Verity:

Now all eyes had shifted to Ragnar.

The decision rested entirely on him.

He could either rehire me or throw me out of the company for good.

The way Jaguar, and Theodore kept watching their brother made it obvious they were backing me.

Ragnar knew it too.

Still, he said nothing.

He just kept staring at me with those fiery eyes.

"Yes, honey, please give her another chance," Gigi pleaded, leaning closer to Ragnar.

"Consider it a request from someone her brother ruined." Her fingers tightened around the armrest as she lowered her gaze.

"I want her to stay with me," she continued, lifting her eyes back to him. "I want her to help me heal from everything he did to me."

My heart started to pound hard in my temples.

"And I know she’ll take very good care of my emotions." A faint smile touched her lips, though her voice still dripped with manipulation.

She rubbed my arm up and down, her nails lightly scratching my skin.

I got goosebumps.

It’s not like Gigi and I were strangers.

We had practically grown up together.

She used to come over to our house all the time to play with my brother, and I was always tagging along somewhere in the background.

Back then, I never noticed how cunning she really was.

The signs had always been there, but I was only beginning to recognize them now.

Especially the small things she used to do whenever she wanted my brother’s attention completely on her.

The moment he gave even a little of that attention to me, her mood would darken.

"Come on, baby, say something," she coaxed softly.

The sound of her voice made the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

Ragnar was still silently watching me.

I did not even gulp because of him.

If I did, he would notice.

"Yeah, brother, I vote for her to stay here," Theodore commented.

Jaguar nodded, agreeing with him.

"Okay, if everybody votes, then she’s back in," Ragnar said, his tone cold.

I did not know if he was always like this or if it was something about me.

Was he reading too much into me?

I hoped I was wrong, because I was just getting started.

"Now that we’re done here, let’s get back to work. We have meetings lined up all day," Ragnar said, shutting the conversation down instantly.

He did not give anyone the opportunity to celebrate my return.

Within seconds, I faded into the background as they shifted their attention to schedules and meetings.

Still, I forced myself to take a slow breath.

I smiled at Gigi, even though she was not even looking my way.

Ragnar was watching me, though. I could feel it.

So I played my role perfectly.

I returned to my desk at the corner of his office and sat down, pulling up the data I needed to work on.

As the hours passed, I paid close attention to the way the brothers interacted with each other.

Ragnar controlled every conversation without effort.

Theodore pushed back in subtle ways, his stubbornness slipping through whenever he spoke.

And Jaguar—Jaguar carried the frustration of someone who always wanted to do more but was constantly held back.

I memorized their patterns carefully.

When the time came to strike, I wanted to know exactly where to wound them.

By the time the day ended, Gigi was already gone.

I wrapped up my work quickly and headed home.

It had been two days since I came back, and to be honest, I was feeling much better.

Now that my truth, my background, my past were out, I was no longer afraid or trying to hide from Gigi whenever she appeared.

However, I knew I had to be very attentive now.

I had come to Theodore’s floor to use the printer.

Not because ours was broken. It was working perfectly fine.

But every waking second of my life revolved around trapping the Alpha King brothers.

And after the whole getting-fired situation, I needed to smooth over the awkwardness between Theodore and me.

"Seems like this printer isn’t working," I murmured under my breath, making sure my voice carried just enough for Theodore to hear it.

Right on cue, he stepped out of his office and headed toward the printer tucked into the corner.

I kept one eye on him as he approached.

Like the other floors, this one was lined with cabins where employees spent most of their day working.

So the area around the printer was almost empty.

Very Quiet.

Very Private.

Just Perfect for me.

"Ms. Verity."

Theodore’s voice made me turn toward him. I dipped my head politely in greeting.

"What seems to be the issue?" he asked, a faint smile pulling at his lips.

"The printer—" I pointed toward it before releasing a weary sigh. "I think it’s broken."

His gaze shifted past me to inspect the machine while his hands stayed buried inside his pockets.

Without his coat, dressed only in black pants and a fitted black shirt, he looked far less intimidating and somehow more dangerous.

"Actually, the line on our floor was really long, so I thought—" I bit down on my tongue and lowered my gaze, pretending to feel embarrassed. "I hope you didn’t mind me trying your printer."

I kept my voice low with the slightest rasp.

Theodore liked bold women, but not ones who tried too hard.

"Not at all," he replied, his voice dropping into a huskier tone.

I forced myself to hold his gaze, pretending to be very confident in every situation.

"In fact, you can use my printer whenever you want, Ms. Verity." A wicked glint flickered in his eyes as his gaze dipped subtly toward his crotch, his fingers brushing thoughtfully along his chin.

I smiled without hiding that I understood exactly what he meant.

His eyes swept over me slowly, and I could tell he liked what he saw.

I had left my hair loose that day.

My white shirt was tucked neatly into beige pants that hugged my curves in all the right places.

"The other printer will be enough for the day, sir," I teased softly, catching the way his attention drifted toward my chest.

I had purposely left a few buttons undone, letting just enough cleavage show.

And from the way he looked at me, I could tell he was already tempted to have a little taste of me.