Chapter 3: The Attaché and the Rival

Victoria froze.

The air in the executive boardroom seemed to drop ten degrees in a single second. She was a woman accustomed to total obedience from everyone around her.

Junior employees did not look her in the eye. They certainly did not step into her personal space without an invitation. Yet a glorified coffee boy had just planted his fingers squarely on the back of her neck.

Lucas felt her muscles lock up beneath his hand. They were rigid like stones buried under her skin. She was winding up to deliver a verbal execution that would end his career and possibly his freedom. He needed to make this gamble work before she signaled the security guards waiting in the hall.

He mentally opened the System interface and spent his last fifty points.

[Targeted Myofascial Release (Level 1) acquired.]

Knowledge flooded his brain like a downloaded file. He instantly knew how much pressure to apply and which nerve clusters to target.

His thumb pressed firmly against the base of her skull while his fingers kneaded the inflamed tendons along her cervical spine. He manipulated the exact stress points the System had highlighted in its initial scan.

Victoria opened her mouth to shout but the sound died in her throat.

A quiet gasp slipped past her lips instead.

The chronic pain that had been torturing her for six months melted into a wave of euphoric relief. Her eyes fluttered shut for a fraction of a second before her ruthless corporate instincts violently kicked back in. She stepped away from him with a sharp intake of breath.

"Remove your hand," Victoria whispered.

Her voice lacked its usual commanding venom. It was breathless and unsteady.

Lucas was not suicidal. He gave the tense knot one final expertly calculated squeeze before stepping back and raising his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"You looked like you were in pain," Lucas said while trying to keep his voice from trembling. "My mother was a physical therapist and I picked up a few tricks over the years to help with stress."

It was a blatant lie but it sounded far better than admitting a glowing blue interface had ordered him to touch a billionaire.

Victoria stared at him. The dangerous aura returned to her posture but the physical stiffness in her neck had noticeably vanished. She rolled her shoulders and looked at him as if he was a puzzle missing several vital pieces.

"I wonder if your actions stem from bravery or stupidity," Victoria said while narrowing her dark eyes. "You uncover a corporate embezzlement scheme without security clearance and then you lay hands on the CEO. I should have you thrown in a cell just for the sheer audacity."

Lucas swallowed hard. "I was only trying to help you."

"Men like you do not just help," Victoria replied as she stepped back to her side of the heavy mahogany table. "You want something. You want money or you want a promotion or you are working for someone who wants to see my company fail."

Lucas realized that a woman worth four hundred million dollars did not believe in simple kindness.

She lived in a world of transactional leverage where every favor came with a hidden price tag. If he played the innocent victim she would crush him under her heel. He needed to play her game and match her cynical energy.

"I want a real job," Lucas said while meeting her gaze. "I am tired of fetching lattes, you have a gap in your schedule now that Richard is gone. I can fill it."

Victoria let out a short laugh that sounded like shattered glass. "You want to replace a senior manager because you can give a decent shoulder rub and read a financial document?"

"I want to make myself useful," Lucas countered. "Keep me close. If you think I am a corporate spy then putting me on your executive floor is the smartest way to watch my every move. If I make a single mistake you can throw me to your lawyers and ruin my life."

It was a massive gamble. He was betting everything on her paranoia and her lingering need for the physical relief he had just provided.

Victoria walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked out over the sprawling city skyline.

The silence stretched on for an agonizing minute. Lucas could hear his own heartbeat drumming in his ears as he waited for her verdict. He wondered if he had pushed his luck too far this time.

[Target is evaluating your worth.]

[Dependency level increasing by 1%.]

Victoria turned around and leaned her hip against the glass. "You will start tomorrow at six in the morning. You are no longer a junior assistant. You are my personal attaché."

Lucas felt a massive surge of victory course through his veins until she held up a manicured finger to stop him from speaking.

"Do not celebrate just yet," Victoria warned with a cold smile. "My last three attachés quit because they developed stress-induced ulcers. You will manage my schedule, handle my private communications, and execute whatever tasks I deem necessary. If you fail to meet my standards I will not just fire you. I will blacklist you from every corporate entity in this hemisphere and ensure you spend the rest of your life flipping burgers."

"I understand," Lucas said.

"Good," Victoria replied while walking over to her leather chair. She picked up a thick manila folder from the table and tossed it across the polished wood. It slid and stopped right at the edge in front of Lucas. "Consider this your first assignment. Read it tonight and have a comprehensive summary on my desk by tomorrow morning."

Lucas picked up the folder. It was surprisingly heavy. "What is this?"

"That is Camilla Verman," Victoria said as a shadow of genuine hatred crossed her flawless features. "She is a luxury real estate developer who just stole my most lucrative client using underhanded tactics. She is attending a charity gala this weekend and we are going to ruin her night. You are going to help me find out exactly how to do it."

A new blue window suddenly shattered the air in front of Lucas’s face.

[New Target Identified!]

Name: Camilla Verman

Age: 39

Status: Hostile Corporate Rival

Net Worth: $520 Million

[Main Quest Initiated: The Double Agent.]

Objective: Infiltrate Camilla Vance’s inner circle during the upcoming charity gala without alerting Victoria Sterling.

Reward: 500 AP and Skill Evolution.

Failure Penalty: Hunted by both targets resulting in severe bodily harm and permanent financial ruin.

Lucas stared at the glowing text hovering above the manila folder. He had barely survived his encounter with one terrifying billionaire and now the System was ordering him to seduce her worst enemy behind her back.