Black Hearted - An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Complete)

Black Hearted: Chapter 14

When Jack got into the office the next morning, his assistant's chair was empty, and the head of his public relations department had made himself comfortable on Jack's couch. The muscles in the back of Jack's neck stiffened. Jack paid the man to ward off bad news, and he did his job well, but Wolf rarely brought good news.

"Bit early for a threat assessment, isn't it?" Jack strode to his desk and tapped on his laptop awake. "Usually you bring scotch."

Wolf unfurled his long legs and leaned forward. "Need your signature on this one."

He met the other man's hard gaze. Payoffs above fifty thousand needed his approval. "Who is it this time?"

Wolf nodded in the direction of the vacant desk outside of Jack's office. "She went to HR on Friday."

Disappointment settled in the pit of his stomach. He'd had sex with his latest assistant twice, once for fun, the other time out of desperation. There wasn't time to go to Cloud Nine between meetings and he had to vent pent up adrenaline between deals. Since then, she'd been too attentive, and he'd ignored her as much as possible. "We're offering a year of salary for her... silence."

"Did she sign the papers?" After one of his uncle's conquests tattled to a gossip outlet about their affair, James had everyone leaving Blackhorne & Caldwell sign non-disclosure agreements forbidding them from discussing their experiences while working for the company. Most of these related to research discoveries or intellectual property, but they also covered bruised egos or hearts when Jack lost interest in his conquests. Which always happened.

"Of course. It's all there in the email." Wolf stood and pointed to the folder on Jack's desk. "There are also the financial reports you asked for on that other property. Are we buying a restaurant?"

While his official job was public relations, Wolf Marsden also managed all Jack's intelligence needs. The two areas often went hand in hand. "No. Just... looking out for a friend."

In a rare expression of shock, Wolf's bushy eyebrows lifted and merged with his wiry hair. "Ok. Well, let me know if you need anything else."

"Apparently, I could use a new assistant."

"HR's on it. At the risk of sounding sexist, I suggested a man this time." Wolf turned to leave. "Maybe save the company some money."

"Piss off, you bastard."

Over his shoulder, Wolf gave him the finger.

Jack settled into his desk, checking the markets for the second time, and scrolling through his emails. He found the one from Wolf, scanned the NDA, and approved the transaction. In his pocket, his phone dinged like the tiny device had the hiccups. Turning to his desk, he went for the folder Wolf had referenced when he saw a small stack of papers. His assistant often wrote him physical messages as a way to convey important information. He rifled through them until a short, cryptic note caught his eye.

We need to talk about Solana.

Meet me at The Sunset Street Diner

2pm

Bram.

Well, this was a pleasant surprise. Jack had expected some retaliation from Solana's friend over his ultimatum to stay away. In fact, he was looking forward to a fight. But he didn't expect Abraham to attack the problem head on. Perhaps he'd underestimated the man. Jack chuckled to himself. Not likely.

Usually, he didn't respond to command performances and, under any other circumstances, he would insist any discussions concerning his affairs happen on his own turf. Better to control the situation that way and the power dynamics swung in his favour. Yet this note had Jack curious and today curiosity won over caution. Plus, Abraham had expected him yesterday, so he'd have the element of surprise on his side.