Chapter 72:
Olivia’s Point of View
I stood before the heavy wooden office door and took a deep breath that made my chest rise sharply.
I raised my hand mechanically, running my fingers through my hair strands, ensuring they were tucked behind my ear,
then with a swift and calculated movement, I reached for my collar and undid the top button of my shirt.
My hand slid toward my bra, pulling out a small perfume vial; I sprayed droplets on the sides of my neck and throat,
closing my eyes for seconds as I inhaled the fragrant scent before returning the vial to its place.
I knocked on the door twice lightly, and his deep voice came from inside that voice that runs through my body like an electric current and makes my knees tremble:
"Come in."
I pushed the door open and entered, but my steps froze immediately on the carpet.
He was sitting in his leather chair, completely bare-chested.
My eyes fixed on the definition of his prominent muscles and his skin,
which looked as though it were carved from rock; I felt a sudden heat invade my face and my breath tightened.
Without my will, the tip of my tongue moved to lick my lower lip slowly, while my heartbeat drummed in my ears from the intensity of the excitement.
Robert’s back was to me, his gaze fixed rigidly toward the massive aquarium, watching the small sharks as they tore through the water with their fluid movements.
I felt grateful that he didn’t see my hungry looks and that moment of losing control;
I was still standing there, my body stiffened under the weight of the scene, struggling to regain my professional mask while my desire burned inside.
I swallowed with great difficulty, feeling a sudden dryness in my throat as I whispered:
"Hello, sir... I wanted to see if you needed anything before I leave."
He rose from his chair slowly, and that movement alone made my pulse race madly; his imposing stance pierced through me like a bullet settling in the center of my heart.
He fixed his sharp gaze on me and said in a deep voice:
"Tomorrow morning, you will take clothes for Julie suitable for work... she has become my personal assistant."
At that moment, I felt as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over my head;
my body paralyzed completely, and I dug my nails into the palm of my hand so hard that I felt the pain stinging my skin.
I tried desperately to maintain a calm tone that hid the volcano of rage exploding inside me, and said:
"Sir, you don’t like having a personal assistant... you were always against this and relied only on Ron."
He shot me a cold look that froze the blood in my veins, and asked with a terrifying calmness:
"Are you Robert Cross?"
I stammered, feeling the words turn to stone in my throat:
"What?"
He repeated his question, narrowing his eyes at me:
"I am asking you... is your name Robert Cross?"
I lowered my head in surrender and said in a faint voice:
from platinum blonde to coal black, and from rebellious short to long flowing like silk.
I remembered how I used to stand before him in dresses that highlighted every detail of my body,
deliberately standing in his line of sight, adjusting my attire with slow movements,
hoping his eyes would lose their way and settle on me for a single second... just one second.
But his icy fortresses did not crack.
He used to look toward me with a coldness that kills me,
piercing eyes passing over me as if I were air, or just another piece of furniture in this luxury office.
I opened my eyes suddenly, and the sparkle in them had turned into a sharp blade.
I tightened my grip on his whiskey-stained shirt, squeezing the fabric between my fingers with a hysterical force until my knuckles turned white and my forearms cramped from the sheer pressure.
I felt my nails digging into the palm of my hand through the fabric, as if I were strangling that girl between my fingers.
My breath rushed forth in succession, and my voice came out as a poisoned hiss filling the void of the office:
"That wild sow... she succeeded in making you see her, she succeeded in shattering all your rules."
I smiled a twisted smile that distorted my facial features, and as I pulled the shirt toward my chest violently,
I felt a powerful tremor of rage running through my spine.
I tilted my head slightly, fixing my gaze on the door Robert had exited from, then added in a cold tone dripping with hatred:
"But I am the one who will end her."

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