"It's a lot easier to be angry with someone than it is to tell them you're hurt." - Tom Gates

+++

Silas's POV

I slam the door in her face.

That annoying, wretched, disgusting, whore-like felon.

I am fuming.

The gears in my brain are going into overdrive as I try my best to calm my emotions but I just- I just can't.

With a few quick steps, I am in front of this godforsaken piano, the music sheet blaring in my face, mocking me.

Without thinking, I grab the paper and crumble it in my hands... but that didn't satisfy me.

I just wanna- I just wanna...

And with one quick movement, I rip the music sheet in half.

And then rip it some more.

And more.

And more.

Until my floor is lightly covered in small pieces of papers.

My breath is coming out harsh as I recall her playing.

God, she plays piano.

Of course she fucking knows how to play the goddamn piano.

Lemme guess. I put a fucking canvas and some paint in front of her, and she's fucking Picasso!

I try to shake off her voice. God, her voice is just ringing in my ear like a never ending alarm clock. That soft spoken, sweet-like voice that makes you want to buy a fucking puppy.

Shaking my head violently, I make my way to my room, changing into a clean, black t-shirt and some basketball shorts.

I need to take my anger out on something.

Walking across the hall, I make a quick left turn and find myself in my own, personal gym. With, I may add, a shit ton of punching bags.

Perfect.

Fitting the gloves snuggly into my hands, I punch. Hard.

I punch and punch and punch until I feel my arms giving out. Until my head begins to throb with the quick and sudden movements.

Until I am able to suppress her voice with every hit I make.

I beat the fucking bag until I realize that I tore a whole in the leather. Beach-colored sand begins pouring out, right onto the ground.

Great. Fucking great.

Taking a deep breath in, I move on to my next victim.

God, why couldn't she just leave the fucking piano alone!?

Punch

And the goddamn music. She just couldn't fucking resist because she's so goddamn annoying!

Punch

Why did Sawyer have to fucking hire her??!

And why are these goddamn punching bags so fucking weak!!??

PUNCH

With a final blow, which also releases a shit ton of sand onto the floor, I finally take a rest, pulling the gloves off of me and taking a sip of water.

I need a drink.

And with that, I hop downstairs to my kitchen. Clutching tequila from my wine rack, I fish through my cabinet and find a shot glass.

With a dip of my head, I can feel the burning liquid set a trail of fire down my throat as I down the alcohol.

"Mmm."

I'm going to fire her.

I'm going to fucking fire her!

Why?

Just- just because!

And with that in mind, I get ready for work.

+++

When I walk into Headquarters, I immediately feel relaxed.

Everyone is already seated and back to work and finally, finally some fucking normalcy.

I am a bit late than usual due to my punching bag session but it should be fine nonetheless.

I mean, I'm the fucking CEO. No one can fire me.

As I stroll to my office, I already see her making coffee in the kitchen. She's shaking a jar of milk vigorously and I feel the need to chuckle. She must be making Sawyer's coffee.

But then I look back to her outfit.

And my face immediately sours.

What is it with this girl and her fucking clothes?

She's wearing a long, salmon-colored dress with a low V-neck, buttons tracing down the center of her dress.

+++

+++

She looks..

She looks..

Fucking ugly.

Going into my office, I seat myself in my desk, already feeling my temper rising every time I think of that fucking girl.

"What's wrong with you?" Sage asks me.

"Nothing."

"Okayy."

She quickly walks in shortly with a laptop in hand and a tray of our coffees in another but right as she begins to read off her agenda, I cut her off.

"You're fired."

She looks up from her laptop, her gaze landing onto mine. "W-what?"

"You're fired." I state curtly.

"What the fuck do you mean she's fired?" Sawyer is looking at me with confusion and anger.

"That is exactly what I mean." I turn to my brother, looking at him dead in the eye, silently communicating not to argue with me on this. "She. Is. Fired."

"Why?" Sage asks, confused.

