The warm rays of the sun felt like lava on her skin. Valarie grunted and pulled the pillow over her face. Morning had peeked up a bit too early for her liking. The weekend seemed as though it grew wings as it flew by.

She rolled violently back and forth in her bed until the bed sheet enwrapped her like swaddling clothing. Her mood definitely wasn't in tuned with a Monday's day of work. Her body sluggishly rolled off the bed and crawled its way to the bathroom.

It took her almost twice as long as she usually took to get ready. Though she could not pinpoint exactly what it was, something had pushed her enthusiasm way down and she dreaded the day ahead.

Valarie got herself to work at snail's pace. It was one thing to enter the building but the thought of going to the devil's lair made her stomach churn. She had not forgotten the way Dimitri had responded to her and just the thought of it made her blood boil. She couldn't stand to face him. Not now, not ever. Oh how she wished that time could reverse and things go back to the way it was. Her happiness was off the radar when she worked entirely under Nikolai's watch. Now, she felt dull. The entire setting was everything she was not used to and for the first time in the longest while, a day's work actually felt like work.

Her feet struggled to make it up the stairs. She smoothed her hair as she approached the large double doors that led to Tartarus, the deepest, darkest part of the underworld. She exhaled slowly and opened the door. Cool grey eyes turned to meet hers but they fell back into a web of files immediately after that. Valarie willed herself to do what she should. Not because she wanted to but because she technically had to.

"Good morning" she greeted.

It went unanswered. The room still completely still. Dimitri kept his eyes fixed on what he was doing and his lips sealed. Her feet stood planted in the same position for some moments. Her ears awaited the sound of his voice but nothing but the flipping of papers were heard. Valarie regretted her politeness that very moment and stomped her way to her corner to rest her things down. She clenched her jaw and coached herself to remain calm. This was her job, and that was her boss so she had no choice but to put a filter over her mouth and eliminate half the things she really wanted to say to him.

She pulled out her sketch book from her bag and walked towards his desk. Her lips shifted hesitantly.

"Good morning...sir. I worked on more designs this weekend. They are ready to be viewed."

Silence responded to her statement.

"Sir, I said I have some designs for you to review" she repeated.

With his eyes still glued to his paper and his voice as cold as ice, he spoke finally.

"You don't have to repeat yourself. I heard you the first time. Can't you see I'm busy? When I have time I will deal with you. Go make yourself important elsewhere."

Valarie bit down on her lower lip to the point that her teeth made a large dent. Her hands fisted and she tried to control the anger welling up inside her. She exhaled slowly and turned to walk out the door. Her feet paced left and right as she willed herself to calm down. She needed to find a means of casting him out of her thoughts before she do or say something that she would regret afterwards.

Maybe she could spend the day at Nikolai's office and help him out. She pondered on the thought but soon rejected it. There was no way that he was going to let five minutes pass by without mentioning or referring to Dimitri. That was exactly what she didn't want right now. She either needed an anti-Dimitri hang buddy or a Dimitri-hater. Either one would do the trick.

She walked down the hall in hope of satisfying her inner self.

"Good morning beautiful Medusa" a familiar voice greeted from behind.

Her head turned towards the sound. An ear to ear smile plastered across his face.

"Medusa?" Valarie questioned.

"Yes. Your curls are bold and luscious today. They spiral around your head like snakes. Indeed it's beautiful."

"I'm not sure if to take that as an insult or a compliment. Medusa isn't the greatest in light of comparison."

"Haha yes what she have become isn't. But she wasn't always like that so I compare your beauty to what she once was but your personality to what she have become."

"I'm an angry, revengeful woman that turn people to stone?"

"Yes. Somewhere inside there's a wild fire. I'm not sure what ignited it but I can see it. And you should have seen yourself the other day when that Adrianna clawed her way into that dark side of you. That look in your eyes could turn anyone to stone if you wish it."

"Hmm. I actually have a list of people I would like to do that to."

His eyes lit up with excitement. "Who's at the top of that list?"

"At the moment, your stupid boss."

She spun back around and continued walking in the direction she was before.

Kyle scampered behind her. "What happened? Spill it. Spill eeeet" he urged her.

"He's just an ass okay?"

"Oh my God. Side note. Have you ever noticed his ass before though? He has a sexy ass."

She spun around swiftly and glared at him. Kyle could feel his soul already burning with her stare. He swallowed a lump in his throat.

"I mean, like totally not. I hate the douche."

A small smile played upon her face. "Yes, we hate his guts. What do you hate about him? Tell me everything you hate."

"His eyes, his lips, his muscles, his voice, the way he commands...."

Valarie narrowed her eyes on him. "Okay that's enough hating for now."

She knew that list was on the opposite end of hate for him but ignored the truth for self-satisfaction.

