Hypnotized

“Sir!” A man yelled, throwing the doors to the boardroom open with such force it startled all six directors out of their chairs. The man hunched over, panting heavily. He pointed outside as if gesturing to something, but the words took a long time to slip from his mouth.

“What’s going on?” One of the directors asked, clearing his throat as they all watched the man wheeze.

“Speak,” a deep voice said calmly. Everyone turned their gazes to the man sitting at the head of the table. He had an elbow on the table, holding up his face as he watched the intruder with a rather bored expression. His hair, midnight black, was slicked back with only a few loose strands falling over his eyes.

“She’s here!” The intruder managed to croak. “She’s here, in the building!”

The directors, all older men, glanced at him, and Keith sighed. Humans were a relatively weak bunch, weren’t they? They constantly sought someone to fix their problems or rectify a situation.

“Who is she?” He asked.

Of course, he knew who he was referring to.

The fucking bane of his existence. Cassandra Wilson. She had to be the most annoying woman on earth, and he hadn’t even met her personally yet.

“Cassandra Wilson, sir. She’s in the building, downstairs with the press!” Their informer explained. He sounded less agitated now as he stared at his boss’s face.

Good, Keith thought, rising to his feet slowly. He hated loud people anyways. Taking slow, measured steps toward the door, Keith watched each director relax visibly. They must have feared he would ask one of them to meet Miss Wilson. Now that he thought about it, he probably should have done that instead.

“I’ll handle this,” he said, flicking a wrist in their direction as he walked out of the room.

None of them could go anyways. Cassandra Wilson had been a thorn in his company’s flesh for almost a month. For three fucking weeks, he’d had to endure her numerous emails and her constant phone calls, demanding that his company pay her money back.

Keith chuckled at the thought as he stepped into the elevator. “The nerve of that woman! What money?”

He supposed poor mortals were like that as well. They had nothing but scraps, but they felt as entitled as everyone else who had had enough. Idiots. That was what they all were. And this Miss Cassandra Wilson would fall, just like all the fools who had tried to dupe him before her.

***

“Miss Cassandra Wilson, what do you hope to gain by doing... This,” a reporter asked. He peered at the woman on the receptionist counter through his spectacles and wondered if she was mentally stable.

The look in her green eyes was wild. Her hair, a rich mix of red and brown, was tangled and mused up in a bunch of unattractive knots. She sat on the counter, wearing an oversized orange shirt and baggy gray shorts that made her look like a tart.

Cassandra knew what she must look like to the reporters taking quick snaps at her like she was an animal at the zoo. Her hair looked terrible, and she looked like she hadn’t slept in days, and that was entirely because she hadn’t.

So what if her actions were a little choppy and maybe crazy? It wasn’t her fault. Hypnos Pharmaceuticals had given her false hope, and they had to pay for it.

“My money,” she replied. Her voice came out hoarse from screaming her lungs out.

“What money, Miss Wilson?” A voice intruded, and when Cassandra glanced to her right, she saw a man step out of an elevator, his dark gaze fixed on her.

“Holy moly,” she whispered, watching him approach her.

He was... Beautiful? Handsome didn’t describe him. Words couldn’t describe him. He was tall, towering above everyone in the vast reception room. He was more prominent too. His shoulders were broad, and she wondered how it would feel if he had his hands wrapped around her. He walked with a calmness that could rival the sea, and when he stopped before her, a shudder ran down her spine at the intensity of his gaze.

So this was the infamous Keith Andino, she mused, pursing her lips. Not bad, not bad at all.

“I asked a question,” Keith said, arching a brow.

This was the woman that terrified his workers? When had humanity dwindled into such a vulnerable species? She looked like a fucking harridan. What the hell was that on her head? Was it supposed to be hair? Keith tsked mentally; even Medusa looked prettier, at least before Perseus hacked her he

ad off like the jackass he was.

Miss Wilson snorted and hopped off the counter. She was pretty tall for a lady, he’d give her that, but for the rest of her body, he scrunched up his nose in annoyance.

“Eyes up here, Mister!” The creature before him snapped, her green eyes glaring at him.

“Oh, trust me, I wasn’t looking in admiration,” he muttered snidely.

“That’s what they all say. But when you get home, we all know who will be wanking in the shower,” she spat.

Good grief, she had a dirty mouth. For the first time that day, Keith felt his forehead crease in a frown.

“Look, I’ll make this as simple as possible,” he stated, slipping his hands into his pockets. “For three weeks, you have called my company a liar and a scammer and tarnished our reputation. You have caused a daily stir, both on social media and off it, accusing Hypnos Pharmaceuticals of stealing from you. And so I, Hypnos himself, ask you, Miss Cassandra Wilson, what on earth do you want?!”

Cassandra stared in shock for a minute at Keith Andino. He spoke calmly. So calmly that it made everyone shut the hell up. Even the chattering pressmen. His eyes were so dark, she noticed. They looked like swirling black pools that drew her in, messing with her thoughts. Cassandra closed her eyes, shaking her head to clear them. Clearing her throat, she looked back at Keith, mischief glinting in her eyes.

“I want my fucking money back,” she stated, grinning. “If I don’t get it, you can be sure, Mr. Andino, this will never stop. I will haunt your company until I am compensated for being tricked into buying your fake medicine.”

Fake medicine? Keith let out a laugh. “Fake? What proof do you have that it is fake?”