"I swear, sir! I had no idea!"

The man said with pleading eyes that flickered away from mine more often than not. I knew people found it hard to return my gaze, but the least this bastard could do was try hard enough if he wanted to convince me that he wasn't aware of the theft that had been going on under his nose.

Sweat beaded his forehead. His hands tugged nervously at his tie, loosening it.

"You're telling me," I said in a calm voice, tapping my finger on the arms of the chair I was sitting on. His chair in his office on the finance department floor, while he stood on the other side of the desk, "that you, the head of the financial department of the whole corporate, did not know that one of your employees, who worked right under your nose, was embezzling funds?"

He gulped before slowly nodding, clasping his hands behind his back so I wouldn't see them shaking. Too late, I thought, standing to my full height, putting my palms on his desk and leaning forward.

"Millions of dollars gone. And you had no idea?" I asked lowly, my face not showing the smallest hint of emotion.

"Y-yes, sir. I would never let something like that slide, s-sir," he stammered, looking over my shoulder, never meeting my eyes.

My gut had never steered me wrong when it came to people. Something I inherited from my mother, as she so often liked to remind me. And my gut told me this particular human being was up to his eyeballs in this mess. A few years ago, I had been hesitant to agree to his promotion to be the next head of finance. But he looked good on paper, his colleagues liked him, and there was no reason whatsoever to object. Except for my instincts.

I hadn't listened to my instinct at the time. And now I paid for it.

"Hmm," I nodded, then straightened up. "I see," I said, buttoning my dark blue suit and walking past him in silence out of his office. The other employees were focused on their work, or pretended to be, since they had been so focused on the happenings in their boss's office a second ago. Four pairs of feet followed me as I walked to the elevator. I would give the department head a couple of hours to come clean. Otherwise, he was as good as dead.

Well, he was done for anyway. He would certainly never step foot in any of my companies, that was for sure. But if he came clean, I might consider not going hard on him; he might escape the fate of the other bastard who had been taking my money unrightfully.

If he knew about the embezzlement, he would deserve everything I would do to him. If he didn't know, which was unlikely, he would also deserve it because he hadn't been doing his job properly, costing me millions of dollars due to his incompetence.

I walked through the silent floor towards the elevator. I could see one of the cleaning staff wiping away at the elevator buttons, her cart next to her.

I stood in front of the elevators as my assistant, Brandon, pressed one of the buttons for the elevator before standing back behind me.

The cleaning lady had obviously not noticed us or simply didn't care. She was rubbing at a corner furiously, her long black hair in a ponytail that left silky tendrils tickling the pale nape of her neck.

At least someone was doing their job properly, I thought as one of the elevators dinged open. The other two were on their way up to the highest floors. The one that opened was the one with the cleaning cart in front of it, blocking its entry. The employee inside the elevator straightened as his wide eyes realized who was standing before him.

Brandon cleared his throat loudly, trying to catch the attention of the cleaning lady, but it was in vain.

The employee inside the elevator was holding it open for us, his finger on the button while he looked in confusion and apprehension between the cart and the cleaning lady.

Brandon awkwardly cleared his throat loudly again. I wasn't that bothered by the situation. It was quite entertaining, actually. Although my face must have told an entirely different story.

I was about to move the cart on my own because I obviously had two hands, and the fools behind me didn't want to touch it for some reason. It was probably cleaner than their damn houses. But then one of the finance department employees that accompanied us in her outrageously bright red suit walked up to the woman and whispered hotly behind her. When the woman didn't make any sign of response, the employee grabbed her pale arm and jerked her backwards to see what was happening.

I was not prepared for the sight that greeted me.

She was a cleaning lady, and I had thought she would be a middle-aged woman like most of them were. But I knew how judgmental I had been when I took in the young girl that couldn't have been more than her early twenties. She blinked at us with puppy-like dark brown eyes.

They were unsettling. She held my gaze longer than most people did. As soon as her eyes left mine, I wanted her to look back at me again.