"I hope he and the queen of the damned enjoy the rest of their lives together!"

"Ahh so I'm guessing your mood today has to do with the two. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No!" she responded.

"O-kay ma'am. As you wish."

She continued walking and he trailed behind.

"How could he not know that the witch is cheating on him? And how could the witch lie so damn good? And how can the witch live with herself for what she has done? And how dare he make me look like a fool and treat me like a fool? Ugh!"

Kyle smiled secretly. "Don't want to talk about it eh?" he thought inwardly.

"Gawd she is such a bitch. She is literally the shit under my shoe right now."

"Yass she is a queen beeech. And damn right. Some good sheet!"

She snorted a laugh after what she'd just said replayed in her head.

Kyle tried to hold his laugh in. He just agreed with everything she said.

"Oh I have a job for you" her tone became more serious.

"I created some more sketches. I need you to get them made for me as soon as you can. We really need to speed up the work here with this line. Launching date is not very far away. Remember we'll need to make the posters and the magazine and ugh! It just needs to be perfect. I really want the company's reputation to stay where it is now and I don't want Dimitri to disappoint his father further. No son should have his father stand where he is now, in such a position to actually pass down his prized possession to someone else because he doesn't find him worthy of his heir."

"Ahh yes you are right. I can't imagine it. Give me the designs. I will get them done don't worry."

She handed him the sketchbook and followed him to his little magical workshop.

The door opened without a knock. Dimitri lifted his eyes to see Adrianna walk in. She smiled and ran her hands through her hair.

"So that bad boy is at work?"

"Yes what else would you expect?"

"You sit back and let someone else do the work for you."

"I prefer to handle my business myself."

"Hmm I like that."

She continued walking and sat atop his desk.

"You don't have work today?"

I only had one client and he cancelled so I'm all free. I thought I would come save you from prison today."

"Prison? Haha, it's not even close to that. I don't have any complaints."

"Good, I like a guy that can work" she smirked.

Dimitri shook his head and lent her a lop-sided smile.

"So where are your two little chew toys?"

"My what?"

"Your little mice. Puppets..."

He looked at her confusingly.

She rolled her eyes. "Ugh, your damn office assistant and your little fashion designer."

His jaw hardened. "They have names."

"I know, but my names suit them better."

"I prefer you call them by their birth names Adrianna."

She again rolled her eyes "Whatever."

"So are you going to tell me what V-A-L-A-R-I-E told you Saturday night?"

"No, I said it was nothing. Just forget it okay?"

"No I want to know. I waited an entire day. Tell me now."

"Adrianna" he scolded between clenched teeth. His eyes darkened and he glared at her for a moment before returning to his papers.

She smiled and feigned an innocent voice. "Aww are you mad at me?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to punish me for it? Get some tension off this body?"

"Yes" he responded angrily.

Her hand reached for his tie and she loosened it.

"Not now."

She paid no mind to him and continued to unfasten the first button of his shirt. He held her hand and pulled it away.

"Adrianna! I said no. Not now."

She breathed a sigh of frustration. "Why not?"

"I'm expecting my mom here soon. She will get here any minute now."

"So? We will be quick. I'll be done before she even gets here."

He shook his head and diverted his attention back to his work. She didn't give a damn about what he'd just told her. Adrianna playfully slipped of his desk. Her hands rested lightly on her thighs and she slowly moved them upwards. They pulled the fabric of her dress upwards until it rested just below her butt. Her hands continued moving and slid up her belly to her breasts where she cupped them.

His eyes rose momentarily to look at her. He paused and clenched his teeth.

"Adrianna stop."

"Make me" she teased.

She pulled one of her straps off her shoulder until it fell to her mid arm.

"Fix your clothes Adrianna. Don't make me have to tell you again."

She suddenly swept her hands across his desk, shuffling his files and pushing most of it on the floor. Dimitri rose angrily from his seat.

"What the hell is your problem?"

She laughed seductively. "Are you mad? I like you mad babe. It really makes me hot."

His brows knitted and a thunder storm began brewing in his eyes. He was pissed and he willed himself not to strangle her there and then. She stood with her head tilted slightly downwards and eyes fixed on him. Her left arm rose to pull the other strap down. Blood boiled beneath skin. He really wasn't in the mood for her games right now and he was already tired of it.

He walked towards her and aggressively grabbed both of her straps in an attempt to pull them back up. That very moment, the door creased open. The two could do nothing. Their muscles completely frozen.

"Oh my goodness!" a voice shouted.

Dimitri turned his head to see his mother standing in full view, completely startled. Disgusted.

"Mom" was the only thing he could say.

"I could clearly see that I am interrupting something here. Next time please put a warning sign on the door. Or I will call before I come in. It was nice seeing you son."

She turned swiftly and exited the room.

