Dark Steel

by Fable Gray

  “I have to give it to you,” I admitted to him. “You really are a genius. Do you think anyone is actually going to call my fake number, though?”

  “Thank you,” Xander said when I slid his full wine glass in his direction. He took a sip and then nodded. “If they need to verify any information. I mean, they’re paying you, so they’re going to need a certain amount of personal information—all of which is written down right here.” He set down my phone and pointed to a notecard. “Memorize it. And don’t forget to post a few things on Instagram each week.”

  “Like one social media account isn’t enough,” I mumbled, walking back to the island and picking up the knife. “Now I have to have two?”

  “Sweetheart, I have three. And that’s just Instagram.”

  “What else is there?”

  His jaw dropped and he started at me like I’d grown another head.

  I waved my hand in a dismissive gesture. “I mean, I know there’re other social media platforms. But what else do you need, really?”

  “Reddit, YouTube, Twitch—”

  I snickered. “Sounds dirty.”

  “You’re dirty,” Xander said in response.

  With a grin, I said, “Now who sounds like they still live in their mom’s basement?”

  “All right,” Xander said, changing the subject. “You’re all set. Samantha Thompson, welcome to the world.”

  I dumped the onions in the spaghetti sauce and tested a noodle. Almost done.

  Then I bent to check the garlic bread. This meal was one of the only meals my dad and I had been able to manage after my mom’s death. Both of us were hopeless chefs but decent at preparing spaghetti. It was one of the few dishes you couldn’t fuck up.

  And since I needed to feel a little closer to my dad right now, this was the way to do it.

  “I still can’t believe Declan was at the hospital,” I told Xander.

  “Me either. You really couldn’t hear anything he was saying?”

  I shook my head, shivering when I thought of his low voice. “He’s like a ninja. Quiet. Everywhere I am. It’s creepy.”

  “Sounds sexy to me.” He shrugged when I frowned. “What? In the movies, the bad guys are sexy sometimes—at least the rich ones.”

  “So you think he’s the bad guy?”

  “You do. And that’s enough for me.”

  I sighed and sipped my wine while I waited the last two minutes for the bread to be done. “I don’t want him to be the bad guy. I just don’t…” I shrugged. “I don’t know where else to start and I…”

  I thought of my dad laying in the hospital bed, looking tiny and helpless and I wanted someone to blame it on. I wanted one person to be responsible for all of it so I could get answers quickly and easily.

  “You’re doing what you have to,” Xander said, summing it up for me. “It makes sense. And I know you. It’ll keep you busy. Better than sitting around and waiting for—”

  He broke off and picked up his wine for another sip.

  Better than waiting for my dad to wake up was what he was going to say. And he was right. It was better.

  The timer dinged, jerking me from my thoughts. I put a smile on my face. “Get ready for the best Italian you’ve ever had,” I joked.

  “I’m still waiting for you to take Maggie up on the offer for Russo’s,” Xander said.

  My nose wrinkled at the reminder of the girl Declan had been with. God, she’d been beautiful. But they hadn’t seemed like a couple at all. Then who was she? And why did I care?

  “You know, it’s not like we’re poor,” I reminded Xander. “We could just make a reservation and go one day.”

  He laughed, and when he saw the confusion on my face, he laughed some more. “Oh, sweet naïve child. Do you know how long the waiting list is for a reservation at Russo’s?”

  I purposefully waited until I pulled out the bread and turned off the oven before looking at him. “I’m assuming by your condescending attitude that you know I have no clue.”

  “It’s a billion years long,” he said easily. “So, like, unless you’re Declan Moneybags Dark or maybe the mayor or—or president, then you’re not going to get in any time before next year.”

  “Then I guess we put our names in for next year,” I told him with a smile. “Maybe for your birthday, you old geezer.”

  “Six months,” he reminded me. “I’m only six months older and—”

  My phone started ringing from the table and he looked down.

