CHAPTER TWO: A RISKY OFFER

"Is struggling the only thing you know how to do, Miss Reed?"

I was startled as the voice cut through the deserted office. I clenched my fingers over the pile of reports I had been sorting. Nobody should still be here because it was too late.

I made a quick turn.

Joe Donald's towering body blocked the exit as he stood at the doorway. I got a chill at the intensity with which his black eyes were fixed on me.

After the catastrophe this morning, I had spent the whole day trying to blend in, telling myself I had made it through. that it was finished.

However, it wasn't.

"I—" I gulped, trying to maintain a steady voice. "I was just finishing up, sir."

His gaze shifted from my face to the paperwork in my palm. He moved forward slowly.

"You didn't answer my question."

I tightened my hold on the papers. "I don’t understand what you mean."

Jeo's mouth curled a little. No grin. Something colder.

"A way out of your mess this morning was offered to you," he added with ease. "But here you are. Still having trouble. You're still acting as if you can exist in a world that will devour you.

The room's atmosphere changed. There was a silent tension between us that was oppressive and heavy.

Reminding him, in a voice hardly audible above a whisper, "You said I wouldn’t get a second chance,"

"And yet," he said, "I am here now. Putting one up."

Like a loaded rifle, the words lingered in the air.

My heart raced. "What kind of offer?"

Joe took a step toward us, bringing us closer. He was overwhelming, devouring, and suffocating.

"Be mine," he said.

Calm words were said. Measured. A straightforward assertion.

However, nothing about it was easy.

I gasped. "I—what?"

He watched me with a tiny twist of his head as if he was observing my response.

He said, "You asked me not to fire you," "I didn’t."

Uncertain of the direction of this, I nodded slowly.

Further, "You want stability," he said. "Safety. Miss Reed, you want to give up fighting."

I tensed up. "Everyone wants that."

"Not everyone is given the opportunity."

Once again, there it was. His voice had that undertone. A pledge. A caution.

I took a trembling breath. "Are you offering me money?"

Joe laughed softly, in a deep, unintelligible voice. "No, Telsa."

My name. It was the first time he had stated it. Not in that manner.

It sounded like something I shouldn't have loved.

His fingers moved slowly and deliberately along the edge of his desk. "I'm offering you something far more valuable."

I took a swallow. "And what exactly would I have to do for this... offer?"

He looked directly into my eyes. "Be mine."

The breath left my lungs.

"I don’t understand," I said.

His face remained the same. "Yes, you do."

I took an instinctual step back and shook my head. My whole body was screaming for me to flee. to depart. should act as if this discussion had never taken place.

Jeo remained still, yet his presence encircled me like a trap. "Do you think I offer people second chances for free?"

My mouth opened, but nothing came out.

He was offering me a choice.

A difficult, risky choice.

Be his.

Those words weighed heavily on my bones and in the pit of my stomach.

"Why me?" Before I could stop myself, I blurted.

Jeo's mouth quirked. "Because you interest me."

It wasn't a response.

It was a trap.

And I had already been apprehended.

Once again, I shook my head. "I—I can’t."

Slowly, as if anticipating my reaction, Jeo let out his breath.

After that, he took something out of his pocket.

A little bit of folded paper. He placed it on the desk between us and used two fingers to slide it in my direction.

My heart was racing as I gazed at it.

"What is this?" I inquired.

Joe said quietly. "A choice."

I picked it up after hesitating. As I unfurled the paper, my hands trembled.

My blood then became chilly.

It was a bill.

Not just any bill.

The cost of my mother's healthcare.

I felt physically ill due to the huge total.

I felt sick to my stomach as I gazed up. "How—how do you have this?"

Completely calm, Jeo reclined against his desk. "You should know by now, Miss Reed," he replied with ease. "I always know everything."

The paper crumbled in my palms from my tight hold.

This was more than simply a proposal.

It was extortion.

My breathing was shallow and my eyesight was blurry. "You can’t just—" "I can," he interrupted. "And I did."

His dark, limitless gaze met me.

Silently, "Take the deal, Telsa," he said. "And you'll never have to worry again."

The floor tilted under my feet.

This was crazy. Incredibly so.

However, the bill's numbers weren't.

I could refuse. I could leave this office with what little dignity I still had.

However, reality would remain unchanged.

It wouldn't take away my family's crippling debt.

My mother wouldn't be saved.

Jeo silently observed me, as if he was waiting for me to snap.

I made myself talk. "And if I say no?"

His eyes became gloomy. "Then I suggest you find another way to pay that bill by the end of the week."

The room whirled. I gripped the page tightly, my fingers feeling numb.

I was constantly aware of Jeo Donald's brutality.

I just didn't know he was prepared to provide evidence.

Without saying another word, I turned and limped for the door.

But his voice interrupted me one final time before I could get away.

"You have twenty-four hours, Miss Reed."

I became cold.

"Choose wisely."

After swallowing the knot in my throat, I left.

However, his remarks continued to weigh heavily on me even as I entered the deserted corridor.

24 hours.

To choose if I wanted to keep my family safe.

Or give the devil my soul.