But she was staring at her cart with wide eyes, realizing no doubt the situation. Her cheeks tinged pink as she hurriedly freed herself from the employee's grip and dragged her cleaning cart out of our way. It gave me a moment to analyze her other features. Dainty features. A small, upturned nose and heart-shaped lips. Sooty lashes that framed impossibly dark eyes. Pale, unblemished skin but for the dark shadows under her eyes and the scarlet on her cheeks.

I managed to wrench my gaze from her fascinating flushed cheeks and stepped into the elevator, my assistant and two of my secretary department following closely. She still had her eyes down when we walked into the elevator. My eyes trailed over her small figure that was hidden by the blue uniform she had on, and right when the door was about to close, my heart almost skipped a beat when her eyes lifted to meet mine again.

They were... unsettling.

*** ***

It was like I left my damn mind back on the tenth floor. Those enchanting, dark eyes refused to leave my thoughts even when I got back to work. Luckily, Jayden arrived around noon and was able to distract me with his usual foolishness.

"Dude, I still don't know why you don't have a female assistant. You don't know what you're missing out on," he said as he sauntered into my office, his dress shoes echoing on the dark wooden floor. Brandon rushed behind him, looking nervously between me and Jayden. I had forgotten he wasn't used to Jayden just walking in without permission.

"It's alright, Brandon. He's fine," I said, waving him off. He nodded, looking at Jayden, who had plopped down on a black leather chair in front of my dark oak desk, no doubt memorizing his face for future references before walking out.

"New assistant?" Jayden said, looking at the closed door where the blonde young man had just walked out from.

"Mhm," I replied, finishing off some documents while Jayden waited.

"He's cute, though the wrong sex for me," he said before looking at me with a teasing glint in his green eyes that I was well used to after decades of knowing him. "If I didn't know any better, I would have said you preferred men".

"You're going to get slapped for your sexist comments someday, and I will sit back and enjoy every moment of it. What do you want?" I said, leaning back in my seat.

"Ah... that ever-present scowl of yours," he said mockingly before his eyes turned serious. "So, what did the asshole say?"

"What do you think?" I asked with an arched brow.

"They never learn," Jayden breathed out a laugh and shook his head. "What are you going to do if he doesn't come clean?"

"The same fate as the one who was caught," I replied. "The investigation will take time since they covered their tracks well. But in waiting, I'm going to make sure they don't get out of the country, and that no one will employ them." I had enough connections to ensure both things.

"That's harsh."

"I know." I stood up. Jayden barked out a laugh and joined me. Running one of his hands through his brown hair, he stuffed the other into his dress pants.

"You're as heartless as your father," he said as we both walked out of my dark colored office. "Actually scratch that. You're worse than he is".

"I'll take that as a compliment," I said before turning to look at Brandon, who had stood up to look at me for instructions. "I'll take care of my lunch today, Brandon. You can go for yours."

He nodded firmly and watched Jayden and I as we took the elevator. He was a good kid, Brandon. After going through countless assistants, I may have finally found someone serious and good enough for the job. Even though it was still early to judge, I thought I might keep him.

"How's Lydia doing?" Jayden asked casually, or as casually as he could when it came to my little sister. He had a thing for her, ever since I could remember, and surprisingly had never approached her about it. She was oblivious to his feelings. I was not. I had threatened him to an inch of his life if he ever hurt her.

"Good," I replied, my voice going soft when I talked about my little sister. "Focusing on her business."

"Still didn't find a man yet?" he asked, glancing my way.

"If you don't man up and stop chasing everything in a skirt, she's going to find one soon, and it won't be you."

"Jerk," he muttered under his breath. "I thought brothers are supposed to be opposed to their sisters having a love life."

I sighed and gave him a long look. "If the man is good enough for her there's no reason for me to mind."

"And I'm good enough?" he asked, his green eyes expectant.

"Not yet," I replied, and his hopeful expression turned into an annoyed scowl.

