Dimmed lights cast a soft glow in the ballroom as waiters quietly busied themselves with trays of champagne. Hushed conversations drifted around the room while a quartet performed classical music on a small stage. As usual at such events, most of the guests ignored them.
Chloe sighed, clutching her small satin purse in one hand and a glass of champagne in the other. Although being here was part of her duties as Mr. Harrison's executive assistant, she loathed attending these events. The charity event had been a success, and the auction was long over. Surely she could slip away now.
Her eyes scanned the room, searching for her boss in the sea of glamorous dresses and perfectly tailored tuxedos. His appearances at these events were scheduled almost to the second, and by now he should already be in the limo on his way to his penthouse. She frowned, lost in thought. It was unusual for him to disappear without telling her, since she was the one who arranged his transportation.
Chloe checked the antique clock on the wall behind the quartet. Ten past eleven. Her heels were killing her, and she really wanted to go home. A quick glance at her phone, tucked neatly into her purse, revealed no new messages. She sighed. It was time to find her boss and see if she could manage to get home before midnight.
She drained the remaining champagne and placed the glass on the tray of a passing waiter. A sound of breaking glass to her left startled her. Ugh. She rolled her eyes. A middle-aged (and probably filthy rich) man looked like he'd had one too many drinks. His wife was nervously trying to pull him away as he staggered, while a waiter cleaned up the shards of glass.
Chloe crossed the room, nodding to a few of her boss's associates here and there. Mr. Harrison was a workaholic, with a keen sense of business. She enjoyed working closely with him in managing the company and was grateful for the hefty salary. But right now, she felt more like a babysitter than anything else. Good thing she didn't have to deal with his dating life on top of that.
Heat bloomed on her face, making her blush, and not just from the champagne. Mr. Harrison was a silver fox, and it was certainly no hardship to look at him. Except that he was her boss, so she knew to leave her fantasies at home and be professional. Her job was more important than having a crush on him. It was the chance of a lifetime to work for him, even if, for now, she'd kill for a low-level corporate job that didn't involve chasing after him in hopes of getting to bed early.
A girl could dream.
Approaching the quartet, she spun around in a slow circle, her golden dress swirling around her feet.
Ah, there he is!
The familiar figure of his boss disappeared behind a door, his gorgeous date storming in front of him. The woman was one of those influencers you saw all over social media (Amanda...
something
? To be honest, Chloe didn't give a damn about her). It was a surprise that he picked her, as she was known to have quite a temper.
Usually, Mr. Harrison's dates for these events were always quiet, if not a little... subdued. But this one was a brat. From the moment she got into the limo with Chloe (making sure to look down on her) to the auction (making a scene because he didn't bid on the art piece she wanted), she had made the evening difficult.
Chloe pushed open the door and entered a hallway. Darkness enveloped her, the only light coming from electric candles on the wall sconces. Her heels echoed in the empty corridor, which made her wince. No need to alert everyone to her presence, especially since she wasn't sure if the place was open to the public. She used the wall as a support to slip out of her heels and hold them with one hand. She had lost a few inches in the process, but hopefully no one would notice that she was barefoot under her dress.
She padded down the hallway, looking for the faintest sound. It was eerily quiet, and a chill ran down her spine. Chloe pulled out her phone in an attempt to distract herself, and she readjusted the golden metal string of her purse over her shoulder. No sign of Mr. Harrison or his date. She was about to turn around when she heard the raised voices.
Heading around the corner, she tiptoed to an alcove, grateful for the large, tall plant providing a perfect cover to hide from their view. She didn't want to disrupt her boss before she had time to assess the situation.
"I told you to lower your tone."
Mr. Harrison clenched his jaw as he moved closer to Amanda, the only sign in his behavior that he was annoyed. The woman jabbed a finger into his chest, glaring at him.
"Let them hear what an asshole you are!"
He caught her wrist and pinned her against the wall, his other hand grabbing her throat in a loose grip. Chloe gasped in utter shock. Mr. Harrison wasn't one prone to violence, and she'd never seen him lose his temper in all the years she'd worked with him -- and she'd seen him lose a billion-dollar contract once, so that was saying something.
Amanda used her free hand to claw at the hand on her throat, but he was far too strong for her and wouldn't budge.
"Let me go!"
Chloe winced at the sudden shriek, but she could hear the fear entering the woman's voice. Not that she blamed her.
"I don't think so. You caused quite a scene tonight. I don't appreciate that kind of attention." His voice was calm and detached, but laced with ice. "I only agreed to this date as a favor to your father, but I should have known better. You're just a selfish, egocentric little slut."
The slap echoed through the hallway, causing Chloe to flinch. Amanda was furious, her body vibrating with tension, but Mr. Harrison didn't seem the least bit fazed by her outburst.
"How dare you!"
Chloe looked back the way she came, biting her lower lip and wondering what she should do. Should she make some noise to announce her presence and defuse the situation? Surely he wasn't going to hit her... Right? Or maybe she could just forget what she saw and go back to the party. Dealing with dating drama wasn't part of her job description, after all.
"There's a reason why I personally pick up my dates
before
I go to an event. I expect my dates to be perfectly docile, and I do what I need to do to ensure that. But you had to be late. I should have done something sooner, but I couldn't exactly do it in front of an audience."
Chloe frowned. Was he talking about her? Sure, it was unusual for her to pick up her boss's date, but the woman had been running late and forced Chloe to pick her up. Usually she arrived at an event alone, ahead of her boss and any woman he brought with him. Come to think of it, he had gritted his teeth upon hearing the news. She chalked it up to the fact that he valued punctuality and hadn't thought twice about it at the time.
"I intend to correct that mistake. It's past time you and I had a little conversation about your... manners."
His voice suddenly dropped an octave, and although there was no mistaking the command in it, his tone was now deep and sensual. Chloe couldn't help the little shiver of arousal that ran down her spine. It was exactly the kind of voice she had imagined in her midnight fantasies in which he starred.
"I'll show you where you can shove your manners, you jerk!" Amanda lifted her chin in defiance, but her eyes darted away, looking for a way out.
"Tsk, tsk." He scolded her and used his grip on her throat to tilt her head so she was forced to look at him. "First of all, when you address someone, proper manners would be to look the person in the eye. Or are my eyes so ugly that you don't want to look at them?"
The young woman blinked at him, brows furrowed. "Huh? What kind of question is that?"
Mr. Harrison's mouth curled into a smirk and he chuckled, a sound Chloe didn't often hear coming from her boss. In this moment, there was no denying the boyish charm that had put him on the city's most sought-after bachelor list for the past few years.
"It's a simple question,
Amanda
