Page 14 of Promise of Destruction (Destruction & Vengeance Duet #1)

fourteen

Soren

My heart sits in my throat as I tell him that I’m not afraid of him, and I’m fairly certain he’s too smart to believe me for even a second.

His laughter follows me into the office, to the desk that was mine…

up until I came in to see someone else’s belongings on it.

I pick up my coffee and busy myself swirling it around the cup, trying to unsettle the creamer that’s congealing on the bottom.

This way, at least, Declan can’t see my face as he walks past me, nearly causing me to choke when he steps into Aaron’s office.

No.

No no no.

A sick panic slithers inside my stomach.

He bought the paper so that he could control what I said about him. I understood that much from the moment I saw his name on the door. What I didn’t realize was that he would fire Aaron just so that he could take his place.

No, surely the CEO of multiple million-dollar companies has better things to do than oversee a goddamn newspaper. Right?

“Miss Palmer?” I nearly jump out of my skin at the sound of my name rolling off his tongue, and I’m certain everyone’s watching me as I turn to face him, struggling to maintain a shred of composure.

I refuse to call him sir. I decide it in a single instant.

I also don’t want to give him the luxury of addressing him by his first name as if we’re familiar enough for that. So, I say nothing as I turn to see him flick loose the button on his sports jacket. It’s way too formal for this kind of atmosphere.

I stare at him expectantly, waiting for .

“You are one of very few staff that has been retained during the turnover, so I’ve requested that you take the editor-in-chief position. Your new desk is in here.”

Fuck.

My heart shudders as he gestures to the desk opposite Aaron’s.

As long as I’ve been here, Aaron has handled everything from an administrative standpoint on his own.

I always assumed the second desk in his office was just because he ran out of space to lay out his work.

Now, through the glass that separates the office from the rest of the space, I can see that the second desk has been cleared of all the clutter, and a tall-backed chair has been added to it.

It's a promotion… one that I am woefully unqualified for. One that forces me into a small space with Declan Evers.

“Congratulations.” Luc’s voice breaks through the sound of blood rushing in my ears, and I jump again.

“Damn, baby.” Luc pouts. “Am I in the twilight zone or something? Everybody is acting weird as hell today.”

“Sorry.” I force a laugh, pursing my lips together to hide the way they want to quiver. “I didn’t sleep much. Too caffeinated.”

His eyes flutter over me, coming up with some unspoken judgement. “Well lay off of it, girl, before you have a heart attack.”

My smile doesn’t make it to my eyes, but Luc doesn’t care. He turns and bounces away, leaving me to stare at the office I’m supposed to relocate to.

I have half a mind to turn and walk out the door once I tuck the laptop under my arm, but I’m not letting him know how much power he has over me.

Not a chance in hell. I balance the coffees again and make the short walk to the office, struggling to pull the door open without everything toppling out of my arms.

I set the coffees down and slink into my chair, eager to open my laptop so that I can put something in the empty space between Declan and me.

He’s looking at something in the paper in front of him—or rather, he’s pretending to look at something in the paper in front of him. Try as I might, I can’t shake the weight of his eyes on me, so that when I finally look up, I find him watching me.

“ What ?” I demand, unable to feign any pleasantries.

It’s not even noon and I’m mentally tapped.

I don’t know how I’m going to make it to five o’ clock.

And what if I do? I ran that article because I wanted people to pay attention to him.

Instead, it seems he’s turned his attention to me and everybody else is oblivious to it.

“You seem tense, Miss Palmer.” The way he says my name sends a flicker of fear through me. He says it almost ironically , like he knows it’s not who I really am, like he knows that Soren Palmer is a fraud.

Khan assured me that it would be damn near impossible for anyone without prior knowledge to figure out who I am.

Then again, a man with resources as limitless as what Declan Evers has got could probably figure it out if he had a reason.

And if he’s responsible for the night that my life ended, I’d say he’s got a damn good reason to be interested.

“How observant of you.” I say through gritted teeth. “You make your fortune on such stellar detective work?”

His laughter is light and airy, and it’s clear I’ve missed my mark.

He wants to get under my skin, so I’m going to do whatever I can to get under his. I thought mentioning his finances would do it, but it’s a clear swing and a miss.

“No.” He chuckles. “No, I made my fortune crippling every man or woman who dared to stand between me and what I want.”

I know better than to engage.

I know better than to look at him.

I know better than to grace him with my attention.

But none of that stops me from leaning forward on my elbows and peering at him over the top of my computer.

He leans back in his chair, his starched white shirt pulled taut over what appears to be a muscular chest. He’s abandoned the facade of reading his paper, setting it to the side and steepling his hands like he’s deep in thought.

The smirk on his face says otherwise.

“And what do you want?” I ask.

The smirk turns to a smile that reaches the shadows on his face that make him look so severe. In fact, it almost looks like a genuine smile. That’s what makes it all the more terrifying when he answers.

“I want to ruin you, Soren Palmer.”