Jayden was a couple of years younger than me, in his late twenties, making him a couple of years older than my sister, Lydia. Our families had known each other for ages, and Jayden had been in our lives ever since I could remember. He took over his father a few years after I did. They owned hotel and restaurant chains across the world.

"What about you?" Jayden said as we walked out of the elevator. We were on the ground floor. Employees were returning from their lunch breaks, passing us by. My eyes caught one of the cleaning staff, and I found myself disappointed that it wasn't a little pale brunette with disarming dark eyes.

I need to get laid, I thought with a sigh.

"Leo?" Jayden walled in a frown as we walked through the busy street.

"Not yet," I replied, trying to change the subject that I knew my mother would be too eager to address.

"I'm living for the day I see you wrapped around someone's little finger," he said with a smirk.

"Like you're one to talk. You'd hand Lydia your balls if she asked you to," I retorted, and his smirk widened.

"Oh, she can have my balls anytime she want-ngh," he groaned and stopped to hold his side. "That hurt, you jerk."

I kept walking without acknowledging his calls. A few seconds later, he was next to me, already recovered from the elbow jab I had given him. Hmm, maybe I was too soft.

"That hurt like crap," he grumbled as we walked inside the usual place where we got our lunch. It was packed, though not as much as it would have been at noon. That was why I always had lunch an hour later than regular employees.

"Next time my sister and your balls come off in one sentence, I'll cut them off," I said lowly, as the waiter caught sight of me and walked inside the kitchen to get me my usual.

"Hey, you started it!"

"I used it as a figure of speech."

"I used it as a figure of speech, t-" he stopped talking when I arched a brow at him, then rolled his eyes. "Fine, maybe not."

He sat down on a stool by the counter grumbling lowly, "You know I'd never disrespect her."

"I know," I replied, paying the waiter who got me my order.

"You're having lunch in that secret spot of yours again?" Jayden asked, eyeing my packed lunch. "Still not going to tell me where the hell it is?"

I patted his shoulder before leaving the busy restaurant. Back at the building, I walked into the elevator and then headed straight for the rooftop.

The door was open as usual. I walked towards my usual spot, the top of a small structure on the roof, enjoying the cool breeze that whipped past me.

I climbed the ladder as I usually did and then had my lunch. The distant noise of the city filled my ears as I took a bite of my sandwich. But my damn mind was still caught up on a pair of dark eyes that seemed to see more than they should. Her cheeks had been an endearing pink and her lips, bare of any stain, looked soft.

"Shit! I seriously need to get laid," I mumbled to myself, taking a drag of my cigarette, shaking away any thoughts of her for the rest of the day.

What's so special about her that I couldn't get her off of my mind?

The next day I was hoping to catch sight of her in vain. I was even tempted to go back to the tenth floor. Luckily, I was too busy to do that, but not busy enough to keep her off my mind. Even the damn coffee reminded me of her eyes.

Then the day after, I woke up more annoyed than usual. The meeting I had with human resources and the finance department considering a replacement for the head of the finance was even more strenuous because I kept shooting down all their proposals. And when we were done, Brandon had to redo the meeting's report four times before I finally approved, which was saying a lot about my mood, since he was usually very meticulous with his work.

Brandon had my lunch for me, and I was about to have it in my office since I was fed up with everything when I decided against it, and headed for my usual secret spot.

That was the best damn decision I had made in my entire life.

I was climbing the last steps of the ladder when my eyes caught large, dark brown ones. She blinked at me in a surprise that matched mine. She had a sandwich midair to her open mouth, ready to take a bite.

We were paused like that for a couple of seconds, a couple of seconds during which all the frustration and annoyance of the day drained out of me as my eyes drowned in hers. Her eyes were... stunning.

But then the moment ended. Her eyes widened dramatically. She scrambled to her feet, holding her sandwich in a death grip.

She looked around for a way out before realizing where she was then took a small step back. I almost walked up to her and held her in place because we were on the damn roof of a thirty-eight-floor building, quite close to the edge, and she wasn't looking where she stepped.

