Artful Lies (Hunt Legacy Duology 1)

‘Miss Eleanor?’ He smiles and takes my hand.

‘Eleanor Cole,’ I clarify, letting him do all the shaking.

‘I’m Brent Wilson. So, you’re Becker’s new assistant?’

Assistant? ‘Well, I—’

‘She’s on trial,’ Becker butts in, rounding his desk to meet us on the other side. ‘Her future at the Hunt Corporation is yet to be determined.’

I throw him a shocked look. Is it? Why? Because I’m not giving him what he wants, he might now start making my life a misery to get rid of me? He’s sorely mistaken. I refuse to let him get under my skin. And where are his morals? He knows Mrs Potts is coming to depend on me, even if he hasn’t. It’s no secret that Becker was reluctant to hire outside help. Would he really let his bruised ego get in the way of giving Mrs Potts the respite she needs?

‘Well,’ Brent pipes up, ‘if you don’t want her, Hunt, I’ll gladly take her on.’

It doesn’t matter that this Brent bloke is being a chauvinistic pig, talking about me like I’m not here, or like I’m a piece of meat to bargain over. No, it doesn’t matter because the animosity that’s leaping from Becker’s prowling frame is overriding any need I have to jump all over Brent’s sexist arse. And anyway, he’s quite cute. I open my mouth to thank him for the offer but get cut off yet again when Becker takes my elbow and tugs me away.

‘She’s looking promising,’ he grumbles.

I swing disbelieving eyes up to him, which he totally ignores. ‘I am?’ I can’t help myself. So now I’m promising?

His lovely lips purse as he casts me a brief, cautious glance. ‘You’re dismissed,’ he grunts, physically leading me to the door.

I glance over my shoulder as my feet work fast to keep up with Becker, smiling suggestively at Brent. I can’t even find the decency to be ashamed of myself. I shrug Becker off and straighten myself out. ‘Can I get you anything else, Mr Hunt?’ I ask, cocking my head questioningly.

His jaw ticks wildly as daggers shoot from his fiery eyes. ‘No,’ he whispers. ‘Just the information I requested earlier.’

‘I’ll have it ready by the end of the day.’

‘This sounds a bit cloak-and-dagger.’ Brent laughs.

‘You know the Hunt Corporation,’ Becker says, face straight, his stare fixed on me.

‘Don’t I just,’ Brent replies thoughtfully. I can feel his eyes on me, too, as I bow my head and hold my boss’s eyes as I pass him, brushing his jacket sleeve. It wasn’t intentional. He hisses, but I manage to control my reaction to the jolt of electricity that attacks me from our contact. Or was that simply angry vibes emanating from him? Regardless, it’s stolen my breath, and I fight to get it back as I leave his office.

‘Wait.’

I pull to a sharp halt and turn, finding Brent coming towards me. My eyes flit between him and Becker standing motionless and wide-eyed by the door, a frown creeping its way on to my forehead. ‘Yes?’ I say.

‘Please, allow me to take you for dinner sometime,’ Brent says softly, reaching into his inside pocket and pulling out a card. He holds it out to me, and my hand lifts slowly to take it. But he doesn’t let go. ‘Call me?’

Our arms remain suspended between our bodies, while Becker bristles at the side, probably giddy with annoyance that there is absolutely nothing he can say to dismiss Brent’s offer. This is my personal life, and he has no control over that. ‘I’d love to.’ I sound confident and gracious, though on the inside I’m wondering why I accepted so easily. I don’t know this guy, and I’m supposed to be sworn off men.

Becker has now moved from bristling to physical twitching. I can feel it. Sense it.

‘Excellent,’ Brent says. ‘I’ll look forward to it.’

He finally releases the card, and I back away, glancing at Becker as I do. He’s swallowing repeatedly, his eyes darting around his office until they eventually land on mine. The world stops rotating on its axis, but my head spins wildly to make up for it.

‘Goodbye,’ I say quietly, continuing to back away, unable to rip my stare from the vacant expression on Becker’s face. He twitches slightly, and I can see with perfect clarity that he’s suddenly back in the room. Where was he? He looks to Brent, then to me, before he snaps to life, grabbing the door and practically slamming it in my face.

I stand on the other side for a few moments, bringing the card to my mouth and chewing the corner thoughtfully.

Is my boss jealous? This revelation wreaks havoc on my increasingly knotted mind.Chapter 8It’s the end of my first month at the Hunt Corporation, yet I feel like I’ve been here for years. I’ve spent endless days immersed in the library, losing myself in the abundance of books that grace the shelves, and I’ve familiarised myself with the unique filing system.