Melissa, sitting at her desk in the open-plan executive area, caught sight of the middle-aged stranger striding purposefully through the restricted corridor out of the corner of her eye. Her pulse spiked instantly. Alarmed by the breach of security, she leaped up from her chair, smoothing her skirt with frantic hands, and darted across the floor to intercept him before he could cross into the private hallway leading to the CEO's inner sanctum.
"Excuse me, sir!" Melissa snapped, stepping directly into his path with her arms crossed, her eyes flashing with a mix of rigid tension and sharp hostility. "Who are you? How did you get up to this floor? Do you even have an appointment?"
Anthony paused, his eyebrows pulling together into a subtle, dangerous frown. He cast a brief, disdainful glance to his left, then to his right, assessing the boundary she was attempting to draw. His body language instantly stiffened, dripping with aristocratic disdain for the woman blocking his way.