"Mom wait!"

Dimitri ran behind her. He grabbed onto her shoulders and spun her around.

"Mom wait. It's not what it looks like."

Her green eyes narrowed on him. "Not what it looks like? I've seen it all too many times before to not know what it looks like Dimitri. You know I thought it was just a phase you were going through. I thought maybe because you were just young and wanted to explore and have some fun. I thought you'd pass that phase by now. Grow up a little bit and do what's right but I guess it wasn't a phase after all. This is the man you are. Nothing like your father besides looks. Go back to your play room and enjoy the rest of your day...son. And don't you dare think about following me or stopping me again. I'm really done here for the day."

Irena glared at him a moment more and walked off towards the elevator. Dimitri stood immovably decades after she'd left. He was numb and didn't know how to respond. Anyone else could have walked in on them and he would not care a dime in the world but his mother...The look in her eyes, the tone of her voice. He felt embarrassed. Disappointed in himself. What made him even angrier was that the fault wasn't on his side this time. Adrianna just wouldn't stop. He tried to stop her, he told her no but she just wouldn't listen.

She took him for a fool. She acted like a hungry whore. Despite the fact that he'd told her that his mother was paying a visit, she still insisted. The thought sickened him. His vision was becoming clear again. There was nothing to her but sex. Eliminate that and you're just left with an empty shell of plastic.

He clenched his fists and stormed back to the office. When you thought she couldn't push his buttons, she literally stabbed them all at once. Dimitri walked in to find her body pinned against Kyle's. She immediately pulled away as she spotted him. Kyle lifted both hands up defensively.

"I tried to stop her but she just won't stop."

Ice crystals formed in his eyes and he glared at her.

"Get out!"

Kyle didn't wait for a second call. He slipped past him and left the room although his words wasn't meant for him.

"What?" Adrianna asked.

"I said get out and don't let me repeat myself again.

"Why?"

"Because I am sick and tired of you. Everywhere we go all we do is screw around. You're always late and your face always look like a clown. And you come with these lame excuses like I don't already know what the hell you've been up to. I told you my mother was dropping by and you had absolutely no respect for me, my mother and yourself. Now I come in here to find you grinding against my employee. That's enough."

Her eyes glowed a deep red. "How dare you talk about respect? You enjoyed screwing me as much as I enjoyed doing it to you. Don't act like this is not what you want from your women pretty boy. Just because you've been caught by your mother, the man turned to a little boy. Aww did I make you look bad in front of your poor mummy? Aww you poor thing. Do you want a bottle of milk to console yourself?"

That was it. His blood was hot lava now. She couldn't trip him off anymore now. That was the last straw and he definitely wasn't going to spend the rest of his life with this woman. He would be beyond stupid to even try to make it work.

Dimitri walked towards the door and opened it.

"You can see your way out."

Adrianna growled like a she wolf. She felt rejected and it was not a feeling she was used to and liked very much. She scuffed, picked up her bag from the table and stomped her way out. When she was one foot out the door, she spun around.

"You weren't even that good anyway. That is why I still had to sleep with all those men. They actually got me off all the times that you couldn't."

He balled his hands into tighter fists and pushed the door with his foot. It literally slammed shut in her face.

His hands ruffled through his hair aggressively. He loosened his tie further and paced the room. Veins bulged against his skin and his muscles hardened like rock. It was hard to describe exactly what he felt but it was a feeling he hated. It made him uneasy, tensed. His stomach twisted in a violent manner. He walked towards his chair and slumped down in it. Anything at all to take his mind off what had just occurred would help him greatly.

A few minutes later, Valarie walked into the office. This time he looked at her and kept his gaze. She narrowed her eyes and looked at him quizzically.

"Give me the designs you said you had earlier" his voice was like thunder.

Valarie paused and surfed her thoughts. "Um, I don't have it."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he questioned.

"I gave it to Kyle to get them made."

His tone became even more acidic. "You what?"

"I gave the designs to Kyle to get the made" she responded irritably.

"And who the hell gave you permission to do such a thing? You sketch the designs, I review it and I tell you whether you proceed to get them made or not. That is the order and that is what you follow. Do I make myself clear?"

She cocked her neck backwards and raised an eyebrow. She bit down on her lip and glared at him. She couldn't understand the reasoning for his attitude and it was already starting to trip her off.

"Go retrieve them from Kyle now and bring them to me now" he ordered.

She exhaled a slow heated breath and stormed out of the room to retrieve her sketch book. Dimitri waited impatiently for her to return.

The door creaked open again and she walked in. Valarie practically flung the book onto his desk and walked to her bag where she started shuffing her things into. Dimitri browsed through the designs. They were even better than the ones before. Even in all his rage, he was most impressed. His face however did not tell the true story of what he felt. He tried feverishly to sort his thought out and focus on the office, designs, work.