"Whoa," I said, holding up one of my hands, "it's okay, you can stay."

She froze, looking at me as I stepped on the surface. I decided against standing and just sat down. She stayed up.

"You can stay." The words tumbled out of my mouth before I knew what I was saying. "If you want to be alone, I can go," I added, then made a move to stand up.

She quickly shook her head and her hands no. I nodded, fighting back a smile, then crossed my legs in a comfortable position while she stood there for a few minutes, just looking at me.

Then a giddiness I hadn't felt in so long bubbled in my chest when she sat down, cross-legged, caddy-corner to me where she had originally been. Far enough so I couldn't reach her but close enough to hear what I said.

"You come here often?" I asked, looking at her. Her eyes were fixed on my lips as she nodded. It made inappropriate thoughts that I shouldn't have been having about someone I had just met course through my head.

I nodded back, then cleared my throat awkwardly while unwrapping my lunch. Jayden would give away half his fortune to see how awkward I was at the moment.

What was I thinking when I decided to stay?

But then I peeked at her while she took a bite of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich and decided that I had made a good call. I could at least find out what made her special. I thought that if I spent some time with her, I'd figure out she was just another girl after all. Nothing special about her.

We ate in silence, and surprisingly it wasn't as uncomfortable as I would have expected. She finished her sandwich and looked up at the sky, lost in thought. The way strands of her silky black hair teased the pale skin of her neck made my fingers twitch.

Was that all she was going to eat? I thought, feeling worried for some reason. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich was not a filling meal, especially for someone who did physical work.

When did I start caring about strangers?

"How did you find out about this place?" I asked her to keep my mind from wandering to unnecessary questions.

She stayed silent. I was quite sure I spoke loud enough to be heard, but when she stayed silent for another two minutes, I decided she probably was too lost in her thoughts.

That or she was ignoring me.

I tried catching her attention by waving my hand in her line of sight.

She jumped slightly and turned to me with surprised eyes, like she forgot I was even there.

"How did you find this place?" I asked again.

She turned her head from me, silent again, and looked down at her pocket from where she fished out a small notebook with a pen. I was lost as to what was happening, but my confusion didn't last long before realization washed over me, a cold shower of reality.

'I found it one day during my lunch break. I was looking for some place away from crowds,' she wrote on her notebook. I nodded then looked between her and the notebook, a question in my eyes.

Her lips twitched up, sensing my hesitation to ask the question, then wrote in her notebook.

'I'm deaf.' She held up the notebook that had the answer to my question. I was silent for a second, just looking at the word.

Deaf.

A four-letter word I never thought I'd hear... or read, in this case.

"You can read lips?" I asked, and she nodded. So that was why her attention was trained on my lips. I felt ashamed of my improper thoughts earlier.

Self-absorbed jerk, I thought to myself.

We were silent for a few more minutes, me eating the rest of my food while she looked ahead to the distance. My eyes kept sneaking glances at her, I couldn't help but notice how her face was completely free of makeup- a rare sight- or how she had black circles under those eyes of hers, or how her fingers played with the pen in a deft manner as if it was part of her hand.

The pen and the notebook, I wondered if that was her only means of communication with everyone around her. Did she know sign language? She probably did. Then I found myself wondering how long she had been deaf.

Was she born with it? But no, if she were born with it, she wouldn't know how to read lips, right? But then, how did she lose her hearing?

I sighed internally, wrenching my eyes away from her, and taking a violent bite of my sandwich. What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I so damn curious anyway...?

A small pale hand tapped my arm slightly, barely noticeable. I looked up to find a pair of dark brown eyes blinking at me, with a notebook held up.

'Do you work here?'

My brows almost shot up to my hairline. Almost. I managed to keep a cool expression while I took in her question.

Was she serious? She didn't know who I was? Not to be self-absorbed, but wouldn't she know who her boss was?