Love Or Lust?

pte

l, eat, sleep, fight, and fuck like all other animals. His interest in computers and his ap

ly matter to him. In his

doorstep at this very moment, he was

key locations throughout New York, others showed feeds from the national news with stock tickers unreeling beneath them. The spreadsheets he had been working on were open on at least

t, none of those screens had pe

from the security camera on his front doo

he woman in

r red hair pulled back in a tight bun. Very secretary-like and businesslike in appearan

d her skirt while he watched. She took one quick look

performance tended to decline after he put them to bed, so that was not a deal-breaker. On a second glance, her features were not all that bad, but they were too sharp for beauty. Her eyes wer

rest of her with

ts of soft curves, round hips, and full breasts. At least not physically, he disliked having muscles, being skinny,

ssed a button that brought up a second windo

lent references from every position where they worked as an assistant to high-level ex

had been doing for the past two years, and

ied entry to prospective employees. Depending on what he decided after giving

not like he ha

o find someone decent who would genuinely collaborate with him. Even raising the base pay to six figu

he best refused to apply, regardless of how much he offere

ose resume shows

rcom that was resting on his desk, Pero made up his mi

d in his typical sulky to

greeted Miss Swift, and led her into the sitting room, where Pero enjoyed

cameras, Pero observed her while John led her to a

the room as she claspe

iberately designed it to be as opulent and cozy as possible so that

of fresh flowers on the mantelpiece above it, the thick red-and-blue silk hand-knotted rug on the floor, and the shelve

kets or a book off the shelf. They would occasionally approach the window overlooking his Upper Ea

hese actions were

oked around her, occasionally turning her head, but that

self, he scowle

air of containment and reserve that she exuded, but there was

nating, and her focus had shifted to them. Now that he was looking more closely, he could see that her lashes were thick and long, and that there was

hair, Pero took anoth

t into a puddle of tears at the first hint of criticism or get incensed by his apparently "outrageous" needs. He'd had one woman-she'd been in her late fifties-who'd managed to stay with him a whole

ired her o

assistants either couldn't or wouldn't do their jobs an

ny of the other requests he made of his assistants, some of which had caused a number of the

ple was starti

him, but he really didn't understand what she meant by that. He suspected it had something to do with changing

een, Pero brought up another document-the

as s

one bit. Even the temping agencies wouldn't take him on as a client these days, not since he'd blo

-a week, he could up the salary again. Money tended to solve most problems in his experience, and it wasn't as if he didn't have plenty of it. Being the illegitimate son of Cesare De la

m her hands and took another look around the roo

ing how long he was goi

long as he fucking

and done with as soon as possible. Might as well see

the intercom again. "Take

d, Mr. De

ere Vera Swift sat. She gave him a pleasant smile, betraying no sign of impatience, all cal

ould have tested her further, the way he d

was plenty of

d his teeth as Vera disappeared through the s

y was just about t

executive chair that sat behind the dark oak monolith of his desk, and a

he walked straight toward the uncomfortable-looking one

t down, it was as unco

itting around in many different sorts of uncomfortab

sed to wa

, not even the noise from the

e flutter of nervousness in her stomach. Just like she r

rying to get what information she could about New York's most reclusive billionaire and the position s

e la Cruz was the biggest bastard to walk the earth and no one wanted to wo

Vera was not in a posit

's personal assistant seemed the best and easiest way of getting it. Certainly, much easier than

dy-sounding jobs that had also been on that same job website, offering the same ki

acted an infection recently, which was worrying since the immune systems of coma patients weren't exactly robust. Then again, the d

hough, which was not wh

ty, Vera looked around the room in

omputer genius and managed the tech arm of DS Corp, one of the U.S.'s biggest weapons companies. He was also reputed to

ed his office to intimid

leather bound tomes. There was a huge stag's head hung on the wall behind the desk, the antlers gleaming lethally in the dim li

of a single tree, the chair behind it as imposing as a throne. Th

hill in the air and a dark heaviness to the atmosphere that was . . . oppressive. And it might have gotten to her if she ha

t irritated at being kept waiting. Though she was starting to think that might be intentional,

currently staying in. The woman had given Vera a new fee schedule, which was pretty much going to bankrupt her if she wasn't careful. In order to pay for his care, she'd already used up the

in othe

early jumped because it had been half-hidden by one of t

lked thr

bli

hat he looked like. But in some dim region of her brain, she'd constructed the impression of a sma

y, Pero w

over that monolithic desk like Godzilla over a tiny Japanese skyscraper, and she hadn't misse

d with. In fact, he was built more like a pro-wrestler or heavyweight boxer than some tech genius, the da

sique, trying to reconcile her hazy idea of small nastiness with

thing kick ha

st mesmerizing. A hard blade of a nose, strong jawline, and broad, carved cheekbones. His eyes were as

a wolf or a panther, coming straight toward her. And she found herself tensing up in her chair, bra

her and his huge desk, looming over her, ma

th go dry and fear curl up tightly in her chest. She could suddenly see why Mr. Pero

nt?" His voice was deep, harsh, with a gravelly quality to it that fo

response to him, full stop. She rarely let people get under her skin, but she had a feeling

n at his rudeness, Vera met his gaze

hy

ught her off guard. "Why do I wan

, and stared at her with the same kind of unblinking intensity as a great cat would sta

as rude. Then again, she'd dealt with rudeness before, quite frequently. In fact, she'd gotten quite a name for herself as being an assistan

like this job because it sounds

lls

use

king away from her, going over to the window and glancing o

him that made her feel unsettled. That made her want to keep her e

about opportunitie