"Hello Raine!" Xavier welcomed as soon as Raine stepped into his office. "I apologize for not being able to personally pick you up today."
"Don't worry about it." Raine said. "I was running late anyways."
This morning, when she had woken up, she received a text from Xavier saying he wouldn't be able to pick her up due to some complications at the company and that Jordon would receive her instead.
"Here are the files that you asked for yesterday before we left." Raine said handing Xavier a stack of files. "And these are the signed documents by the financial department, approving the regulations you've set."
"Thank you." He said, accepting the papers. "I have so many things to do today, you have no idea!"
"Really? I ran through your schedule and you didn't have any important meetings or conferences today."
"Yes, I agree. However, I am due to finish the final drafts of our contract before tomorrow's flight." Xavier notified. "And plus, I've got to make sure I've made arrangements for the 2 days I'll be gone."
"Oh." Raine said, her face smile slightly faltering. "Well, if you'd like anything else, you can let me know. I'll be in my office."
* * *
After Raine left the office, Xavier presumed his work. However, there was one thing he couldn't get out of his mind. And that was Raine's reaction at his mention of the flight. Why was she so worried about going to Paris, was all Xavier could think about.
There were so many questions he had about her, yet he knew the answer to none of them. She showed up to work every day with a bright smile and glowing eyes. Yet he couldn't seem to believe her facade. Behind all of the emotions she tried so hard to show, he knew there was more.
"Xavier?"
Xavier was broken out of his thoughts when he saw Raine's head poking through the door of his office.
"Yeah Raine?"
"Oh, I just came to tell you that I received at call from Ziva, your aunt. She wanted to have a meeting with you." Raine said carefully as she stepped into the brightly lit room.
"Tell her I'm not available for the next 3 months." Xavier stated, his face hardening at the mention of his so called aunt.
"Are you sure?" Raine asked hesitantly.
"Yes Raine." He said with strained voice. "I really don't plan on meeting her again anytime soon. Just tell her that I've got meetings lined up for the next three months and that I'll be traveling in and out of the country in regards to a new project." Xavier made up. "That should keep her away for now."
"Um... ok. I'll email her the information." Raine said turning around to leave.
"Wait Raine." Xavier said, causing her to come to a halt. "Let's go out for some---"
Just as he was about to finish his sentence, the door burst open without any warning and in came a women wearing a racy red dress that barely covered her chest. Her sky-high heels showed off her toned legs that were lathered with spray tan, a shade too dark for the winter weather.
"Hello Xaaaavier." She purred, fluttering her eyes and running her long fingers through her blond hair that was curled in soft beachy waves.
As soon as Xavier's eyes landed on her, fury covered his face as he shot out of his seat. His eyes were harder then platinum as they narrowed in on her.
"What the fuck are you doing here Victoria?!" He roared.
"Surprised?" She smirked seductively, taking large steps to Xavier's desk as if she was walking a runway. She stood in front of Xavier, running her acrylic nails down his chest.
"Answer the damn question!" He shouted, grasping her hand and slapping it away from his body. She stumbled back a couple of step, waiting for Xavier to catch her, but he didn't bat an eyelash. Regaining her balance, she looked back to Xavier seemingly unaffected.
"Don't act like you don't want me to see me here." She sneered.
"Get out." Xavier gritted out.
"That's no way to talk with you girlfriend." She taunted, displaying a wicked look on her caked face.
"Girlfriend?" Raine accidentally said out loud. She quickly slapped her hands on top of her mouth, but it was too late.
Victoria turned to Raine, her eyes narrowing on her petite figure. "And who is this?!" Victoria glared.
"I'm sorry, I'll give you two some privacy." Raine said, scampering to the door with her head held low in embarrassment.
Victoria snickered to herself before once again, putting her hands on Xavier's chest.
"STOP!" Xavier boomed, causing Raine to freeze in her position.
"Raine, call security right this instant and tell them to remove this trash in my office." Xavier gritted out. "And you." He said, turning to Victoria. "Girlfriend? Bade, in your dreams."
He pushed her body off of him, not bothering to be even the slightest bit gentle. "We never had anything to begin with. And any chances of having something were ruined the day I kicked you out of here."
"Xavier!" She shouted. "You know you want me!"
