Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Chapter Theme Song: Devilish By Chase Atlantic

[Iris’s POV]

I smiled slightly as I watched six pairs of eyes stare up at me with absolute horror. They were probably convinced that I was crazy. I mentally shrugged and thought that was probably a good thing. Glancing back and forward between one another, as if deciding on the best course of action, I heard the woman lying at my feet groan with frustration. Fingering the deliciously cold gun in my hands, I gazed down at her. She was positively shaking. A giggle bubbled out of my mouth. Being underestimated surely had its advantages at times. After staring at her for a full minute, I chambered a round while arching a brow as if to say, Make up your damned mind already.

She cleared her throat and said, “Do as she says, you idiots.”

I let out a dark chuckle. Oh, it was so much fun watching these people squirm. With a bright smile and much enthusiasm, I said, “Wonderful! Now…” My eyes roved around the shabby room while I casually hummed. There wasn’t much of anything in here to use as a target.

“Since we are short on targets, I’m afraid we will have to improvise. You—” I pointed the gun at one of the overly large bodyguards. “Go over to that wall and draw a circle. If you hit it dead in the center, then it will be your turn. But—” I looked at him in amusement and then said, “If you miss, then it will be my turn and you will lose one of your legs.”

My lips curved into a satisfying smile and he took a self preservation step back.

“Oh! Come now. A big and dangerous man like you can’t possibly be afraid of me, right?” I taunted.

His eyes flashed with rage and he immediately set about his task. Keeping the gun pointed at the square of his back, I saw the woman try to stagger to her feet. The other guard rushed over to help her. I watched each of them carefully and just as we were about to start our little game, I felt my whole body instinctively tense upon hearing a small noise. At first, I didn’t think anything of it. But, it was gradually getting louder and closer. Someone was coming and, by the sound of it, they were running full out. I looked at the people in front of me and couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. I was looking forward to making them suffer, but I guess it couldn’t be helped. A small irritated growl came from the back of my throat. All three of these imbeciles had better get on their knees and thank heaven for sending whoever came through that door.

The sound grew closer and I pinched the bridge of my nose while sighing in exasperation. Hearing the footsteps come to a halt outside of the door, I hurled the gun to the furthest corner of the room and threw myself onto the floor. As I let out a terrifying scream, the door was instantly kicked open and I looked up. It was him?!

“Iris,” Xavier said hoarsely.

His expression was strained and the lines on his forehead created by his furrowed brows made him look a little older. Had he been that worried? I mean, of course he was worried. I was his secretary after all. But, the look in his blue eyes spoke of something more. He had been terrified. My stomach clenched. Why was he looking at me like that? As if an answer to my question, he tore his gaze away and took in the scene.

The little group huddled together and looked down at me in shock and confusion. I suppressed the urge to smile. Xavier stepped into the room, glaring at them with murder evidently on his mind. By the time he had taken three strides into the room, the area was flooded by his body guards. All wearing their trademarked black uniforms and every single one of them were armed. It was an impressive display.

I felt a hand carefully tap my arm. I looked up and saw Daniel.

“Are you alright, Miss Young?”

I nodded while feigning the part of a damsel in distress. Smiling at him weakly, I sat up. The next thing that I knew I was being hauled to my feet by the president. His large hand wrapped around my arm to steady me. The warmth of his grip seeped through my sleeve. I met his gaze and tried to give him a reassuring smile.

“Mr. President? Is that really you?!”

Both of us turned to see the deranged woman stumbling towards us.

“Who in the hell are you?” he asked. The fierce intensity in his voice made the room still and all eyes turned to him.

The woman, stupid as she was, just smiled at him while straightening her clothes and smoothing down her disheveled hair. It was such a pathetic spectacle that I had to work hard not to roll my eyes.

“Mr. President, please d-don’t misjudge me. I am a very big admirer of yours and I had been trying my best to meet you under better circumstances. But, you were always so busy. So I thought… I thought that if your secretary went missing, I could finally meet you...” Her words trailed off as Xavier crossed his arms and glowered down at her. She shrank back.

I glanced over at Daniel as I heard him snort in disdain.

Xavier, with his hand still around my arm, tightened his grip. Then through gritted teeth, he asked, “Are you telling me that you kidnapped and abused my secretary just to meet me?”

The woman paused and then gave him a slight nod. Xavier swore under his breath and with a swift kick, he sent the woman straight to the floor. Landing with a loud thud, she howled in pain and then scooted back while looking up at the president. Her eyes were brimming with unshed tears.

“Idiot woman! Daniel, get her out of my sight. I never wish to see her again,” he commanded with a tone that broke no argument.

The two accomplices were now scrambling around the president’s bodyguards in an attempt to plead for mercy.

“Mr. President, please spare us! We didn't do anything with her. She was the one who was threatening us with the gun,” one of the men cried.

Apprehensively, I glanced over to the president who was looking at me with a lifted brow.