"Well first of all, she doesn't know how to make my coffee correctly." I hear Sawyer scoff beside me but I ignore it. "Second of all, she has a tendency to touch other people's things without permission."

"What- What the fuck are you talking about?" Sawyer is eyeing me with absolute fury but I again ignore him.

"And third of all, if you guys forgot, SHE IS A FUCKING CRIMINAL. A lowlife. I have said this once and I will say it again, no delinquent is going to work at my business."

Sawyer slams his hands on his desk, which brings out a cry of surprise from her.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me, Silas!" He is standing right in front of me, completely obscuring the worried looking girl behind him. "We've already fucking discussed this! You're not fucking firing her!"

"YES I AM!"

Sawyer sighs, turning around and facing her.

I hear him whisper a few things in her ear before she sniffles.

Of course.

Of course she's fucking crying.

Goddamn, she cries every fucking minute.

But something tugs at the recesses of my chest and I feel a sharp pain shoot through me as I notice a stream of tears falling silently down her cheeks.

No.

No. You will not feel guilty over this.

She is a criminal, she is annoying, and she doesn't know how to do her job.

You should not feel guilty.

After Sawyer is done speaking to her, she quickly nods her head before exiting the office, leaving me under his wrath.

"What the fuck was that!?"

I stand there calmly.

"Why the fuck do you want to fire her?!"

I scoff. "I have a better question. Why do you care about her so much? She's a fucking stripper. And a criminal. Who's to say she won't hack into out bank account and rob us blind?"

"Oh my god." Sawyer rubs his temples, clearly frustrated. But you know what? So am I!

"Come one, Sawyer. Do you really fucking trust her because I sure as hell don't!"

Sawyer takes a step toward me, his eyes burning a dark blue which only ever happens when he's seriously pissed off.

"Listen here, dick. She is our new fucking PA whether you like it or not. I trust her, Sage trusts her, and Mathew trusts her. Three against one, asshole. So you are going to quit fucking whining about it and run the fucking company!"

I have never seen Sawyer this pissed.

I mean, why the fuck are people so keen on keeping this girl? She's nothing fucking special.

But then an idea pops into my mind.

A wicked idea.

An evil I idea.

Goddamn, I sound like a fucking Disney villain.

A smirk spreads onto my face and I turn towards my brother once more. "Fine. She is our new PA."

Sawyer furrows his eyebrows, no doubt waiting for another argument to ensue, but no.

This is way better than firing her.

I am going to make her life a living hell. I am going to work her till the bone until she is panting with exhaustion.

I'll make it so fucking horrible that's she'll be begging me to fire her. That is if she doesn't quit.

Which I fucking doubt since it'll be nearly impossible for her to find a job with this good amount of pay.

That little gas station run was just the beginning.

Oh, this'll be good.

I burst into her office, which makes her cry out in surprise but I ignore it.

"Hello, Ms. Wilson," I greet with mock sincerity.

"Hello, Mr. Sanders," she responds shyly.

This'll be fun.

"We have a few things on the agenda." I take out my phone, pretending to type a few things on the keyboard before looking back at her. "First of all," I grasp the coffee she made for me, taking a quick sip before contorting my face in disgust, "this tastes like shit." Then I drop the mug, completely shattering the cup, glass shards flying every which way on the floor.

She jumps up, frightened by the sound but I quickly move on. "Clean that mess up and go make me another cup of coffee." I walk towards her door, but before I leave, I add, "And make it right this time."

I stride back to my office, seat myself on my desk and begin responding to emails, most of which are from Mr. Nguyen.

Mr. Nguyen and his annoying-ass son are coming to the office today so that we can finalize some papers and officially become business partners.

And I know what you're thinking.

There is no way in hell that that girl is going to be here when they come.

Admittedly, there was nothing wrong with the coffee. In fact, she's always made it correctly, despite the fact that I forced her to make five cups of coffee last night.

And yes, I didn't necessarily have to waste a perfectly good mug, but I don't give a fuck.