  “Is that mine?” I asked.

  He nodded. “Unknown number but wait…it’s tracking.” He peered at his computer screen and then his mouth opened in surprise. “It’s Declan Dark.”

  My heart jumped. “Wait—like, like my new boss?”

  “No, the other Declan Dark—”

  “How did he get my number?” I asked, then horror filled me. “It’s not my old number, right? Or—or, I mean, my real number.”

  “No, it’s Samantha’s number.” He jerked the phone from the cord and held it out. “Answer it.”

  “What? No, I can’t, I—”

  “It’s your job, Samantha,” he said firmly.

  Dammit. I jerked the phone from his hand and pressed the screen to answer the call.

  “Hello?”

  “Miss Thompson?”

  His deep voice reached my ear and sent a shiver of desire and anxiety down my spine. My heart raced in my chest.

  “Yes,” I said cautiously.

  “It’s Declan Dark.”

  “Mr. Dark—of course. I… What can I do for you?”

  Xander waved at me, trying to get me to pay attention to him. Put it on speaker, he mouthed.

  I frowned and walked to the living room to give myself some space. Xander followed me with his glass of wine and sat on the couch, watching me like I was on television.

  Yeah, great entertainment. Me, making a joke of myself in front of my new boss.

  “I meant to call you earlier in the weekend, but things got busy,” he said, voice still serious.

  I wondered if the man knew how to laugh. Or even smile. Maybe he’d been born grown-up and his father, who I’d heard was even more serious, had threatened to take away his inheritance if he even cracked a joke.

  “Um…that’s okay?” I frowned at Xander, confused. Why had he needed to talk to me over the weekend?

  Oh, shit. He wasn’t going to give me the job after all.

  “I have a request,” Declan said, surprising me again.

  “A request.”

  “Yes.”

  Oh, my God. For a busy man, he sure wasn’t in a hurry to get to the point.

  “Care to share it?” I asked after a second.

  Xander grimaced, making me grimace.

  But Declan only continued. “Right. I can see you’re just like me. I don’t like to waste my time.”

  Sure. I was just like him all right. Two peas in a pod. Hold on, let me go find my butler.

  1 waited for him to continue. Some things just didn’t need to be said.

  “We have a new project on the horizon, and I want to do some on-site research,” Declan said.

  “Oh.” Wow, I was getting better and better with words. “I’m sorry, a project?”

  Xander’s eyes were nearly bugging out of his head and he’d almost finished his glass of wine. He was acting like he was watching a movie.

  “I’ll go over it more clearly tomorrow on the way there,” Declan said. “But, because of where we’re going, it’ll benefit you to dress down some. Maybe jeans and boots. And a jacket as well.”

  What. The. Fuck.

  I’d just embraced Samantha Thompson and the hooker heels from hell and now he wanted me to be plain old Royal Patterson?

  “I can do that,” I started, but I could hear the doubt in my voice. “I’m a little confused, though.”

  “Elaborate.”

  I snorted, then covered my mouth with my hand. “I suppose I figured I’d be interning with…your secretary
or—”

  “Executive assistant.”

  “Right. Her.”

  “Him.”

  Xander was bent over in laughter like he could somehow hear both sides of the conversation and it was clear I was the entertainment portion of tonight’s show. He was cut off. No more wine for him.

  “Miss Thompson,” he said, voice low and sexy, totally throwing me off my game, “I hired you, so you’ll be working directly for me. It’ll give me a better chance to assess your talents and weakness in order to know where to place you elsewhere in the company when the time comes.”

  When. He meant if, right? When the time came, I was getting the hell out of there.

  But I had to fake it till I made it, so I infused confidence into my voice. “Of course. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

  “Good. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

  “See you.”

  “Goodnight, Miss Thompson.”

  The phone went silent, and I could tell he’d hung up.

  Holy fuck, that was intense. Just a conversation with him had me sweating.

