Fated (2 page)

"You
too." I quickly pulled my hand out of his grasp, trying not to look
flustered. I reminded myself that I had handled intimidating men my entire
life, although I wasn't sure if any of them could compare to Caden's quiet
forcefulness. His steady gaze was oppressive and I felt trapped. I took a deep
breath, reminding myself that I was in control of my life now. No man had the
power to force me to do anything.

Macie
piped up, oblivious to my inner thought processes. She did seem to notice that
Caden was distracted as she waved a hand in his face, trying to get his
attention.

"Caden,
over here. About Sandra..." Macie looked nervous for the first time since
Caden had walked into the office. "She's not going to be able to fill in
for me. She decided not to wait to move to Virginia. But Lauren will be the
perfect replacement! Actually, she's even better than Sandra. She's been an
administrative assistant for years and I can vouch for her dependability and
trustworthiness."

Caden
frowned, swinging his gaze back to Macie. It was disheartening that he seemed
less than enthused about my potential employment with him.

"You're
leaving in two days. That's not enough time to train someone." He glanced at
me before addressing Macie again. "Maybe we should talk about this in
private."

I
lifted my chin despite the flush that I knew was coloring my cheeks. It was
embarrassing that I was obviously found wanting in Caden's eyes, although I
couldn't entirely blame him for not wanting to hire a stranger.

"I
completely understand your reservations about hiring me. Honestly, I'm not sure
it's a good idea either. I was just trying to help Macie out."

Caden
raised an eyebrow at me, and I could see a glimmer of a smile, but it was gone
before I could even register it.

"I'm
not questioning your competency, but my life is very complicated and working
for me isn't easy. Being a personal assistant is completely different from
being an admin. I can't afford to have my schedule be disrupted by someone
who's not experienced."

My
annoyance began to rise the more he talked. If he thought my life's goal was to
pick up his damn dry cleaning and make him dinner reservations, he had another
thing coming. Sure, he was a well-known artist, but I doubted being his
assistant was akin to being a rocket scientist.

I
rose from my seat, striving for a polite expression. "I think we're in
agreement that this probably isn't the best solution." I looked at Macie's
crestfallen face, feeling apologetic but not enough to actually listen to Caden
list my perceived shortcomings. "Sorry, Macie."

Caden
grabbed my arm before I could walk away and I froze. A dozen emotions were
colliding inside of me, but the strongest one was fear. Even though he hadn't
grabbed me roughly, he had taken me by surprise and I felt my body
automatically produce a rush of adrenalin.

Caden
frowned and guided me back towards the chair. "Sit," he barked
authoritatively. He seemed to take for granted that I would follow his order as
he looked at Macie and nodded his head towards the office door that led to the
foyer. "Let's talk out there."

I
opened my mouth to protest, but before I could get a sound out, Macie gave me a
pleading look before following Caden. I didn't know what to do after the door
closed behind them. I definitely didn't want to sit, but I couldn’t just rush
off since I would have to pass them before I could get outside.

In
the end, I decided to sit down because I felt foolish just standing there. Sitting
helped to calm my nerves as I gave myself a silent lecture to pull myself
together. It had been a long time since I had felt so discomfited by a man, and
it was an unwelcome feeling.

Caden
and Macie were only gone a few minutes before they strode back into the office.
Macie gave me an encouraging smile but I just frowned at her. She may have been
able to convince Caden that I was a good fit for the position, but I wasn't so
sure I wanted the job.

I
rose as they got closer but Caden indicated for me to sit back down as he
pulled a chair over and sat across from me. I felt a jolt of annoyance at
myself for automatically acquiescing and sitting back down, but I suppressed
the urge to stand back up. There was a difference between being assertive and
acting like a petulant child. I really needed to get my emotions in check. My
protective shell that was usually like a second skin wasn't very effective in
guarding me against Caden's gaze.

I
glanced at Macie who sat behind her desk, before I turned back to Caden.

"I
should really go. I don't want to hold you up any longer."

Caden
ignored my statement as if I hadn’t spoken. He was no longer looking at me with
a predatory gleam in his eye, but with a bland expression of professionalism.

"I
didn't mean to disparage your qualifications earlier. You have to understand
that the most important thing about working for me is discretion. I can't risk
having people leak stories about me, whether it's to the tabloids or to my
colleagues."

Caden
leaned back in his chair as he spoke, propping an ankle on his opposite knee.
He rested his elbows on the arms of the chair and steepled his hands, looking
at me speculatively. I couldn't help but notice how his movement stretched his
shirt across his broad chest so I could clearly see that despite being an
artist, he had a body more akin to an athlete. His slacks tightened around his
muscled thighs and I swallowed, shooting my gaze back up to his face. The
thought of Caden noticing me checking him out was mortifying, erasing the surprise
I would have normally felt about my reaction to him.

Caden
continued talking, and I couldn't tell from his expression whether he had
noticed my appraisal of his body. "Macie has assured me that not only are
you qualified, you're trustworthy." He smiled sardonically. "And as
much as Macie can drive me crazy, I trust her judgment. She's worked for me for
three years, much longer than any assistant I've had before. I have to warn you
that you're on call 24/7 with this job. I'll want you here most mornings by
nine a.m., but there are times you'll have to come much earlier and stay late.
I won't normally need you on the weekends, but it may be necessary every now
and then. If I call you at three a.m. with a request, I expect you to follow
through with it. But I reward loyalty. I'll be paying you the same amount that
I normally pay Macie."