Because like I said, I am going to make this working experience a living hell for her, and if that includes intentionally dropping glass mugs, then that's what I'll do.

Twenty minutes later, she comes back with a new coffee in hand, along with Sage's Starbucks and Sawyer's coffee.

She hands them both their coffees, first Sage then Sawyer. She waits until Sawyer takes a sip to ask, "Is that alright, sir?"

Sawyer smiles and says, "It's good, Ms. Wilson. Thank you."

God, I want to throw up already.

She hesitantly approaches my desk, looking down at the ground as her feet travel in small steps. "Here's your coffee, Mr. Sanders," she mumbles.

I smirk. "What did I say about the mumbling?"

She takes a deep breath before repeating a little louder this time, "Here's your coffee, Mr. Sanders."

She holds out the coffee and I take it. Pouring the coffee into my mouth, I find that it is absolutely perfect.

It's not to sweet, not too strong, and it's the perfect temperature.

It's perfect.

But she can't fucking know that.

She waits for a reaction, a comment, possibly some criticism but I can't think of any.

Instead, I ignore her gaze burning through my skull and turn back to my computer.

I wait a few second before looking back at her. "Well, what are you waiting for? A trophy." Her eyes widen in embarrassment and I smirk. "Go do your job."

"Yes, sir, sorry sir." She hurries out of the room, and I stare back to her, amusement glittering in my irises.

"What was that?" Sage asks me.

"Nothing."

"Yeah, right."

+++

Caden's POV

I just got back from the grocery store, having just bought paper clips, a stapler along with some extra staples, and some notecards.

The fact that Sanders Headquarters lacks these office supplies is beyond me but I purchase them nonetheless.

Silas gave me ten minutes to run, yes run, a few blocks to where the local Walmart is located so that I can buy the supplies and sprint back to HQ.

So guess what I'm doing right now?

My feet race across the pavement as I try to spot the enormous building that is HQ.

I have no idea how much time I have left, but what I do know is that Silas won't hesitate to fire me, even for the smallest reasons, so for that, I pick up my pace.

After being shoved out of his penthouse yesterday, I made the tiring trek to my apartment, which I may add, was a long one.

Well first, I had no idea where I was, nor did I have any idea which direction my street was located. I had asked a few strangers which way my street was, and while some just gave me dirty looks, no doubt about my splotchy face and bed hair, others were kind enough to point me in the right direction.

After about an hour, I finally spotted the familiar bus bench and I whooped in victory.

I unlocked my door to find a fuming Cole along with my landlord, Craig.

Crap.

They both turn to me, Craig looking at me annoyed while Cole eyes me with anger.

"Well, do you have my money?" Crag demands.

Oh no.

"Uh, no I don't, but-"

"That's it. You're both moving out by today, no excuses." Craig throws his hands up, taking out an eviction notice and taping it onto my door.

"Wait, sir. I promise I'll be able to pay rent by today. Pinky promise," I plead.

I can see pity in his eyes, and I know the moment he finally relents.

His shoulder droop slightly and he looks back at both of us. "You have until the end of the day. No more excuses. No more exceptions."

"Okay, thank you so much." I pull him into a tight embrace.

He stands there stiff as a board, unsure of what to do, until I finally release him.

He awkwardly leaves.

"Can you really get the money?" Cole asks me in a cold tone.

"Yes," I lie, trying to calm the fear crawling up my spine.

"If you don't..." He trails off, knowing full well what he plans to do.

"Okay."

Before heading to HQ, I walked a few blocks to find the local Starbucks and ordered a Tall Flat White for Sage using the money they had given me, reserved specifically for Sage's coffee orders.

I then walked to HQ, and went up to Sawyer, asking, "Um, Mr. Sanders, I was wondering if I could collect my check today."

Sawyer looked at me with confusion before asking why.

I really don't want to embarrass myself even further by revealing that I can't afford rent but I have no other choice. "I need to pay my rent by today," I breath out softly, not wanting to look at him the eyes.

"You need to pay rent?"