  “I can’t tell if you’re verging on hyperventilating or having a climax,” Xander said.

  I walked over and smacked him on the back of the head. “You’re disgusting.”

  “You’re the one who had that look on your face.” Xander followed me to the kitchen. When he grabbed the wine, I snatched it away and shook my head. “What?”

  “No more until after we eat,” I told him. “The food’s getting cold.”

  “After a conversation that hot, you’d think you’d want something to cool you down,” Xander quipped.

  I pressed my hands over my heated cheeks. “I swear, I’m either going to kill him or you before this is over.”

  Xander brought the salad to the table with a nod. “Homicidal tendencies. He’s already getting to you.”

  I had to laugh. I needed it. The last several weeks had been rough with all that was going on with my dad. Without Xander, I had no clue how I would have made it through.

  Because of that, I was willing to let him tease me a little about Declan Dark and having the hots for him.

  But there was no way in hell I was going to admit it was actually true.

  As I’d mentioned before, some things just didn’t need to be said out loud.

  Chapter 7

  It was hard not to feel self-conscious as I stepped out of the Uber that morning in what was essentially my hiking gear. I wore dark jeans, layers with a jacket because the cool fog was still hanging around, and snug boots that had seen me up and down countless trails, on mountains well over 14,000 feet and simple rocky terrain. I had my ballcap stuffed in my backpack, the one my dad gave me last summer when we’d gone camping.

  Normally, I’d feel right at home. But not with people walking around me wearing sharp business suits, shiny shoes, and moving with purpose.

  “You’re blocking traffic,” a deep voice said in my ear, then a strong hand gripped my elbow and pulled me closer to the building.

  In a quick second, I stood facing a man dressed similarly to me. No, not just a man. Declan Dark.

  Had he been standing there the whole time?

  Of course, I’d been looking for a man in a business suit, not jeans.

  The outfit alone made him look more rugged, like he belonged on the cover of a magazine. A magazine that clearly only featured the sexiest people on it. His dark jeans fit like a glove and his tight Henley made my throat dry, molding to the dips and curves of muscles underneath.

  “I didn’t see you,” I told him, blinking up into sapphire eyes.

  He stood close enough I could see the flecks of yellow around his irises, close enough I couldn’t quite get in a full breath. Close enough to make me want to reach out and run my fingers on that strong jaw.

  I tucked my hands in my pockets.

  Declan stepped back and looked down. “It’s that good of a transformation?”

  Hell, yes. And it was turning me on just as much as those suits he wore like a second skin.

  “You’re wearing jeans,” I pointed out.

  “I own jeans.” The defense in his voice made me smile.

  “And a…” I gestured to his head.

  “It’s called a ballcap—”

  “I know what it’s called,” I grumbled, realizing my—no, Samantha’s—voice sounded a little higher than normal. Like…flirty.

  There had to be a rule against that. If not, I was making the rule right now: No flirting with the boss.

  No letting down my guard around the boss.

  No looking at the boss’s…assets.

  “I’m still a normal guy, Miss Thompson,” Declan said, his voice so low and soft I swore my body automatically leaned closer to his to hear.

  My fake name on his tongue and the sudden vulnerability in his voice made my eyes go to his. There was a storm churning in their depths.

  I swallowed hard and tried to remind myself it was actually just secrets. His serious exterior was the façade. He was covering things up. It was my job to crack that shell, but I was afraid I’d find answers that I didn’t want to find.

  My fingers fumbled on my jacket and I pretended to suddenly need to zip it against the cold to break away from the intensity of his stare. The hum of electricity that seemed to be building around us.

  “Are we leaving from here?” I asked.

  There was a long enough pause, I looked up again. But he let whatever he was going to say go and jerked his chin toward the street. “Our car is here.”

  “I—it’s just us?” I asked, the panic in my voice unmistakable.

  His expression didn’t change, just a soft quirk to the corner of his lips that told me he was aware I was nervous.

