Page 99 of Kisses and Paperclips

“I’m going to fix it, Julien,” she whispered. “I just need time.”

“Are you going to tell her?” she asked, finally looking up, but her expression was guarded, like she already suspected the answer.

“No,” I said simply, watching her eyes widen in shock.

“Why?” she whispered, her voice barely audible, laced with disbelief.

I didn’t answer right away, just held her gaze until she shifted uncomfortably, her attention drifting back to her hands. Her fingers picked nervously at her nails, betraying the calm she was trying to hold onto.

“Thank you,” she said after a moment, her voice so soft it was almost a prayer. “I don’t know how to repay—”

“Oh, you will.” My words cut through hers like a blade, silencing whatever gratitude she thought she owed me. “You’ll repay me, not just for my silence, but for the debt I paid in full.”

Her head snapped up, her lips parting as if to protest, but nothing came out. The weight of my words settled between us, heavy and immovable. She looked at me then, really looked at me, and I knew she understood. This wasn’t a favor. This was a transaction.

And the price was hers to pay.

“I already had a repayment plan in place,” she said, her words rushed but firm. “I can pay you back; it’ll just take some—”

“Keep your money.” My tone was deliberate, cutting through her like a blade. “That’s not what I want.”

Her brows knit together, the crease deepening as her mouth clamped shut. Confusion flickered in her brown eyes, soft and searching, as if she was trying to piece together a puzzle she hadn’t expected to solve. She was at a loss for words for the first time, and watching her like this, off-balance, unsure, felt like a win I hadn’t anticipated.

Good.

“This is insane! Is this a joke?” Her voice cut through the room, sharp and unapologetic, as she dared me to play with her intelligence.

“It’s no joke, Serena.” I leaned back, keeping my tone calm and deliberate. “You had a problem, and I can solve it. Now, I’m laying down my terms. You can take it or deal with the consequences. The choice is yours.”

She dragged her hands up her forehead, fingers pressing into her temples like she was trying to snatch clarity out of thin air. “What do you want then? If it’s not money, what’s the repayment?”

I let the silence sit heavy between us, watching her frustration twist into something closer to dread. When I finally spoke, my voice was low, steady. “Your body, Serena. However, whenever I want it.”

Her laugh came out fast and sharp, brittle like cracked glass. Not an ounce of humor in it, just raw disbelief with a dash of fury simmering underneath. Her eyes locked on mine, heat pouring off her glare, and for a second, I thought she might throw something to see how I’d react.

The tension between us pulled tighter, wound so thick you could feel it pressing into the air. I didn’t flinch. If anything, I leaned into it. Because one thing I knew? Serena Harris didn’t back down easily.

But then again, neither did I.

I leaned back in her chair, letting the silence settle between us.

Half out of habit, my eyes drifted until they landed on a small container of pink paperclips tucked neatly beside her monitor. I don’t know why they caught me. Maybe because they matched her nails, soft, feminine, unapologetically bold in that way only Serena could pull off.

Or maybe because they were still perfectly aligned, like her, even in the middle of all this mess. She held onto softness like a lifeline. She wrapped herself in it while the world kept asking her to be harder, colder, and less.

Right then, staring at those damn paperclips, something sparked in my chest.

Something that felt a little too much like hope.

My gaze wandered, lingering on the fitted top she wore. My mind wandered, unbidden, to what she might have on underneath. Did her lingerie match her nails today? Her gaze flickered to mine, sharp and watchful, like she was trying to figure out what I was thinking.

Without a word, I stood and reached for the container, plucking a single paperclip from inside. Serena’s eyes followed every move, her intensity fueling the slow, deliberate way I toyed with the clip between my fingers.

I set it down flat on her desk and slid it toward her, my movements intentional. I didn’t speak immediately, letting the weight of the gesture hang between us. Her lips parted, confusion flashing in her eyes as she stared at the paperclip like it held the answer to an unspoken question.

Finally, I broke the silence, my voice low. “You’ll get one whenever you give me exactly what I need. Morning, noon, and night.”

Her brows shot up, her expression shifting between disbelief and indignation, but I didn’t flinch. Leaning closer, my tone soft but firm, I emptied the glass container, pink paperclips scattered like confetti across her desk. “Once this is over, Serena, you’ll have an entire box, your debts paid, and the CEO title, yours.”

I straightened, watching her process my words.

If she thought this game would be simple, she had no idea what she’d just signed up for.

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