Page 39 of The CEO Alpha’s Substitute Mate

“Are you crazy?” I cry out angrily.

“Oops.” Camille puts a hand over her mouth. “I’m so sorry. That’s very clumsy of me.”

She’s got a tissue out already, and she’s coming at me with it. “You need to dab it off.”

She pretends to dab, but what she is really doing is pressing the hot sweater against my skin. I shove her away from me.

“What are you doing?!”

The other two women haven’t moved. They’re watching with their heads tipped, and one of them has a phone out at chest height.

“What, are you going to tattle on me to Mr. Vance? You think he’s going to believe you? Camille’s one of the most sought-after secretaries in the pack. He pays her a fortune to keep her by his side. You’re nothing.”

I don’t know what a pack is, and I don’t care. I don’t care if Camille shits out gold bars.

My skin is burning, and my only good sweater is ruined. I look back at the women, my anger boiling and my sleeves pushed up to the elbow. “I don’t tattle on anybody. I can deal with my own problems.”

Then I turn around and elbow the precious Camille in her stomach. She goes down onto one knee with the air coming out of her in a rush. I didn’t have an easy childhood or an easy life. I fought for everything I had. By the time my sister found me, I was quick on my feet in a fight and vicious too. I thought I left that part of my life behind, but it seems that rules of the streets and the elite are the same. They understand ruthlessness.

Camille is on her feet within a few seconds. Her speed takes me aback, but I’m prepared.

“How dare a filthy human touch me?”

I stare at her because this is the second time someone has called me a human. At this point, I feel like it’s some sort of status thing.

“Who told you to throw the coffee on me?” I sneer.

“You expect me to wait on something like you?” Camille hisses. “You’re not worthy!”

“You don’t have a mouth?” I demand. “You couldn’t have just said no like a normal person?”

She lifts her hand, and I grab her wrist, pull her down, and elbow her in the back of the neck. She falls to the ground, and the other two women look outraged.

“How dare you?! Pin her down for me,” Camille hisses at them.

“Oh.” I sneer at her. “So you can’t even take me on yourself. How pathetic.”

She goes for my hair, and I drive the heel of my palm into her nose. It breaks with a crunch. She goes back into the desk with both hands over her face, and the other two advance toward me. It’s obvious none of them thought I would fight back.

“Don’t think I’m easy to bully,” I spit out. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I don’t take anything from anybody.”

Camille is now furious, and she leaps off the desk at me with blood on her teeth. Before I can do anything, I’m pulled back against a chest, and this time, I know who it is. I’ve become way too familiar with this position.

The women freeze, and Callum’s breath is hot against my neck. His voice is hard.

“What is going on here?”

Chapter 8

Ariela

Camille freezes, and the other two women also go still. They exchange panicked looks, and then one of them says, “Mr. Vance, we didn’t do anything to her. She attacked Camille first. We were trying to help!”

Anger floods me. They just lay all the blame at my door. I open my mouth to refute their lies when Camille lets out a choked sob. “Mr. Vance, look at what she did to me. I was defending myself!”

I grind my teeth. Considering she’s covered in blood, her story will hold merit in his eyes. However, that doesn’t mean I’m going to just let them run their mouths.

“You were defending yourself? Were you also defending yourself when you poured hot coffee over me?” Callum’s arms tighten around my waist at my words, and I continue. “Did you expect me to do nothing and just sit there and cry? I don’t take shit from anybody!”