The next morning, Andrew sat at the breakfast table, sipping his coffee, waiting impatiently for Eva. He tapped his fingers against the table, his mind elsewhere, but when she finally scurried into the room, all thoughts fled his mind. She looked both cute and sexy in her fitted outfit—an elegant skirt and blouse that hugged her figure in all the right places. Andrew blinked, momentarily stunned by her appearance.

“Beautiful,” he murmured under his breath, so low that even he barely heard it.

“I’m ready,” Eva chirped, grabbing her bag and heading for the door.

Before she could reach it, Andrew’s cold voice cut through the air. “What are you wearing?”

Eva halted, turning slowly to face him, her eyebrows raised. “It’s formal attire,” she snapped, her patience already wearing thin from the tension that had been simmering between them for days.

Andrew’s eyes narrowed as he stood up, his gaze scanning her outfit with disapproval. “It’s too revealing,” he said, his voice hard. “You need to change.”

Eva’s stubborn streak flared, and she crossed her arms defiantly. “This is perfectly fine. I’m not changing,” she said, her tone sharp.

In one swift motion, Andrew was in front of her, his towering presence sending a shiver down her spine. He pulled her closer, his breath hot against her cheek. “You need to change now,” he repeated, his voice low and commanding.

Eva’s pulse quickened at the proximity, her face flushed from both anger and something she didn’t want to acknowledge. “Fine. I’ll go change,” she snapped, glaring up at him before muttering, “I hate you.”

Andrew didn’t respond, but his grip loosened, and she hurried back to her room to change. She chose something more conservative, though a part of her wanted to defy him. When she finally came back downstairs, Andrew was gone.

“Where did he go?” Eva asked one of the maids, annoyance lacing her voice.

“He received a call and left for work,” the maid explained kindly. “He left another car for you to take.”

Eva gritted her teeth, her frustration boiling over. “This idiotic fool left without a word,” she muttered under her breath as she grabbed the car keys and stormed out. “I hate him!”

By the time Eva arrived at the company, her anger had only simmered further. She knocked on Andrew’s office door, her heart pounding despite her annoyance. “Come in,” his voice called, cool as ever.

Eva stepped in, and Andrew glanced up, but his expression didn’t soften. In fact, he looked irritated again as his eyes drifted over her second outfit.

“It’s still too revealing,” he muttered, almost to himself.

Eva bit back a retort, her frustration mounting. Before she could say anything, Andrew called for Edward, his assistant. “Show Eva to her office and explain her tasks,” he ordered coldly.

Edward nodded, and Eva followed him out of the office, fuming silently. What is wrong with him? she wondered, trying to make sense of Andrew’s bizarre behavior. He acted as if everything about her presence irritated him, yet he couldn’t seem to stop controlling every aspect of her life.

Edward walked her through her new role as Andrew’s assistant, explaining the expectations and tasks. Eva nodded, doing her best to focus on her new responsibilities, but Andrew’s cold glare from earlier still lingered in her mind.

Unbeknownst to her, Andrew was spying on her from his office. He had cameras and a voice recorder planted in her new office, allowing him to listen in on everything she did—and said. As he watched the live feed, he leaned back in his chair, curious to see how she’d handle the work.

But what he didn’t expect was to overhear her muttering to herself once she thought she was alone. “That idiot left me and came to the company without telling me, and now he acts like nothing happened,” Eva grumbled, typing furiously at her computer.

Andrew’s brow furrowed, surprised by the venom in her voice.

“I’ll just ignore him,” she continued, her voice carrying a resigned edge. “I’ll do my job until it’s time to leave for good. Then I’ll be out of his life. I hate him!”

Andrew’s jaw tightened as her words sank in. Hate? He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Did she truly hate him? He had suspected she might be frustrated, but hate? That was something entirely different.

He immediately called Edward to his office. “Fetch Eva,” he commanded, his voice sharper than usual.

When Eva entered Andrew’s office, she felt the chill in the air. Andrew’s cold gaze pinned her in place, and for a moment, she wondered what had triggered his sudden mood change. “What the hell is his problem now?” she thought as she took her seat across from him.

“My schedule,” Andrew said, his voice cutting. “Did you forget your work, or are you just here for fun?”

Eva kept her face composed, even as her heart raced. She calmly recited his schedule for the day, ignoring his thinly veiled irritation.

Andrew leaned back, his eyes narrowing as he studied her. “Not bad,” he said slowly. “Though, I must be an idiot—I seemed to have forgotten my own schedule.” He emphasized the word idiot, his voice laced with a knowing edge.

Eva froze. Her mind raced as the realization dawned on her. He heard me.

Andrew leaned forward, his eyes locked on hers. “Tell me, Eva. Do you think I’m an idiot?”

Her throat went dry as she struggled to find the right words. “No, sir. Not at all,” she stammered, her heart pounding. “Whoever said that… must have been an idiot themselves.”

Andrew’s lips curled into a smirk, clearly amused by her awkward attempt at backpedaling. “Is that so?” he asked, leaning back in his chair with a hint of satisfaction.

Eva stood, ready to make her escape, but before she could leave, Andrew’s voice stopped her cold. “One more thing. No skirts allowed—only pants from now on.”

She glanced down at her outfit, confused. It was perfectly appropriate for the office. “What’s wrong with my outfit?” she asked, her frustration bubbling up again.

“I’m not asking for your opinion,” Andrew snapped, his tone final. “You may leave now.”

Eva clenched her fists at her sides, biting back a retort. Instead, she nodded curtly and hurried out of the office. As she walked back to her own office, her mind swirled with frustration. What is his deal? Why is he making this so impossible?

But as she reached her desk and sat down, she realized something else—Andrew was watching her, closely. And no matter how cold he acted, there was something beneath the surface, something more.