Despite Xavier's harsh attitude, she once more tried to get close to Xavier. However, her efforts went down the drain when Jordon barged into the room, yanking Victoria back.
"Stand down!" Jordon stated, pushing both of her hands behind her back. She stumbled in her heels and struggled to get free, begging Xavier for help.
"Xavier! Tell him to stop!" She shouted in her high pitched voice. However, Xavier made no attempts to help her. A couple of seconds later, Cole and Jeff entered the office, pulling her out.
"How the hell did she get inside?!" Xavier demanded to Jordon. "Didn't I make it goddamn clear that I never wanted to see her around me?!"
"I am extremely sorry Mr. Thorn. Me and the guys were handling a problem in the parking area for a couple of minutes and the entrance was left vacant." Jordon tried to explain. "And Abby is new at the front desk so she probably let Victoria in."
"This should ever happen again!" Xavier stated. "Is that clear!? I don't care what you have to do! Get a restraining order if you have to! Just make sure she stays away from me!"
"Of course Mr. Thorn" Jordon nodded. "I assure you that this will never repeat."
"Good." He said, walking back to his desk. "Go take care of her. And make sure you report her for trespassing on my property."
"I will do that right away." Jordon notified before rushing out of the office.
Meanwhile, Raine stood there in a state of shock, not knowing what to make out of everything that had happened. She hesitantly walked back to her chair and sat down in front of Xavier quietly.
"I'm so sorry about that Raine." Xavier said with disappointment as he raked his fingers through his hair.
"Why are you sorry?" She asked. "It's not like you did anything wrong."
"Yeah..." He whispered. "But still, I apologize."
Raine nodded silently before the question that was looming in her mind all this while, left her mouth. "Who was she?"
"The most annoying women on this planet! She's been living in this illusion that we're dating for some stupid reason, even though I've told her a million times that it's never happening!"
"Oh..." Raine said looking down.
"Anyways, I'm starving. It's go out and grab some lunch." Xavier suggested, getting out of his seat.
"Oh, I actually had plans to go with someone else. I'm sorry." She said, slowly getting out of her seat.
"Someone else?" He repeated, frowning. "Who?"
Just as Raine was about to respond, there was a subtle knock on the door, causing both of them to turn around.
"Come in!" Xavier called out, his mind still focused on the fact that Raine was going out to lunch with someone other than him.
"Hello Mr. Thorn." Brooks said as he entered the room, glancing at Raine and smiling.
"Mr. Smith." Xavier said with an emotionless voice. "What can I do for you?"
"Oh, I didn't really need anything from you Sir." Brooks said, looking over to Raine. "I was searching for Raine and she wasn't in her office so I assumed she'd be here."
"That's Miss. Woods to you." Xavier said with a glare. "And why do you need her anyways?"
"It's lunch time and we are going out to lunch together." Brooks stated.
"Lunch?!" Xavier repeated. "And why on earth would you think it's ok to take MY personal assistant out to lunch."
"Xavier I---" Raine began, only to be interrupted by Brooks.
"Because every employee is entitled to a lunch break and you can't possibly regulate who eats lunch with who, Mr. Thorn." Brooks replied causing Xavier's fists to clench. "So if you'd kindly excuse us, I'd like to take Miss. Woods out to lunch." Brooks expressed, walking over to Raine.
"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Xavier gritted out. "You walk into my office, in my company and show me that attitude? I hope you realize that I am your boss Mr. Smith. The one who signs the checks you deposit into your bank account every month."
"I don't see how going on my fairly entitled lunch break correlates to showing you attitude Sir." Brooks began bravely. "And you can't disendow me from my rights as an employee."
"Get the fu---" Xavier began.
"Wait Xavier." Raine stepped in, making him to stop mid sentence. "I actually asked Brooks to come have lunch with me today. It isn't his fault."
Xavier's eyes softened for a brief second before they diverted back to Brooks with a glare. "That is still no excuse for him to talk back to me, Raine. Stop saving him!"
"Please Xavier?" Raine pleaded. "We're just going out to lunch. We will be back in time."
Xavier stared at Raine's innocent face for a couple of seconds, before his heart melted like chocolate, giving in to Raine's wants. "Fine." Xavier agreed, glaring at Brooks.