  It wasn’t because I was scared of him. It was because I was scared of what I was capable of around him. Okay, so I was a little scared of him.

  No one was that controlled, that…composed all the time.

  I wondered what it would take to break that composure—and how devastating that result would be.

  “No.” Declan gestured to our right. “We’ve got my lawyer, Holmes, and the driver—he’s also security.” He pointed in the opposite direction. “Parker and Davis—also security—and my executive assistant, Tim.”

  “Oh,” I said under my breath, equally relieved and disappointed.

  I did notice that none of them was wearing casual clothes like us. And I was betting, under those fancy suits, some of them had guns.

  Tim looked closer to my age though—or Samantha’s. He stepped up to us and passed me a piece of paper.

  “It’s a pain, I know,” he said with a smile, “but we’ll need it for your records. So you can get paid and all that.”

  My stomach jumped, but I took the paper calmly. I was prepared for this. All except for the address. What was I supposed to do about that?

  “I’ll make sure I bring it in for you tomorrow,” I told Tim with a smile.

  “Let’s go,” Declan said when the driver pulled open the back door.

  Instead of waiting to get into our car, Tim turned back to another car.

  “Nice to meet you,” I said after him.

  He waved and vanished inside his own oversized black Bentley.

  Declan’s deep voice sounded close enough to my ear to make me jump. “Miss Thompson?”

  “Sorry.” I got in and then realized it was just him and me together in the back seat.

  A thick partition separated us from the front of the car. Somehow, I was alone with Declan Dark again, looking like we were ready to go hiking instead of work.

  Almost like…we were on a date.

  I coughed.

  Declan settled himself only a few feet from me, his powerful thighs resting on the seat. If I moved slightly to the right and he moved slightly to the left, we’d be touching.

  There was a part of me, a deep dark part that wouldn’t go away, saying to do it. Move in just slightly.

  Maybe I’d get
answers that way.

  No, Samantha would get answers that way. Royal didn’t have the balls.

  “Everything all right?” Declan asked.

  I gave him a half-smile. “Yes.” I pulled my backpack into my lap and slid the paper inside. I’d get Xander’s help on this later, to make sure every single bit of information I gave Dark wasn’t able to be traced back to me.

  “What’s in the backpack?” Declan asked, peering over like he was trying to see inside.

  I zipped it up, set it aside, and smiled politely. “The first rule of going somewhere you’ve never been before is to be prepared.” When he arched his eyebrow, I continued. “I do a lot of hiking. Anytime I go out—especially on my own—I bring more than I need. You never know what you’re going to run into. Or what kind of trouble someone else has gotten themselves into.”

  “You know, that’s the most I’ve heard you talk,” Declan said. Though he didn’t look happy about it in the slightest.

  I shrugged. “Hiking is a passion.”

  “Then you’ll be right in your element today.” Declan shifted in the seat so he could meet my gaze head-on. “Dark Enterprises is getting into commercial real estate.”

  “Why?”

  His gaze flickered with surprise.

  I bit my lip. “Sorry. It’s none of my business.”

  “It wasn’t business,” he said, voice rough, “it was a family decision. Regardless, we’re looking to purchase land in one of two spots at the foothills just north of here. We’ll be building a resort, good for tourists with excellent views, close proximity to recreation. But it’s important to retain the integrity of the area, disturb the environment and wildlife as little as possible. It’s a balance.”

  I nodded, already feeling excitement fluttering inside. Declan had been right. I was in my element. I volunteered every summer to help keep the trails up. We collected trash, rebuilt any structures that had been damaged, and saw firsthand the kind of effect humans could have on ecosystems and our fragile world.

  If Dark Enterprises was going to build a resort to cater to the rich or whoever else wanted to be closer to nature, I was going to make sure they did as little damage as possible.

  “You look interested,” Declan said, leaning back in his seat and resting his strong fingers on his thighs.