Chapter 23 Controlled chaos
Gavin’s POV
“It’s done.”
Marcus closed the office door behind him. I kept my eyes on the financial report, with my red pen moving down the column with precision. It seems like someone in the accounting department was getting sloppy.
“Sterling Media?” I asked.
“She didn’t get it.”
My pen hesitated for half a breath before continuing to write. “Good.”
“That makes six failed interviews in a week.”
“I’m aware.”
Marcus didn’t sit. He’d learned years ago that I hated interruptions when I was working. Instead, he stood across from my desk, with a tablet in hand, waiting with that patient silence that made him invaluable.
I finished marking the last error, then set the report aside, and finally looked up.
“She confirmed the interview?”
“Yes, she is coming in on Monday. Nine AM.” Marcus’s expression was neutral, but something flickered in his eyes. Understanding, maybe. Or concern.
I stood and walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the empty arena below. The ice gleamed under fluorescent lights, it was perfect.
“You blocked six companies from hiring her,” Marcus said quietly. “That is a bit excessive even for you.”
“She needs to be here.”
“Why?”
The question hung between us. It was simple, direct and dangerous.
Because I wanted her close. Because the thought of her working somewhere else, surrounded by men who would look at her the way I shouldn’t, made something dark and possessive coil in my chest. Because having her under my roof wasn’t enough anymore—I needed her in my world, my space, where I could see her every day.
Because I was losing my goddamn mind.
“She’s talented,” I said instead. “I don’t want her wasting her potential anywhere else.”
Marcus was quiet for a moment. Then: “Okay.”
That was it. He didn’t press for details I wouldn’t give. Just acceptance.This was why he’d survived eight years as my assistant when most burned out after two. Marcus understood the things I couldn’t say. He read between the lines, and executed every order without always requiring explanations.
“Have you looked into Sterling’s ownership?” I asked.
“They’re buried under shell companies. So it has been difficult finding any information on them.”
Ice settled in my gut. “Find out who really owns Sterling,” I said. “I want to know every shell company, every holding corporation, every name involved . I want to know about our new competition.”
“I have already started.” Marcus tapped his screen. “I should have something by tomorrow.”
Of course he had.
I walked back to my desk, straightened a stack of contracts that were already aligned perfectly.
“There’s something else,” I said without looking up. “Diana. I need security for her.Twenty-four hours a day. I need her to be safe .”
“Already arranged.”
I paused, with my pen hovering over the page, then I set it down carefully beside the report.
He continued, meeting my gaze as he spoke. “Sophia Valdez is in New York. I know we need to be careful. She isn’t a woman to underestimate.”
He has seen what happened when I let my guard down around my father’s world. Had helped me crawl out of the wreckage and rebuild from nothing.
He knew better than anyone why I couldn’t make that mistake again.
“Diana’s schedule is monitored,” Marcus continued. “And we are rotating teams so she won’t notice the same faces. If Sophia or anyone connected to your father gets within fifty feet, we’ll know.”
The knot in my chest loosened slightly. “And don’t forget Jason, I have a gut feeling he is around already.”
“His security team has been briefed.”
Jason . My son will be home in a few days for the engagement party. He was one of the people I failed to protect from my fathers influence.
“Gavin.”
Something in Marcus’s tone made me look up.
He was watching me with that unreadable expression again.
“You’re playing a dangerous game,” he said quietly. “Bringing her into your company and keeping her close will make your father suspect something is wrong. He probably already has.”
“I know.”
“And you’re doing it anyway.”
I leaned back in my chair.“She’s safer here,” I said finally.
Marcus was quiet for a long moment. Then he nodded slowly.
“Okay. Just…” He paused. “Be careful. You’ve built something remarkable here. Don’t let it burn because you can’t control one variable.”
One variable. As if Melissa was a problem to be solved. A risk to be managed.
She wasn't, she was chaos and fire and everything I’d spent my adult life avoiding.
And I was pulling her deeper into my world anyway.
“Make sure she comes Monday,” I said, dismissing him.
Marcus left, closing the door with a soft click.
I sat alone in my office. I couldn’t stop thinking about her beautiful brown eyes and soft lips and the way she’d looked at me like I was both her salvation and her destruction.About how having her here would either save me or burn everything I’d built to the ground.
Probably both. But I was starting to realize that I didn’t mind if it burnt for her.
I picked up my red pen and went back to work.