"Thanks Xav!" Raine said smiling at him and then turning back to Brooks. "Should we go?"
"Yeah." He said, placing his hand on Raine's back as they turned to walk out the door.
Meanwhile, Xavier's fists were clenching, his knuckles turning white as he watched Brooks take Raine away from him. There was a bubbling feeling at the pit of his stomach and he didn't understand it one bit. The only thing he knew, was that he didn't appreciate any other guy taking Raine away from him.
* * *
"So, what's the deal with the CEO?" Brooks asked as they walked down the street from Thorn Inc and into a small deli. They sat down together, diving into their meals.
"With Xavier?" Raine asked, taking a bite out of turkey avocado sandwich. "Nothing. Why?"
"Wait a minute." Brooks halted."First of all, he let's you call him by his first name?"
"Yeah." Raine shrugged. "We actually met a couple of months ago and became friends. I was looking for a job and I guess Xavier had an opening at Thorn Inc so he asked me if I'd be willing to take it." She explained.
"He actually helped you out?" He asked in disbelief.
"Yeah of course."
"That sounds so unlike him." Brooks said frowning.
"Why?" Raine asked confused.
"Because he's Xavier. I kid you not, his heart is made of stone." Brooks justified. "He's never showed a drop of emotion other then anger to any of his employees. How you expect me to believe that he'd actually help a person in need."
"Well I guess you don't know him then." Raine replied. "He's one of the more caring and kind men I've ever met. And just for the record, his heart is most certainly not made of stone." She defended.
"So you two are friends?" Brooks asked after a moment of silence.
"Yup!" She cheered lightly.
"Just friends?"
"Yeah, just friends. Why?" Raine asked, confused with all of the questions Brooks was throwing at her.
"Oh, nothing." Brooks waved off. "Just wondering. He seemed a little... you know? Possessive."
Raine smiled before shaking her head and laughing. "Oh, don't worry about that! Xavier just really possessive about everything."
"I see." He said, taking another bite out of his sandwich before changing the topic and engaging in a more entertaining conversation.
* * *
Ever single Raine left the office, Xavier couldn't concentrate on his work. He had a stack of paperwork to go through and a contract to proofread but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't keep his attention on the words in front of him.
"What are you doing to me Raine?" He muttered, rubbing his face with his hands.
No matter what he tried, he just couldn't get her out of his mind.
He shook his head, gulping down a bottle of water before returning back to work. Determine to get everything done, he finally managed to bust out most of his paperwork. And to his good fortune, just he set his pen down and looked up from his papers, Raine's beautiful face came into his view.
"Hey, just came in to tell you I'm back." Raine said, smiling when she noticed Xavier's complete work.
"Perfect timing." Xavier said, glancing at the clock. "I needed you to revise these files for me."
"Sure! I'll take a look at them right away."
"What's that?" Xavier asked, glancing at a small paper bag in Raine's hands.
"Oh this." She said, raising the bag up. "This is for you. I figured you wouldn't go out for lunch and would drown yourself in work, so I got you something."
"For me?" Xavier said shocked. It was very rare for him to get things from another person. He always found himself surrounded by people who demanded and expected things from him. But never before had he been at the receiving end. It felt good.
"Yeah. It's they're cranberry orange scones. I didn't know what favor you'd like so I just picked something I'd choose." She smiled, setting the bag on his desk.
"Cranberry orange?" Xavier said, reaching out for the bag. "That sound absolutely wonderful, Raine. Thank you so much for this. That's really sweet of you."
"No problem." Raine said blushing. "Let me take a look at those files now."
She sat down across from him, reading through all of the papers to check for typos or other mistakes that he might have missed. Meanwhile, Xavier unraveled the bag, smelling the fruity scent of orange and cranberry as he pulled out the freshly baked scones, ready to devour them.
"So how was it?" Xavier asked randomly.
"How was what?" Raine asked, popping her head out of the files she was inspecting.
"Your date. How did it go?"
"My date?" Raine laughed. "Xavier, my lunch with Brooks was definitely not a date. It was a casual lunch. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Oh." Xavier said, not knowing what else he could possibly say.
"Why do you ask?" Raine said curiously.
"N-nothing." He said, quickly shaking his head.