"Valarie, these designs are excellent" he complimented for the first time.

"Whatever" she responded and proceeded to hook her bag on her shoulder.

He looked up at her and his brows twisted into confusion.

"What are you doing?" he questioned but she didn't respond.

He rose from his seat and walked closer to her. "I will ask only once again. What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she responded.

"Where do you think you are going?"

"Think? Oh I'm done thinking. I am leaving. I can't handle this atmosphere anymore. I am tired of your attitude and how you treat me like I am some piece of shit. As much as I need this job, I will not stand to be humiliated by you whenever and however you want. I am leaving!"

Her voice croaked at her last words and she struggled to hold her tears back. Dimitri's eyes softened immediately. He's never seen her this upset before, this hurt. He felt slightly guilty and he already knew his father would hate him if he allowed her to walk out on the job.

"Valarie wait" he stopped her.

"No I am leaving!" she continued walking.

He reached out, grabbed a hold of her arm. And pulled her back. She could feel the heat from his skin radiating through her.

"Just don't go okay? Stay. Sit down" his voice had toned down.

She hesitantly back stepped to her seat and sat down slowly. Dimitri sat down next to her. An awkward silence filled the air.

"What are you thinking?" he asked but she didn't respond.

"Get your laptop out."

"What?"

"Just get it out" he said agitated.

She rolled her eyes and took her laptop out.

"Now put it on."

She did as he said.

"Now write."

"What?"

He sighed in frustration. "Can you ever just do as you are told without the follow up questions?"

"No" she responded.

He sighed. "Just write. Write what you feel. This is an order. I'm still your boss, don't forget that."

As much as she didn't want to do as she was told, she really could've used some writing time. It was the way she cleared her head and get her thoughts out.

"Write about me Valarie. Write" he said in almost a whisper.

She exhaled slowly and began typing. Dimitri read as she wrote.

"He is sitting next to me and I just want to kill him right now. Why? Because he is an ass, an idiot, an egotistic freak. He's stupid. Stupid not to see through the red queen like me. To see how she played him like a deck of cards. I sucked my pride up to tell him what I knew about her for his own good but he reacted like some chick on her period. He made me feel like shit all over again but I think I am getting used to this feeling now. This is the job I took and this is how I get paid, but I will do whatever it takes to free myself from this debt that I'm in. Even if it means being barked at and clawed at, I will just have to take it all."

Dimitri's chest tightened after reading it. This was something he'd only now realized he liked about her. Her honesty. She didn't bow to his foot like most people around him, she didn't say good things to him because she thought that is what she should say. She was blunt and her words got to him.

His eyes looked up at her and he could see a bead of tear at the corner of her eyes. Her face was red and her cheeks puffed. His eyes fell slightly down on his lips. Her full red lips. Her teeth were sunk violently into the flesh of her lower lip and he could tell it hurt. The veins on her neck bulged like they could explode any moment now.

She suddenly and hungrily inhaled a gust of air and it was then that he'd realize that she was holding her breath the entire time. She released her lip from captivity and allowed her teeth to pull out of her flesh.

The pressure had left a red indented line across her lip. She flinched in pain and the tear finally trickled down her face. That was his undoing. Only God knows what had possessed him and he acted without warning.

"Oh come here you" he breathed just before snaking his hand around her neck and pulling her towards him. His lips crushed onto hers in a gently caress. His top lip pried her lips slightly open and he enclosed her bottom lip with his. Dimitri sucked on her warm skin and pulled his lips away at an agonizingly slow pace. The popping sound of a kiss echoed through the room and he leaned back to look at her.

Valarie was frozen in time. Her lips remained open and her eyes widened in shock. She could barely respond. She could barely breathe.

Realization slowly consumed him and he soon mimicked the same look of shock.

"Holy shit" he sounded beneath his breath.

He immediately rose from the chair and ran his hands through his hair. That acidic tone returned as he spoke.

"That never happened. Do I make myself clear?"

Valarie blinked repeatedly and slowly spiraled down from her trance. She cleared her throat and rose from the chair.

"Um yes. In fact I don't even know what you are talking about. I-uh. I'll go check on....something..." She struggled to find her words. Valarie clumsily spun around and hurriedly walked out of the room.

Hey guys. So here is that chapter. I'm so sorry that I can't update sooner but I've been caught up a lot lately with University and all that drama. I should probably be sleeping right now because I have an interview tomorrow (lol XD) but I really wanted to finish this chapter for you guys. Sorry if there are mistakes. I haven't gotten the time to edit it yet :). Please let me know what you guys think about this chapter. Anything you like or dislike. Anything you would want to see or not want to see. It would really help me a lot! Thanks for all your support! It's my fuel to keep writing! :D