The CEOs Possession

For every step that Simon took that brought him closer to Anders’ office, Veil wished she had telepathy each time. Perhaps, if she lived in some fantasy world where she could wish things to be, she would have screamed at Simon from her head, telling him to turn around and go back to his office.

But this was no fantasy, and Simon was mandated to obey every one of Anders’ commands. He was still the CEO of Kingston Groups, and as such, even the smallest instruction mattered.

Veil could only imagine the derision on Simon’s face as he struggled to come to terms with that flimsy errand. Even Veil had never fetched Anders something like that. Sure, she had to get him lunch and his usual black coffee before the start of the day.

But that was about it.

A bottle of water all of a sudden for someone who wasn’t him?

That was suss.

The knock Veil had been waiting for sounded at the door, and as her hands stopped midway to her mouth, Anders glared at her, urging her to keep eating.

“Come in,” he replied with a smile. “And kindly close the door behind you.”

Of course, Simon knew that.

Anders was just being an ass, and he was having a great time doing that to Simon. But the only thing Veil couldn’t fathom was what Simon could have possibly done to deserve that.

“The water,” Anders asked when Simon just stood there in the middle of the room, looking at Veil with raised eyebrows. Of course, anyone would have had that same expression.

“I’m…” Simon was disoriented, but he quickly got over it as he shook his head clear. “Here it is, Sir.” He made to hand the bottle over to Anders, but he shook his head subtly and pointed at Veil instead.

“It belongs to her. She’s the one eating, not me.”

Simon nodded curtly and placed the water on the table beside Veil’s food. His eyes didn’t go above the fancy little sticker on the takeout’s package, because Simon didn’t think he was ready to come to terms with what was before his eyes.

Anders was known to never have lunch with anyone in his office. Even when Sophia came around, they had always eaten out. At some point, everyone thought Anders just had a huge problem with everyone else but himself bringing food into his space.

But there Veil was, seated without a hint of fear, eating a meal from one of the most expensive restaurants.

“Or was Anders the one who had ordered the food for her?” Simon said to himself. It still made no sense to him. Anders had no reason to treat Veil that way.

But Simon couldn’t forget the look Anders had given him on the ground floor and that cold smirk that had graced his face. It was a message that Simon was finding really hard to understand.

“You don’t have to wait for the empty bottle,” Anders’ voice broke into Simon’s confusion. “I’m sure she’s going to take a while before she finishes from here.”

Simon’s face contorted into a shade close to pain as he struggled with what to say. His lips parted open and closed a couple of times, each time sending a satisfied smirk to Anders’ lips.

After three minutes, Simon gave up altogether and stalked out of the office, leaving Veil with Anders once again.

“Drink up,” Anders instructed, nudging in the direction of the unopened water.

“Do you always do that?” Veil blurted suddenly, certain that it was going to get her in trouble, but she still did it anyway.

“Do what?” As each day passed, Anders got excited by Veil’s cute return each time he did something to ruffle her feathers. He found it charming, like a child stomping her foot. It made him want to protect her from the world.

“Not that I have a reason to do that,” Anders quickly added in his mind. It could never go beyond this.

“Treat all your employees in that manner. Simon didn’t do anything to warrant being treated like that.”

“It’s interesting to know that you both are on a first-name basis, yet you’ve never called me by my name.”

Veil stared at him wide-mouth. “You yelled at me on the first day I started working here. That was the boundary you set in place yourself. I was in no position to remove it. I wouldn’t even dare.”

“And Simon?”

“He’s been nice to me since I got here.”

“He’s overstepping his bounds, and I will continue treating him this way until he stops being nice to you,” Anders decided with an air of finality, his gaze never faltering.

“Why?” Veil couldn’t understand it. One minute, Anders treated her like she didn’t even exist, and the next, he was making decisions that affected her. She already had everything going fairly well for her. A colleague hating her because the CEO wasn’t a great flag to fly.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“Because,” Anders’ voice suddenly went lowered as he stared at Veil, her insides warming up. “I hate the fact that he helps you carry your bag in the elevator or smile at you like he knows you more than anyone else. I hate that you’d rather work with him, rather than eat the food I send you.”

“Mr. Rodriquez…”

“Anders.”

“Anders, Simon was just being nice to me.” Veil had no clue why she was explaining herself to Anders; it felt like something she had to do. “In the elevator, I was struggling with my hair and the iPad, and it was just the gentlemanly thing to do to offer to help me with something.”

“Next time, call me. I’ll get my men to join you. I don’t want Simon touching or laughing with you anymore.”

“You can’t just go around dictating what I can do and cannot do, Mr. Rodriguez. I’m your secretary, not your…”

“You’re anything I want you to be,” Anders said, wearing a sexy grin. “And we’re starting with mine.”