I hated my boss. He was so grumpy that sometimes I wished he would just disappear from my life one day.

And yet, for many women, working close to him was the ultimate prize. He was the most irresistible man they had ever seen.

Tall, broad-shouldered, with a commanding, magnetic presence, his dark eyes seemed to pull everyone in. His tanned skin and that sinful mouth of his made him the very definition of masculinity.

But what was the point of any of that? He could have been perfect, but his awful personality ruined everything.

He was always yelling at me, always serious. One look from him was enough to make me tremble. Not the kind that weakened your knees with desire, but the kind that made you brace for a scolding.

My job as his personal assistant didn't just mean sitting in on meetings or speaking with his partners. It also meant keeping his many girlfriends in check.

He was a president so dangerously sexy that thousands of women threw themselves at him.

Every six months, he replaced his girlfriend. None of them lasted longer than that. And it always ended the same way.

"I'm sorry, Miss Roberts. Mr. Sterling cannot continue seeing you. There are irreconcilable differences, but he asked me to give you this gift in appreciation for your time together."

Hannah Roberts cried, and in a burst of desperation, she slapped me.

"You! This is your fault, you scheming bitch! You must have sabotaged my relationship because you want him all to yourself!"

I forced myself not to lash out. Not to let the anger take over.

Security dragged her away while I walked off, my cheek burning, swallowing down the bitter taste of my fury.

I hated Adrian Sterling. He wasn't just a coward who refused to face these women himself. He treated them like disposable accessories. He was petty, arrogant, and completely unbearable.

And yet, I couldn't quit. My sister depended on the money I earned to treat her illness.

Every day, that responsibility weighed on me a little more.

I arrived at the company, the tallest building in Valencia Heights, hoping that day would be different.

I took the elevator up to the tenth floor, knocked on his door, and heard his voice—low, rough, unmistakable.

"Come in."

The moment I stepped inside, what I saw left me speechless.

"Boss, I…" My eyes widened in horror. I couldn't look away from the scene in front of me, as if my feet were glued to the floor.

My heart pounded. Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I knew they had to be bright red.

I couldn't breathe. What I was seeing completely stunned me.

Adrian Sterling was there, with a woman.

She was bent over the desk, her face pressed against it, naked from the waist down.

And Adrian Sterling… he was behind her, thrusting into her, gripping her hair with raw intensity.

But that wasn't the worst part.

The worst part was his gaze. Those dark, piercing eyes were locked on me while his body kept moving against her.

And I… I just stood there like an idiot, unable to move even though I wanted to.

Confusion and anger twisted together inside me. I tried to snap out of it, to escape the moment, the humiliation—but his voice stopped me cold.

"Vanessa Hart, don't you dare walk out or you're fired."

I froze, fear taking hold of me.

I couldn't lose that job. I didn't have that kind of choice.

Slowly, I turned back to look at him.

His dark eyes seemed even larger, his pupils blown wide with desire.

He kept moving with a raw, almost primal rhythm, yet his face showed nothing. It was carved from ice, distant, like he was somewhere else entirely.

He closed his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath.

The woman beneath him moaned like a cat in heat, her voice rising as she said his name in a way that sent a shiver through me.

I took a step back, shaken by the sound.

What the hell was happening to me? Something strange stirred inside me—a mix of desire and disgust.

What would it have felt like to be in her place?

At twenty-three, I had never had sex. Don't judge me. I had a dream—one most people would have called ridiculous. I wanted to make it to my wedding day still a virgin.

But in that job, one thing was certain.

I was going to die single because of Adrian Sterling.

The irony wasn't lost on me.

I snapped back to the present just as he finished what he'd been doing.

His gaze dropped, and whatever I had been feeling was instantly replaced by a surge of burning indignation.

"You can leave now," he said with clear disdain.

"But… sir…" the woman tried to protest, but his tone turned sharp.

"Out."

She left, fixing her clothes as she went. I didn't look at her. I didn't want to. It was a moment I would have rather erased from my memory.

"Vanessa, come with me," he ordered, already walking toward the bathroom.

I rolled my eyes, my patience wearing dangerously thin, but I followed him anyway.

The second I stepped inside, I saw him toss the condom into the toilet, and the sight made my stomach turn.

"Mr. Sterling, do you have any idea how much that pollutes?" I couldn't help it. The words slipped out, sharp with irritation.

He smiled. His pants were still on, but unbuttoned, and that half-smirk sent a chill down my spine.

"Vanessa Hart, remind me… how much am I worth?"

"Well… you have a fortune of nearly one point five trillion dollars, and… you're the fifth richest man in the world. The richest under forty," I answered, my voice echoing faintly in the space.

His smile widened, like he was actually enjoying this.

"So now you know the value of each sperm cell?" he asked, flushing the toilet, and all I felt was disgust.

He started undressing, and I couldn't take it anymore. I turned around, hearing the shower turn on behind me.

The frosted glass door separated us, but I could still make out his silhouette through it.

For a second, I just stood there, frozen.

How was it possible for a man to have a body sculpted like a god's and still be so completely heartless?

I shook my head, trying to clear the mess of thoughts spinning inside me.

"Sir, may I leave?" I asked, forcing my voice to stay steady.

"Vanessa, tomorrow I'm attending the Thirty Gala. You're coming with me," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Why?" I blurted out before I could stop myself, surprise bleeding into my voice.

"Because you're a queen? Idiot, you're my assistant. If I have to sign anything, you read it first. Now get out," he snapped, frustration and irritation lacing every word. He was always like this when he wanted to put me in my place.

I said nothing. I just walked out, feeling frustration and resentment boil inside me.

'Adrian Sterling, you're the most unbearable man in the world.'