"I'm sorry for causing the trouble though." Raine said after a silence. "I didn't know you'd get so mad at us for going."
"I wasn't mad at you Raine. I could never be mad at you." He said softly, his blue eyes swirling with an intense blue, reflecting his emotions.
"But then why were you so furious with Brooks. I mean, we were both going out to lunch."
"Raine, this isn't about lunch. This is about the fact that Mr. Smith was speaking rudely to me."
"He was defending his rights as an employee. You can't blame him." Raine said with amusement to his nearly childish behaviors.
"Well I don't care. He's gotten his warning and if I find one more issue with that man, he's fired."
"You wouldn't." Raine challenged playfully.
"Are you challenging me Miss. Woods?" Xavier asked with amusement. "That's most certainly a first, I'd have to say."
"Maybe." Raine blushed.
"Well, to respond to your previous comment, when I do fire Mr. Smith, I'll be sure to do it in front of you."Â Xavier snickered, causing Raine to roll her eyes at him.
* * *
"What is it Jordon?" Xavier asked.
He had been cooped up in his office for the past couple of hours and was about to leave with Raine, when Jordon had approached him with a concerned look on his face.
"Mr. Thorn, could I possibly speak with you in private?" He asked politely.
"Is it urgent?" Xavier asked, glancing at Raine.
"It's critical that we speak." He stated in a serious manor.
"I have to drop---"
"It's ok Xavier, I can head home myself." Raine cut off, noticing him refraining important work due to her.
"That won't be necessary Raine." Xavier said, turning back to Jordon. "Tell Cole to drop Raine off at her apartment."
"Yes, of course Mr. Thorn." Jordon nodded. "Raine, you can go down to the main floor, I'll let Cole know that he is to drop you home."
"Ok, thanks." Raine said. "Goodbye Xavier."
"Goodbye Raine." Xavier said, disappointed that he couldn't spend more time with her. "You don't need to come to work tomorrow."
"Ok, sounds good." She said, giving him one last smile before she turned away and disappeared from Xavier's sight.
As soon as her presence was gone, Xavier's kind behavior evaporated into thin air as he turned to Jordon with a expression that said he was beyond pissed.
"What happened?"
"I apologize for disrupting your plans for this evening Mr. Thorn, but it's imperative that I show you what we've found."
"In regards to?" He asked, still irritated.
"The potential hacker who breached our software." Jordon stated. "We were able to trace back to the IP address to which the data was accessed."
"And what did you find?" Xavier asked impatiently.
"Well the good news is, the IP address was from someone within the state. Not only that, but within the 20 mile radius of this company."
"And the bad news?"
"The location of the IP address is a dead end."Jordon claimed.
"What do you mean it's a dead end? We'd be able to trace the person with that information effortlessly." Xavier refuted.
"The computer used, was a sample computer from a tech shop near Time Square. I sent some of our men to get more information about the place, but all of the computers in the shop are free for use to anybody. Hundreds of people come and go to this particular shop and they don't keep records of the people who use these computers." Jordon notified.
"Damn it. What about the cameras? Did the shop have any form of surveillance?" Xavier suggested.
"They do have cameras but they weren't functioning for the past month."
"It's a setup." Xavier mumbled harshly.
"I'm sorry, Sir?"
"Its all a setup." Xavier stated sternly. "Whoever this person is, first of all, knows way too much about the company. He knew exactly how to hack into our servers and although he may not have gotten the information he was hunting for, he didn't leave empty handed." Xavier said, thinking out loud. "Not only that, but this person knew we'd search for him. He knew that we have methods to trace back to him so he didn't use a personal computer, he used a public one so we'd never be able to nail him down."
"This person appears to have everything planned out thoroughly." Jordon said, nodding in agreement to Xavier's points.
"Exactly my point." Xavier said. "Listen Jordon, I need you to have the entire security team on their feet. I'm leaving for Paris tomorrow and I don't want anyone to take advantage of my absence."
"Don't worry about it. We've got everything secure."
"Good." Xavier nodded. "Who ever this person is, he's going down."
______________________
A/N: Hello fellow readers! How's everyone doing! I am so happy to announce that this book is almost up to 10K reads! Thanks for all of the support and I hope you guys are enjoying reading the story just as much as I enjoy writing it!
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