Four

BLAKE MORENO POV.

I stood until I felt my backache, and my legs felt like lead, with a pinprick sensation rippling through it from standing in a specific position for so long. It was ridiculous. I had never met a woman that spoke with so much power that I felt I had to obey her or at least pretend to but was I really pretending to obey her when I'd literally been standing exactly where she'd left me before she left the office.

Gabrielle was dangerous, that much was clear. She was also not a simple woman. 

At first glance, I had thought it was a guy who'd been sitting behind the desk and that would explain why Elena was using male honorifics, but she was a woman... dressed in a white shirt... her suit had been on the hanger, and I'd imagined how she'd look in them for a brief moment.

Her hair was also strange- and not in a bad way. It was a nice shade of silver that drew one's gaze to it without trying.

Gabrielle Genovese was beautiful in a rough way. she was also intriguing. She had invaded my space like she was marking her territory, showing me my place. Trying to intimidate me, I allowed her, but I do admit that her presence had been very chilling, dare I say, almost overwhelming.

I'd also gotten distracted by those lips of hers. They had looked soft, and inviting, almost calling out to me to have a taste, to explore their warmth, to give into a forbidden temptation. 

She'd invaded my space and I'd wanted nothing more than to show her who the real boss was. Yet here I was, five hours later and I was still carrying out her order. I was out of my fucking mind. 

I relaxed my arms and stretched my stiff muscles as I moved toward my desk. If I wasn't all for justice being served to affluent criminals like her- who hid behind riches and brilliant lawyers to make sure they Were never caught, yet continued in their shady businesses with no contrition- I would've just quit this job, and forgotten about this stupid undercover operation. 

Regardless, I do have some doubts, just because her grandfather was Genovese, it didn't make her a criminal right? But I had to admit that being in her presence in person dampened that notion by a lot.

Gabrielle might even be more dangerous than Genovese. She just had this innocent vibe to her that made it all the harder to figure her out.

The door clicked open and Elena walked in cautiously as if she had to keep the quiet rule even when Gabrielle was not around. Yes, it was a rule here not to make any noise with the mouth, shoe, or even tapping the desk with a pen. It was borderline annoying. I guessed that she was a control freak who loved to have her way in everything. She might even try to dictate what the workers wore if she could.

"Sir Gabrielle won't be coming back today. He wants you to take care of all his pending schedule" she got out quietly, her fingers trembling, and her eyes darting around the office as if she expected Gabrielle to suddenly materialize out of thin air. Why were they so afraid of her, and using a male honorific? Really? 

"You do realize the boss is a woman right and that at the moment she's not in the office".

Elena cleared her throat and met my gaze as if she was going to answer but changed her mind at the last minute. She shifted her weight from one side to the other and I waited patiently to hear what she had to say.

Elena looked as if she was afraid she would be conceding to a heinous crime if she answered my question. She held my gaze and subtly tilted her chin towards the corner of the office. It took everything in me not to whip around to see what it was she was pointing at. I had done a full sweep of the environment when I walked in. Did I miss anything? I had been very thorough even if I was being discrete.

"I'm only to convey his instructions and leave you to your work. I'll go now. You may leave once it's closing hours" She passed, then hurried out without meeting my gaze. 

Was she ordered not to look at me too? I mean, if that was the case then I'd feel a little thrill. It would do a lot for me if Gabrielle was already feeling jealous of me.

Although I needed to nip whatever this was in the bud before it escalated into something untamable. 

I never just abruptly felt like kissing someone on the first day of meeting them, or even thinking about them for a long period. It was unsettling for me but I consoled myself with the fact that that my interest was only because she was the subject of my investigation.

Maybe I just needed a fun night at the club. I needed to get laid to forget all about the rugged beauty of a boss I had, and the way she'd ordered me around with not an ounce of fear in her grey fiery eyes. 

I imagined her in a club setting with the disco lights twinkling all around her, she'd be absolutely stunning... I bet she'll give them a run for their money if she were to star in an action movie, she'll be such a badass, and... and there I went sliding back into fantasizing about her. This was so fucking frustrating. I dragged my hand through my hair, clutching some strands and yanking on it until my scalp stung. It helped me a little in snapping out of whatever fog of lust I'd been in. 

I needed to cut it out. I never did heavy, and I loved to live my life without anyone holding me down... My work didn't give room for a stable relationship anyway.

Normally, I got lots of action whenever I finished a mission, and it wasn't hard to get a partner, especially with my physique and good looks. But I haven't been able to get around, considering the last undercover job had been shitty. I had to practically become a delivery guy for a drug dealer after years of being his dedicated follower. I was so glad we got his ass... he had started pissing me off close to the end of my job, and that job was not a simple walk in the Park. I groaned in frustration, musing up my hair and making it messier than it already was. 

I discreetly did a full sweep of the very daunting office like I was familiarizing myself with the environment... the camera was well hidden but I got the location on my third attempt. The person who installed it must have been good at his job. I got back to work, but soon noticed the tight feeling in my chest.

Where was Gabrielle? Why wasn't she back yet? Did something happen to her? I resisted the urge to tug on my hair again, knowing it was already a mess from all my earlier tugging. 

What was it about Gabrielle that put me on edge anyway? Forcing my mind to shove the thoughts of her out, I focused on the work to distract myself. 

Everything was a little daunting at first but I managed to get everything done in record time. And as I packed up to leave, I couldn't help but worry about Gabrielle. Did she get into trouble or was she doing shady business on the side? Although uncanny, it was a possibility. 

It didn't matter. All I had to do was to convince her that I was trustworthy and get her to take me with her next time. If it required a little seduction, then that was exactly what I'd do. Something in my gut warned me of the idea, but the thought of seducing the ice queen was appealing to me, and just thinking about it had me tightening in my jeans.

Get a fucking grip for God's sake! I ran my hands over my face, then sighed, still, Gabrielle's image stayed ingrained at the forefront of my mind. 

"Get the fuck out of my head, Gabrielle" I grumbled spitefully. This was bad. Really bad.