Chapter 391: - 391: Probation

Chapter 391: Chapter 391: Probation

Arik had selected three secretaries.

Technically, there was supposed to be one Imperial Secretary, supported by deputies and administrative assistants. Arik had decided that choosing the person who would control access to his schedule, correspondence, ministers, and half the administrative machinery surrounding the throne after several interviews was idiotic.

So the final three were all working in his office for a week.

At the end of it, one would become Imperial Secretary.

The others would either remain as senior deputies or be reassigned somewhere important enough that rejecting them would not waste competent people.

Liam approved of the arrangement mostly because watching three experienced administrators attempt to organize Arik was entertaining.

Corvin Mareth was a beta in his forties who had spent almost two decades in provincial government and possessed the unnerving ability to make an entire department more efficient without visibly raising his voice.

Leont Ardel was an alpha from the imperial legal service, younger than Corvin but exceptionally controlled, with a talent for finding problems in legislation before parliament managed to create them publicly.

And then there was Silas Nereth.

Silas was an omega around thirty, formerly attached to parliamentary administration, elegant, clever, and competent enough that Liam initially understood exactly why Arik had shortlisted him.

The problem developed gradually.

On the first day, Liam barely noticed.

Silas smiled more often at Arik than at anyone else, but people smiled at the emperor. It meant nothing.

On the second day, he began bringing documents directly to Arik rather than placing them in the review queue Corvin had already established.

Arik read them, gave instructions, and returned to work without noticing anything unusual.

By Wednesday, Silas had apparently discovered that Arik drank coffee black when irritated and with a little cream when exhausted.

He started bringing the correct version without being asked.

Liam noticed.

Arik did not.

Or perhaps he noticed the coffee and simply did not care where it came from.

Thursday was worse.

Liam entered the office after lunch and found Silas leaning against the edge of Arik’s desk while explaining a scheduling conflict.

The man looked slightly too comfortable.

Arik remained focused on the projected calendar in front of him.

"No."

Silas blinked.

"No, Your Majesty?"

"I am not attending three receptions in one evening."

"The third is only forty minutes."

"Then it can survive without me for forty minutes."

Silas smiled.

"You are difficult to schedule."

"I am emperor. That is one of the benefits."

Silas laughed softly.

Liam stopped near the sofa.

Leont glanced at him, then immediately returned to the legal brief in his hands.

Corvin did not even look up.

That told Liam everything.

Arik finally noticed him.

His entire attention shifted immediately.

"Done already?"

"Yes."

Arik held one hand out.

Liam crossed the office and gave it to him automatically.

Silas stepped away from the desk.

Arik pulled Liam close enough to kiss his knuckles before returning to the schedule.

Silas’s expression changed for less than a second.

Liam caught it.

Arik did not.

By Friday, Liam was certain.

By Saturday, apparently everyone except Arik was certain.

It remained relatively harmless.

Silas complimented Arik’s coat.

Arik said Rubis had designed it.

Silas mentioned that the smoky caramel of Arik’s pheromones was pleasant.

Arik responded by asking why a border report had not reached Severin.

Silas once attempted to extend a conversation after everyone else had left the office.

Arik told him to send the information by message because he was going to dinner with Liam.

Liam almost felt sorry for him.

The problem came Monday.

Liam had spent most of the afternoon with Kamal reviewing the schedule for the coming election season and returned to the imperial office shortly after six.

The outer doors were open.

That was normal.

The silence inside was not.

Liam stepped through.

Corvin and Leont were gone.

Several lamps had already switched to their evening setting, throwing warm light across the black stone floor and the enormous windows overlooking Deira.

Arik stood near the sitting area.

Silas was against the wall.

Arik’s hand was around his throat firmly enough to pin him there.

Silas had gone completely pale.

Liam stopped.

Arik’s posture was unnaturally calm, which Liam had learned was generally worse than visible anger. His black shirt was open at the throat after a full day of meetings, sleeves rolled to his forearms, gold eyes cold enough that Silas had apparently forgotten how to move.

"What happened?" Liam asked.

Arik did not look away from the omega.

"He touched me."

Liam’s gaze shifted.

Silas swallowed carefully against the hand at his throat.

"I misjudged—"

"You were told to stop."

That explained more.

Liam walked farther into the room.

Apparently Silas had finally discovered the boundary Arik had noticed.

"What did he do?"

Arik’s jaw tightened.

"He came behind my desk after I dismissed him, put his hand inside my collar, and suggested my mate did not need to know everything that happened in this office."

Liam stared at Silas.

"Oh."

Silas looked as though he wanted the floor to swallow him.

Liam considered the situation.

Then his attention drifted toward the cream sofa positioned several meters away.

"Could you not kill him near that?"

Arik finally looked at him.

Silas looked horrified.

Liam pointed toward the sofa.

"I like it."

Arik stared.

"The last one took Rubis three months to replace."

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Then Arik’s mouth twitched.

Silas seemed unsure whether that improved his chances of survival.

Liam walked over and rested one hand lightly against Arik’s arm.

"I do not want blood on the upholstery."

"I was not going to kill him."

"Good."

"I was considering breaking his wrist."

Silas went paler.

Liam looked at the omega.

"That seems inconvenient for administrative work."

"Liam."

"I am helping."

Arik exhaled slowly.

The tension in his shoulders loosened.

Then he released Silas.

The omega remained against the wall for a second before straightening his collar with unsteady hands.

Arik stepped back.

"You are dismissed from probation."

Silas swallowed.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"You will not work in my direct offices again."

"I understand."

"And if I hear that you implied to anyone that access to my person can be exchanged for professional advantage, you will lose considerably more than this appointment."

Silas lowered his eyes.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Arik looked toward the door.

"Leave."

Silas left. Quickly.

The door closed behind him.

Liam waited.

Then looked at Arik.

"You did notice."

Arik frowned.

"Notice what?"

"The flirting."

"What flirting?"

Liam stared at him.

Arik’s expression changed.

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"He was flirting?"

"For a week."

Arik looked genuinely offended by the information.

Liam began laughing.