His eyes were taunting her, her heart was racing and her breathing was unstable. She had no idea what to do in a situation like this. The playful smirk was daring her to say the wrong thing. Everything was so wrong, the situation, his expression, everything felt so wrong...

Rosette stared into those blue eyes. She had no idea , what he was going to ask her to do.

He held her by her shoulders and helped her get up. His hands slid down to her waist. He could feel the shivers going down Rosette's spine. His smirk grew wider.

"I want you" He said. Rosette's body tensed, she blinked as if her brain couldn't process those three simple words.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her words a little more than a whisper. She held his gaze, trying to find an answer in those blue-black eyes.

He tilted his neck to his left and brought it close to her neck. She could feel his warm breath on her skin.

The mere warmth of his breath was enough to make her feel the heat in her core. She stiffened.

"I want you to..." he nipped her earlobe lightly and continued, " .....sleep with me"

Rosette was shaken, She broke away from his grip and stumbled backward.

"How could you!" She said, her face a mix of surprise and anger. She was shaking and her heart was beating so fast, she feared it would explode.

"Is that a No, Miss Carter?" almost spitting the words out. No one had ever said a no to him, He raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Rose could practically feel the office getting colder. But she mustered up her strength and said

"Y-yes, I will do no such thing with you."

He stepped closer but even as every muscle in her body told her to take a step back, she didn't flinch.

He smirked, clearly impressed by her nerve.

"Comes from a person on whom I have the latest dirt," he chuckled.

He lowered his voice and said "..such an easy solution Miss Carter.. such an easy way, I keep your secret while you keep me satisfied for a night." He couldn't keep his eyes off her lips.

As he was lost in his imagination of what those lovely lips could do, a slap stung his right cheek.

He was stunned, never in his life had he been slapped by a woman he was pursuing. His eyes slowly lifted up to her face.

"How dare you?" He growled angrily in cold rage, his eyes darkened. His expression which had been tensely seductive had become icy wrath.

Rosette had tears in her eyes, she was so shocked by her own actions that she froze.

Though he didn't let it show, how he too was confused. Rosette was the one who had slapped him but by the look on her face, anyone would think that she was the one who got slapped.

He could see her eyes getting heavy every second they stood there staring at each other. The tension in that room was so thick that someone could have cut right through with a pair of scissors.

"I quit" Rose whispered and rushed for the door, Caelum caught her by the arm and turned her to him.

He looked her dead in the eyes and said in a voice subdued by thunder, "This will not be the last time we meet Rosette Carter," he looked her from top to toe and then back to her face "I. Will .Make .Your . Life. A . Place. Worst. Than. Hell."

It wasn't a half-true warning, it was something he was going to work on for the next couple of weeks for entertainment purposes. No one could cause him distress and live peacefully after that.

He let go of Rosette's hand. Her eyes were shock stricken, She looked at him in disbelief, never had she ever seen a colder face nor been so scared. She had all her emotions portrayed on her pale face. Her tears were ready to stain her cheeks, but she won't let them fall, not in front of him, not at all. 

She stepped back slowly one step at a time, somehow surprised that her legs could still move. She turned around in a swift circle and ran for the door, she could feel his eyes piercing her back, but she didn't look back, she ran and ran..

People were staring at her, her face red like a tomato and her eyes like endless rivers of water. Some sympathized with her saying that the boss was indeed a cruel person while some made it a point to think that she had tried to seduce the boss. 

But she heard none of them, all she wanted to do right now was to find a safe place to calm herself down and then walk out of this place and never come back.

She was still running, she headed straight to the ladies toilet and locked herself in one of the empty stalls. She knew her life was over, she kept one palm pressed on her lips to muffle her sobbing sounds while she used another to hold onto the door handle as if she would collapse the minute she let go. 

She cried and cried for fifteen minutes straight without stopping even for a breath, she couldn't keep her legs from shaking nor could she keep the tears from flowing so she stopped fighting it and gave in, gave in to the sinking feeling in her chest, to the feeling that she had thrown away all her dreams.

After she felt that she could walk without her legs collapsing, she walked out of the stall, she washed her face and took a deep breath, and headed straight to her department.

..........................