry box from my pocket, opened it, set it beside the flowers so she’d see it the second she walked in. The heartbeat pendant caught the sun and threw tiny rainbows across the desk.

Then I stepped back and looked.

Her chair was turned slightly toward mine like it was waiting for her to sit down and realize she’s not my assistant anymore.

She’s my fucking card to settle this score once and for all.

I shrugged out of my jacket, rolled my sleeves higher, loosened another button.

Then I sat at my desk, opened my laptop, and waited.

Waited for the elevator ding.

Waited for the sound of her heels…quick, confident, a little sassy, the way only a feisty baddie who knew exactly how lethal she looked could walk.

Waited for the moment Holly walked through my door, saw her new reality, and realized I wasn’t just playing anymore.

I was all in.

And I was hoping…praying…she won’t make this mission any harder for me.

8:45 a.m.

Heels in the hallway.

That fast, confident click-click-click that makes my dick hard before I even see her.

I heard her voice…maybe asking one of her coworkers questions. Then a sigh.

I heard footsteps coming towards my office and exhaled. It’s time, David.

The rapt knock echoed throughout my body and I gulped before calling her to come in.

I watched as she walked in, wearing a black skirt, oversized blazer slipping off one shoulder, hair in a messy bun with two pencils stabbed through it like she woke up late and still managed to look illegal.

She stopped dead steps away from the door as she looked around.

Her mouth fell slightly open and her big brown eyes wide. “What… the hell… did you do to my desk?”

Her voice was soft. Breathless.

I didn’t move. Just watched her take it all in.

“Welcome to your new office, baby.”

She looked at the flowers. Looked at the view. Looked at how close her chair was to mine.

Then her eyes dropped to the Tiffany box and something shifted in her face…surprise, suspicion, and something warmer. Something that looked a lot like hope.

“David…”

“Open it,” I said, voice rough. “Then come here.”

She didn’t move for a second. Just stared at me like she was trying to figure out if this was another one of my games.

I leaned forward, elbows on my knees, and let her see everything she had been silently begging for.

“I’m done playing from a distance, Holly. You’re in my office, in my space, in my fucking blood. And I’m not letting you out until you’re wearing my name on your skin and my ring on your finger.”

Her breath hitched.

She reached for the box with shaking fingers.

I smiled, slow and dangerous.

“That’s it, baby. Open it. Let me put it on you. Then I’m locking the door and showing you exactly how sorry I am for every second I made you doubt this.”

She pulled the ribbon.

The box opened.

And the heartbeat necklace caught the morning light like it was made for her throat.

Holly looked up at me, eyes glassy, lips parted.

“David…”

I stood up.

“Come here, Holly.”

She didn’t even hesitate.

She began walking straight towards me like she’d been waiting her whole life for me to finally say it out loud.

Game over. She’s mine.

This mission is already a success!