I
gulped when he told me the figure. It was easily more than quadruple the amount
of money I had ever made at any job. Despite my earlier misgivings, it would be
absurd to pass up on the offer. It was only for three months and it would help
replace the gouging my savings account had taken due to the move to New York,
especially since I was still paying off my student loans. And I had no personal
life to interfere with being on call since the only person I knew in New York
would be leaving for three months.

Besides,
Caden was now treating me with distant professionalism instead of the open
interest I had seen earlier. This gave me peace of mind, although I still
didn't like his autocratic manner.

I
smiled at Caden in what I hoped was a confident manner. "The terms are
agreeable with me. I'd be happy to be your assistant while Macie is gone."

Caden
nodded, but instead of smiling back he rose and looked at Macie. "Make
sure she fills out all the paperwork, especially the confidentiality
agreement."

He
left the office without a backward glance, and I waited a few beats after he
shut the door to speak.

"Is
he always such an ass?"

Macie
burst out laughing. "Don't worry, when I first started working for him, he
would barely crack a smile at me. Now he's much more relaxed around me, but it
takes him a bit to warm up to new people."

I
could understand how Macie could charm someone out of their gruffness. She was
the epitome of sunshine and good cheer, a gregarious creature by nature that
had people flocking to her. I was on the opposite end of the spectrum, reserved
and quiet, content to listen rather than talk. But I had no problems with Caden
not warming up to me. I preferred keeping a detached professional relationship
with him.

"What's
this about a confidentiality agreement?"

Macie
was rummaging through her drawer and pulled out a stack of papers. "Caden
makes everyone who works for him sign one. It's basically to prevent people
from leaking stories about him."

"Does
that happen often?"

Macie
shrugged. "Not that I know of, but Caden makes the repercussions of
violating the contract pretty severe, so I doubt anyone would try." She
grinned at me lasciviously. "The models that work with him have to sign
one too."

I
raised my eyebrows as I scanned the lengthy document. It all seemed like a lot
of legal gibberish. "I guess he doesn't want the sordid details about his
photo shoots to become public knowledge."

"It
also protects him from them lying about what actually happens. I'm sure some of
the women he photographs would love to go around telling everyone they shagged
the great Caden Riley, even if it wasn't true. This way, they can't say
anything, whether it's the truth or a lie. Caden is a good person." Macie
hesitated before continuing. "He's just...complicated."

Macie's
defense of Caden made me realize her loyalty to him. It reassured me even more
that working for Caden was a good decision. If Macie was so fond of him, I
didn't have anything to fear.

"So
how often will I be getting those three a.m. phone calls?"

Macie
grinned. "He's just trying to scare you. He said the same thing to me when
I first started, but it's never happened. Honestly, Caden is pretty easygoing
as long as you don't mess up." Her smile turned into a grimace. "But
don't mess up. Caden has a way of looking at you that makes you want to sink
into the ground. It's even more effective than yelling and getting angry."

I
spent the next hour filling out paperwork and then Macie started training me on
my various duties. Caden never came back to the office, which didn't disappoint
me. Macie and I left the office together at the end of the day, since we were
living together until Macie left for her trip. I now had a place to live and a
job, although both were temporary. I was okay with temporary. It was better
than living in the past.

Chapter Two

"Don't
forget that Caden has a standing squash game every Thursday at one o’clock with
Michael Seymour, his lawyer. You should call every Thursday to reserve a court
for him at his club for the following Thursday so you never forget."

I
wrinkled my nose at Macie. We had spent the entire Thursday morning going over
more of my duties, and I was starting to realize just how many responsibilities
I had. It was a weird sensation to be in charge of someone else's life.

"I
didn't think people actually played squash."

Macie
laughed at my skeptical expression. "You'd be amazed at all the things I
discovered people do in these hoity-toity circles. I've actually had to use the
term
yachting
more than once."

I
grinned at her incredulous tone. "I knew Caden was a pretty famous
photographer, but I didn't realize it was such a lucrative career."

Macie's
smile diminished, her expression almost sad. "Caden makes a ridiculously
good living as a photographer, but he also comes from money." She leaned
in closer, dropping her voice. "You'll probably hear rumors about his
parents. People never speak about it anymore, but every now and then someone
will unwittingly mention it."

I
drew my brows together as I tried to recall everything I had ever heard about
Caden Riley. Even though he was a well-known photographer, his fame was mostly
contained to the art world, so I didn't know much about his personal life.

"What
happened to his parents?"

Macie
grimaced. "His father shot his mother and then killed himself when Caden
was only thirteen. Apparently his mother was having an affair and his father
went crazy. Poor Caden was witness to it all. I just thought you should know
because it explains a lot about him. Normally, I never talk about it."

My
heart clenched in sympathy for the horror Caden had experienced. I wasn't a
stranger to trauma as a child, although nothing could compare with what Caden
had gone through.

"That's
horrible. I can't even imagine having to witness something like that."

Macie
opened her mouth to respond, but we both jumped apart when we heard the office
door open. Caden had been absent all morning, and it was now past two o'clock
when he strode in. I tried to keep an impassive expression on my face despite
the guilt I felt for gossiping about him with Macie.

The
impassive expression was even harder to maintain when I caught sight of him. He
had obviously just come back from his squash game. He was holding a racket in
one hand and wearing black athletic shorts and a blue shirt that was darkened
by sweat. His calves were well-muscled and I could see the corded strength of
his forearms. My mouth felt dry as my eyes traveled up to his sweat-dampened
hair clinging to his forehead.