The CEO's Assistant

They watched Arianna down shot after shot before she could drunkenly slumped onto the bar. Her eyelids fluttering shut.

"I'm so sleepy..." she mumbled, feeling the man's warm hands c.a.r.e.s.s her cheek. His fingers snuck behind dark locks around her neck, before feeling the cold metal hitting the back of his knuckles, his hazel eyes darted up towards Alice.

"Don't!" The barmaid gave him a warning glare.

"What? I can take care of her." He tried to coax Alice, but her expression only darkened.

"Michael, let me warn you now. Do not get involved" Alice's voice had now became almost unrecognisable, sending shiver down his spine, in shock he turned his head to an expression he'd never seen on the bartender before. "She's protected by someone far more powerful than you."

"You mean Joan? I know-"

"No, not just her mother..." Alice's usual bubbly facade was replaced with her distant, aloof nature. Michael had never seen this side of her before. "Leave her be Michael, not matter how much she intrigues you, she isn't worth your life." Alice's blue eyes hid a cunning secret as she disappeared into the back.

His life? The loud music in background seemed to fade away as if he was distancing himself from it. He couldn't wrap his head around the idea that taking an interest in this particular heiress could cost him his life. Just who was protecting her?

He saw the bartender return, after about 10 minutes, with two bottles of vodka and another bottle of rum. He was going to question Alice about what she meant before, when two large men in suits appeared out of what seemed like nowhere, one of them picked up Arianna and subtly nodding at Alice. Michael watched the men take her, to most people they simply appeared to be bodyguards coming to collect their young miss, however Michael noticed the small insignar on one of the men's cuff a golden ouroboros[1]. This was the symbol for one of Paris' most infamous, cruel underworld gangs, The Golden Dragons.

"Just who is that girl?" Michael whispered to himself, as he watched in awe as two of the gang's most feared members treated her like delicate flower.

Alice's blue eyes followed the men until they disappeared out the door. She then turned smirked down towards the naive playboy, "You have no idea." before disappearing to other end of the bar.

Michael sat there abandoned at the bar again by the same girl, he was starting to regret the way he missed that shot when he had it. He sighed at the realisation that one little girl could change his entire world.

~ ~ ~

The sleepy heiress barely even noticing the unfamiliar arms she found herself waking up in, as the other guard opened the door to the black Maybach parked in front of the bar. Placing her carefully in the back of the car, both men getting into the front.

"Hmm." She mumbled as she turned her head, feeling a soft, warm surface under her head, quickly awaking after realising it obviously wasn't the bar. Her brown eyes widened as she realised she was laying on someone's l.a.p. She relaxed after looking up to find a familiar pair of blue-green eyes looking down at her softly. "L...Liam?" She tried to sit up, rather confused.

"Shh," he gently pulled her back down, as he stroked her hair, lulling her back to sleep. The drunken beauty didn't fight the sleep as laid on his l.a.p falling into a dreamless wonderland. Looking back down at the sleeping brunette, Liam's finger ran through her soft tresses, whispering, "No-one is going to take you away, you're mine and I am solely yours." His hand c.a.r.e.s.sed her cheek as his gaze softened watching her lean into his touch.

The two men seated in the front tried not to wonder just who was this girl, was she to be their new lady boss? However, both men had been made aware of the woman Odette who was prearranged to become their new lady boss, so who was the woman, whom laid so intimately with their boss?

The night air had cooled just enough for Arianna to shiver in Liam's arms as he carried her out of the car and up into his manor. As he stepped into the house, he looked back at his men, with cold, ruthless eyes, his expression completely different from the one he just shown to the mysterious woman.

"I expect that none of this will be spoken of again, do you understand?" Liam's cold voice sending shivers down their spines. Without a word both men gave an indifferent nod as if unaffected by their boss' cold demeanor. Both men understood that by keeping that promise they'd already picked a side of a war, that could divide the underworld, between the king and the prince.

As he carried Arianna upstairs, almost stopping at the guest room where she usual slept in, but decided to continue, taking her into his room instead. He laid her down in his bed as she finally stirred awake.

"Liam?" She looked around drunkenly, barely recognising the room. "How did I get here?"

"I came to get you." He hid a chuckle, as she reached down taking off her shoes. He headed into the ensuite for a shower. Seeing he was gone, Arianna drunkenly stripped down into her u.n.d.e.r.w.e.a.r before crawling into bed, not thinking about Liam returning after his shower.

"Ari, do you want-" He stopped seeing her curled up in his bed, couldn't help smiling at the thought of seeing this everyday, of seeing her in his bed everyday. He knew no matter what happened he was going to love her for the rest of his life, his father was not going to get in the way of that.

He crawled in next to her, only to be awkwardly faced with her almost n.a.k.e.d body. He gently tried to pulled away, when he suddenly felt her warm, slender arms wrap around his waist, her nearly b.a.r.e c.h.e.s.t pressed tightly against his b.a.r.e back, making it hard to control himself.

"You're going to be the death of me one day." He grinded his teeth, as he laid back down entwining his finger in hers.

"L...Liam..." She sleepily mumbled, snuggling into his back. Holding her hand tighter he happily fell into sleep.

1 Ouroboros - a symbol of dragon/serpent biting its own tail, believed to have originated in ancient Egypt.