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“Morning, Mr Delcroix,” Kendall murmured, sneaking past Lucien.

“Hello, Kendall,” said Justin. “Seems like Hamza took a liking to you.”

“Oh.” She laughed nervously, glancing at Lucien, who was still staring at the door. “He’s just naturally flirty; he flirts with every woman he sees.”

“And yet,” Lucien said, turning around and walking over to an armchair. “You gave him your number.”

She opened her mouth to defend it.

“Forget it,” he said, waving a hand. “You don’t need to explain to me what you do in your private time. Just make sure it doesn’t interfere with work."

Justin scoffed. “What? You’re just going to let her go into the dragon’s den with nothing more than that flimsy warning?” He looked at her. “Run, Kendall! Don’t pick up a single call from that man! Women have ruined their marriages and ended up in divorce court because of him!”

She winced. “I know, he is a bit of a loose one.”

“He’s a whore,” Justin said. “He seduces them before they even understand that he’s flirting, and by then it’s too late because they already want him too. He’s a great business partner, but that’s as far as it goes. Unless you’re trying to sign deals with him, don’t get involved. He’s insatiable, having—”

“Justin,” Lucien muttered. “That’s enough. There’s no need to tell her in explicit detail.”

“You’re right,” Justin said with a shake of his head. “I nearly corrupted your innocent mind, Kendall. Forgive me.”

She smiled. “It’s alright, Mr Delcroix, I’m an adult. I know what adults do.”

Standing up and buttoning his suit, Justin shook his head. “Not all adults are the same. Some adults like to behave like members of the cults of Dionysus. Stay safe.” With a nod, he made his way to the door.

“Let’s not see each other for the next two weeks,” Lucien called tiredly.

“I agree,” Justin said, walking out of the room.

The door closed, and they were alone.

She swallowed hard, holding her iPad against her chest as she watched him melt into the armchair.

Refusing to look at his muscled thighs when he parted his legs, she looked up at the ceiling instead. “Would you like coffee, Sir?”

He groaned, closing his eyes. “In a moment.”

She nodded. “Uhm… the new secretary should be starting tomorrow morning. You’ll have to make do with just me for today.”

She chuckled nervously. He didn’t answer. Her smile died, and Kendall cleared her throat. “Is Mrs Kempt’s disagreement with the Al-Siddiq group sorted out?”

He hummed. “They altered the contracts and paid both theirs and Christine’s executives to pretend like they were the originals. Hamza brought me the original contracts as revenge for his divorce.”

“That’s wonderful. Now we can prove the injustice Mrs Kempt has had to face, and they’ll be forced to pay her all she was cheated out of.”

He hummed in agreement, eyes still closed.

Pursing her lips, she cautiously inched closer. “Uhm… Sir, I’m not planning to develop any form of… relationship with Mr Rahim.”

Lucien tensed, but kept his eyes closed. “You’re an adult,” he murmured darkly.

She studied him and sighed, getting the message. He sounded annoyed. How could she placate him? “You s-sure seem tired today, Sir.”

“Hamza has an early flight,” Lucien murmured. “I got here at six in the morning to meet him.”

She gasped. “No wonder you’re so out of it! Don’t worry, I’ve got you.” She hurried over. “How about a shoulder massage to…”

Kendall trailed off, closing her eyes as it occurred to her how glaringly obvious it should’ve been that it was a bad idea.

When she looked at him again, his eyes were open and his gaze was trained on her.

“Well?” he rasped.

Her brows rose. “Sir?”

“The massage. Just five minutes, please. Seriously.”

She stilled at the sincerity in his voice. There were no ulterior motives, nothing except the genuine need to loosen the knots that were clearly bothering him.

Her gaze softened. “Of course.”

She put her stuff down and walked around to the back of his chair. He sat up straighter, giving her easier access to his shoulders. Kendall didn’t hesitate, forcing herself to detach her hands from her mind.

She was just a secretary, helping her boss. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it, and she didn’t feel anything whilst massaging him, except a neutral sense of responsibility to relieve his discomfort.

Her left hand firmly rolled against his shoulder blade, looking tiny on the vast expanse of his back. She spread her fingers over his traps and firmly pressed her thumbs into the muscle.

He groaned, his head gently falling back. She repeated the action, rubbing all the tension away until his shoulders were loose in her hands.

The mission was to give him a quick rub like an unfeeling robot, but the truth was that Kendall was feeling. She was feeling a whole lot. His shoulders were massive, and his body felt so strong and masculine under her touch. Her face was burning, but hopefully, the blush wasn’t visible through her makeup.

And the sounds he was making. She knew that he was half asleep, so every groan and sigh was genuinely due to the relief he was experiencing. But how could she not get dirty thoughts when he sounded like that?

Gently holding his head, she tilted it to one side and rubbed her knuckles up his neck muscles. He let out another of those groans, like he couldn’t hold back.

“Okay,” she whispered, pulling her hands away from him. That last groan had hit directly in a place she was determined to completely ignore, so this was where she would stop with the massage. Any further, and she wouldn’t be able to face him due to the dirty thoughts she was having.

He released a heavy exhale and melted into the chair again.

“I’ll uhm…” She shakily went around to pick up her devices. “Be out front.”

“That coffee,” he murmured. “I’ll have it now.”

Kendall paused, looking at him. She pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Hmm. Maybe not.”

Lucien raised a brow, squinting his eyes open to look at her. “What?”

“Just a moment.” She rushed out to her table and then returned to his office. He watched as she stood beside him and opened the pink blanket she’d gone to fetch. In a moment, it was spread over him, covering him from chest to ankles.

He blinked tiredly at her.

“A nap,” Kendall said. “I’ll hold all your calls and schedules until you wake.” She smiled at him and made her way to the door.

“Kendall.”

She paused, turning around. “Yes, Sir?”

Lucien stared deeply at her. “Thanks. For the rub.”

“My pleasure.” With a nod, she left the room and closed the door.

Kendall turned to her table and froze. Blinking, she studied the girl standing in front of her. “Hello. Can I help you?”

With curly brown hair that hung over her brown cardigan, the girl nervously clutched her long, bohemian skirt and adjusted her thick spectacles.

“H-hi,” she stuttered. “I’m Judith C... Judith Kliff. I’m the new secretary?”