Chapter 3

Katherine's Pov

Hailey smirked the moment she saw my expression change. “You really thought Damon would choose someone like you?” she continued mockingly while folding her arms. “Please. You were just convenient for him because you practically threw yourself at him every chance you got.”

Then she laughed and that was her mistake. Because years of ballet training had taught me discipline, flexibility, balance, and strength far beyond what most people expected from someone with my body type, while years of self-defense classes my father forced me into growing up had taught me exactly how to hurt someone quickly when necessary. And I was already angry. Really angry.

Before Hailey could even react properly, I grabbed her wrist violently before twisting sharply sideways. She screamed instantly.

“What the fuck?!” the blond man shouted.

Hailey stumbled forward from the force, but before she could regain balance, I drove my knee directly into her stomach hard enough to knock the breath from her lungs completely.

The scream she let out turned into a choked gasp. “You little psycho!”

Her insult ended abruptly when I shoved her backward so forcefully that she crashed directly against the SUV behind her.

“You think you can ruin people’s lives and laugh about it?!” I shouted while fury exploded through every inch of me. “You think you’re better than me because Damon treats you like some perfect princess while you cheat on him behind his back?!”

Hailey lunged at me suddenly with a furious scream, but she clearly had never been in a real fight before because the second her hand swung toward my face, instinct took over immediately. I ducked smoothly beneath her arm before driving my elbow sharply into her ribs.

Hailey cried out in pain, then I swept her legs out from under her entirely which made her hit the sidewalk hard. Hard enough that nearby strangers gasped loudly.

“Holy shit,” someone whispered nearby.

Hailey stared up at me in horror while mascara streaked down her face messily. “You crazy bitch!”

“No,” I said coldly while breathing heavily. “I’m the girl both you and Damon decided to humiliate tonight.”

The blond man grabbed Hailey quickly before she could lunge at me again, his face pale with obvious regret. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Hailey looked panicked now. She turned and fixed a huge glare on me and if looks could kill, I would have died ten times over. But I was slightly happy, the irritation bubbling in my chest had disappeared. Well, a quarter of it had disappeared.

“From your words, it seems you knew previously she has a boyfriend and yet, your still fooling around with her. I hope you test yourself for STD’s, mister. She might have infected you.” Without another word, I turned around and left the scene, my heart beating, but it didn't matter. I was happy.

The massive skyscraper of the company towered high above the city and the familiar sight of the company building calmed me more than home ever could right now. I had been interning there for four months already, and although the workload was brutal, burying myself in spreadsheets and deadlines felt infinitely preferable to crying alone in bed over a man who never loved me at all.

The security guard near the entrance glanced confusedly at my red eyes but wisely chose not to comment while allowing me upstairs without questions, and within minutes I was seated alone inside my cubicle while trying desperately to lose myself in meaningless work.

Hours passed silently. The city outside darkened further while office lights shut off floor by floor until eventually the entire executive level became eerily quiet around me. By nearly midnight, my eyes burned painfully from staring at computer screens too long while emotional exhaustion settled heavily through every inch of my body, so with a tired sigh, I finally packed my things and headed toward the elevators.

As I passed the enormous mahogany doors leading into the president’s office, a strange sound suddenly sliced through the silence sharply enough to stop me mid-step. At first, I thought I imagined it, then it came again. A deep moan filled with so much sexual tension that goosebumps immediately erupted across my skin.

My pulse quickened instantly. Nobody should have still been here this late. Especially not Nathaniel Rhodes.

Nathaniel was Damon’s older brother and the terrifyingly cold president of Rhodes Enterprises, a man so emotionally unreachable that most employees avoided making eye contact with him altogether during meetings because one sharp glance from him alone could reduce experienced executives into nervous wrecks instantly.

He was brilliant, powerful and completely untouchable. And absolutely not the type of man who made sounds like that. But I was wrong because for the second time, I heard a other moan, followed by my name.

“Katherine…”

The low voice sounded horny beyond recognition while another strained groan followed immediately afterward, rough enough to send a shiver down my spine before I could stop myself.

My heart nearly stopped. That voice really belonged to Nathaniel. Moans filled my ears, deep and crazy, making my legs move forward even though I willed them to stop. I shouldn't look, I shouldn't be curious. But somehow, I found myself moving towards Nathaniel's office, where the sounds were coming from and from the slightly open door, I saw what was happening.

Nathaniel Rhodes sat on his chair while his suit jacket lay discarded carelessly across the floor beside him, his white dress shirt completely unbuttoned to expose sweat-slicked skin stretched tightly over a broad muscular chest that rose and fell unevenly with every ragged breath leaving his mouth.

His head was tilted backward while one large hand worked through his huge cock. My eyes widened, shock filling my body as I watched this untouchable man moan while his hands were wrapped around his cock, moving up and down in fast motions.

But that was not the worst part, the worst part sat directly beside his laptop. My employee identification photograph.

Nathaniel stared directly at it while his jaw clenched tightly enough to look painful. “Katherine,” he groaned again hoarsely while his hips jerked forward suddenly, his entire body trembling with restrained desperation. “Fuck…”

A shocked gasp escaped my lips before I could stop it and due to the small body movements, I fell forward, pushing the door open as I stumbled to the ground.

Nathaniel’s eyes snapped open instantly, and the moment his dark blue gaze locked onto mine through the crack in the doorway, the entire atmosphere inside the room changed.

"You... What the hell are you doing here?" He asked with a gruff voice, his cock hanging as he stared at me.

I caught my boss masturbating to me and he caught me watching him. Fuck.