Yes, I just said that.

I nod slowly.

He gives me a small grin before saying, "Done."

I smile gratefully before moving to the kitchen to prepare the coffees.

I finally spot HQ and pant all the way to the 50th floor. Entering their office with the supplies in a Walmart bag, I place it on Silas's desk.

He looks at me with a glint of amusement in his eyes before stating, "7.3 seconds late. Much better than last time, but nonetheless late. I will not tolerate another tardy again." I sigh in exhaustion before muttering a yes sir and exiting the office.

"Where do you think you're going?" Silas calls out to me.

"I need to use the bathroom."

"Well that can wait. I need you to pick out a suit for a dinner party in two weeks." Yes, of course.

I can see Sawyer ruffling his brows before turning to his brother, looking at him with a mix of confusion and disbelief. "Yes sir," I huff, still exhausted from my sprint to the office.

I grab the note from his desk which contains his measurements along with the boutique address.

"You have thirty minutes. Starting... now." I bolt out of the office, not wanting to be late this time, but before I enter the elevator, I am stopped by Sage. "Ms. Wilson!" he calls out to me.

"Yes?" I say, still pressing the button to make the elevator open.

"Do you have a phone number or email that we can use to contact you"

My face immediately falls. Nope, I don't have any of those things.

I had to sell my phone for rent along with any other electronic devicesI owned.

"Uh, no, sir," I say, absolutely humiliated.

I look back to the elevator willing for it to open faster as Sage whisper, "Oh."

The elevator finally opens and I step inside, bidding Sage goodbye.

The rest of the day consists of Silas ordering me around town, making me buy random things such as a wig from Party City and hair gel from Sally's.

Times when I was in the office was when I had to relieve myself, which was only twice.

It's now 10 pm and I am exhausted. But I refuse to give Silas the satisfaction of watching me look tired.

I am good at this job. Or at least I think I am. And I will do whatever they order me to prove it. To prove I'm not just some delinquent looking for someone to rob blind.

Thinking about my past actions with the law makes my stomach churn. If only they knew the truth.

But they never will, so why bother?

After fixing up Silas's desk, along with his brothers, I am finally able to go home. Yay.

I'm not sure where Silas and his brothers went. They disappeared a little over ten minutes to go. The office is completely quiet, and I honestly like the peacefulness of it.

Making my way to the lobby, I stop short when I see Philip standing there... with flowers.

"Hello," he welcomes, a big smile across his face, showing off his pearly white teeth. "Hi."

He holds out the flowers, which I accept, and wait for him to speak. "I was wondering if you wanted to go out for lunch tomorrow?" He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly which makes me let out a giggle.

I've never made a guy nervous before.

But then I recall what Silas said to me. How I am not allowed to date interconnecting employees and my face drops.

Philip notices this, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just that my boss doesn't allow me to date employees with which we are working with."

His eyebrows perk up and I spot his lip quirk up slightly. "Who said anything about dating?"

What?

"Um, well you said-"

I begin to stumble over my words as he peers at me with amusement. "What I said was that we should go out for lunch. Nothing about dating." He looks over at me again, his eyes suddenly going intense. "Unless that's what you want."

He steps forward and I take a step back, suddenly not liking this interaction.

The look he's giving me is all too familiar with the one that Jonathon gave me just a few nights ago.

I don't want to go through that again.

"Uh, Philip," I hold out my hand, trying to stop him from moving any closer but to no avail.

He chuckles, looking down at me with a predatory gaze.

What is wrong with me. It seems like every guy I interact just hates me or something.

Why?

We both know the answer to that question.

"Um, Philip, please don't-" My voice comes out softly, just barely over a whisper as shock and panic begins to settle into me.

But in a blink of an eye, Philip is knocked off his feet, his hands clutching the side of his face as he writhes in pain.

I look to the side to see who was responsible before staring into those all too familiar cobalt eyes.

He doesn't look my way, instead straddling Philip on the ground and throwing blow after blow onto his face.