Daniel stepped forward and scoffed. “What a load of crap! Get these deranged bastards out of here,” he ordered.

Unconsciously, I let out a small sigh of relief. Daniel turned and looked at me expectantly. He was waiting for an explanation.

“What? How could I threaten somebody with gun if I don’t even know how to properly hold one?”

He stared at me for a moment. Then without another word, he grabbed the woman by the arm and yanked her out of the room.

[Xavier’s POV]

From the moment she went missing, I could have sworn that I hadn’t been breathing properly. It was as if she just vanished into thin air. Immediately after Daniel assured me that he would mobilize his men to track her down, I used my own influence to make sure that this information didn’t leak out to the press. The last thing I needed was reporters running around causing havoc by saying that I had lost my own secretary. As I stepped into the room, I felt a twinge of pain in my chest when she looked up at me with those big hazel eyes.

Her face looked pale and her cheeks were streaked with tears. Once again, someone had suffered on my account. Rage coursed through my veins as I watched Daniel drag the insufferable woman away. I knew that I had a few fans, but I never thought that they were insane enough to actually harm my own staff. Running a hand though my hair, I let out a breath to try and release my pent up anxiety. Thank God it wasn’t one of the surrounding syndicates. They had been quiet for awhile so I had thought that they had a hand in Iris’s disappearance. I looked down. I still had Iris by the arm. I eased my grip and led her outside. A frown had settled on her forehead as we walked silently to my car. Shrugging off my hand, she rounded the front of the car to get into her usual seat. Strangely, I felt nettled by the action.

Clearing my throat, I demanded, “Sit with me.”

That got her attention. She looked over at me in surprise.

I clarified, “Daniel is going to sit there.”

Her mouth made a small “Oh,” shape and walked to the back of the car. Without another word, I opened my door and sat in my seat. I made sure to stick to my side of the car so she could have space. She looked so scared! No, not scared… disappointed? Had she thought I would have come sooner? A feeling that I couldn’t begin to describe started to brew in the pit of my stomach. What if we hadn’t been able to find her? What if that crazy woman hurt her? My heart thudded against my chest as endless “what if’s” ran through my mind.

The car roared to life, making me jump back to the present. In the next moment, Daniel got in the car hooting with laughter. I glared at him. Seriously, the man had no tact. Couldn’t he see that Iris was upset? Maybe if I landed my fist into his face? Yes, that would make me feel better. He looked in the rearview and lowered to a chuckle.

“Oh my! I had no idea that it was so dangerous to work for you, Xavier.” He looked over to Iris and said, “Thank goodness we were able to track you down quickly or else Xavier would have proceeded to turn the whole nation upside down.”

Annoyed, I yelled, “Daniel! Shut the fuck up!”

The way she looked over at me made feel embarrassed. So what if I had been impatient? I couldn’t help it! She had been taken in broad daylight and she was under my protection. Turning away from her, I looked out the car window as we pulled out onto the road.

After a few minutes, I asked, “Did they hurt you?”

“No, sir. They just tied me up.”

She responded so quickly and with such a firm voice that clearly left no room for doubt. I hummed in acknowledgement, but that didn’t stop me from running my eyes over her figure to look for injuries. Traveling down to her feet, my eyes narrowed. She had red marks around her feet. They must have used a coarse rope.

“Bastards,” I swore under my breath.

Daniel looked back at me and I just shook my head. I doubted Iris wanted to talk about the incident and, honestly, I wasn’t in the best frame of mind to hear about it. We rode in silence all the way back to the hotel.

When we pulled into the parking lot, the sun had begun to set. After getting out of the car, Daniel had announced that he was going back to the beach. Waving him off, Iris and I made our way to our rooms. She was walking behind me at a slow pace, probably thinking of everything that had just transpired. I had every intention of just walking her to her room—but as her hand lifted to turn the handle, I reached out and gently held her wrist.

“Miss Young, come with me to my room.”

She shot me dumbfounded look and with hesitation said, “Um… I don’t think… Mr. President I just got back from an unpleasant experience and besides I need to change my clothes.”

“Fine, grab whatever you need and then come to my room. I will wait for you here.”

“Huh?” she asked with wide eyes.

I shoved my hands into my pockets and looked at her with a steady gaze. “You will be staying in my room tonight, Miss Young.”

With her hands on her hips, she asked, “And why am I going to do that, sir?”

I shrugged and replied, “As you said, you have gone through a horrible experience. Until I am assured that there are no lingering threats, you will be staying with me. As I am responsible for your welfare, I want this incident investigated thoroughly before I can feel comfortable leaving you on your own.”

She seemed to contemplate this for a second. Then, rubbing her hands on her jeans, she looked up at me and gave me a nervous smile.

“Very well. I will stay with you. But, just for tonight. I don’t want to be at the center of any office gossip.”

I felt my face break into a lopsided grin. “Deal.”