Chapter 3 - THE BILLIONAIRE’S SHIELD
I stared at him in sheer disbelief. "Mr. Kane, you can't do this. You can't involve yourself in my personal—"
"I am already involved," Adrian cut me off smoothly, slipping his phone back into his pocket. He leaned against the edge of his mahogany desk, crossing his arms. The impeccable cut of his charcoal suit highlighted the broadness of his shoulders. "You are vital to this firm, Lily. We are launching a multi-million dollar global campaign next month, and I cannot have my lead creative distracted by street-level thugs."
"Distracted?" I choked out, a hysterical laugh escaping my lips. "They threatened my child's life! This isn't a distraction, it's a nightmare. I was going to pull my retirement, sell my car, try to get a loan—"
"Two hundred thousand dollars is pocket change to me," he said dismissively. "But paying them off only proves you're a viable revenue stream. They will come back. They always do. You don't buy off predators; you eradicate them."
The hot chocolate arrived, delivered by a trembling assistant who quickly backed out of the room. Adrian took the mug and walked over to Mia, his posture softening miraculously as he handed it to her. She beamed at him, completely oblivious to the high-stakes chess game being played over her life.
"Thank you, Mr. Kane," she chirped.
"You can call me Adrian, Mia," he said, offering her a rare, devastatingly gentle smile.
He walked back to me, the softness vanishing instantly. "Here is what is going to happen, Lily. As of right this second, you and Mia are under my protection. You will pack a bag. You are moving into my penthouse."
"I am absolutely not moving into your penthouse!" I stood up, my heart hammering against my ribs. "You are my boss. This is wildly inappropriate, not to mention a massive liability for the company."
Adrian stepped into my space again, so close I could smell the intoxicating scent of bergamot and cedarwood that always clung to him. His gaze dropped to my lips for a fraction of a second before locking onto my eyes.
"Liability is my specialty," he murmured, his voice dropping an octave. "And right now, the only thing that matters is keeping that little girl safe. So you can either fight me on this and risk those men finding you tonight in your unprotected apartment, or you can swallow your pride and let me shield you."
May you like
I looked over at Mia, who had chocolate foam on her nose and was happily swinging her legs. The thought of those men coming anywhere near her made my blood run cold. I swallowed hard, the fight draining out of me.
"Okay," I whispered. "Okay."
