Page 8 of The Billionaire's Vow

“Sir?”

Her voice was quiet, uncertain, pulling him from his thoughts.

Dimitri blinked once, shaking off the moment of distraction.

His lips curved ever so slightly.

“Let’s start at the beginning,” he suggested.

Because now that he had the information, it was time to hunt down the traitor.

No one stole from Dimitri De Luca and lived to tell the tale.

Dimitri moved closer, towering over her.“You will find this person,” he announced.“And you’ll report only to me.”

Dimitri saw it instantly—the flicker of fear in her wide, luminous eyes.His jaw tightened, forcing himself to rein it in.She was such a delicate little thing.A flower, he thought, fragile but resilient.The contrast between them was stark—his broad, rough hands, her smooth, dainty fingers.He had no business wanting to touch her, to see if her skin was as soft as it looked.

He clenched his fists, shoving them deep into his pockets, as if that would somehow suppress the urge.“How long do you think it will take for you to reveal the person who is stealing from me?”

Her full lips parted slightly, her gaze flickering down to his mouth before snapping back up.Did she see the darkness inside him?Could she sense the ruthless side of him, the side that wanted things it had no right to claim?

He shouldn’t touch her.Dimitri knew that.He was too big, too impure for someone as untouched and pristine as Giselle.He didn’t even know her last name, but he knew he shouldn’t taint something so perfect.A Giselle flower, he thought wryly, mocking his own absurdly poetic thoughts about a woman who was, in all likelihood, as flawed as everyone else.

By the end of the day, he’d know more about her.About her fairy-like ways and why she intrigued him to distraction.

“I don’t…” she began, only to be cut off by the sudden, jarring blast of a song:

“Everything I need, everything I want, sometimes I tell my—”

The rest was cut off as Giselle, cheeks burning, yanked her phone out and silenced it, shoving it deep into the folds of her voluminous skirt.But not before he caught the slight tremble in her fingers, the way her shoulders stiffened.

Dimitri narrowed his eyes.That was not the reaction of a woman ignoring an unimportant call.

“I have to go,” she murmured, her voice suddenly drained of the quiet confidence she’d had just moments before.She looked down, almost… defeated.

Something about the change in her demeanor made his spine stiffen.

“Giselle.”His voice carried an urgent edge, a subtle command that made her pause.“Stop by tomorrow to report what you’ve found.Even if you don’t have any new information.”

She hesitated, pressing her lips together, and he knew she was holding herself back.He could practically see the battle within her—frustration, irritation, maybe even resentment.

At him?Or at whoever had called?

She nodded, sharply.“I really need to go, sir.”

“You will call me Dimitri,” he corrected softly.

Her expression flickered again—irritation, resignation, that same tight press of her lips.It was clear she hated being told what to do, but she didn’t argue.Instead, she turned on her heel and walked out, her skirt swishing with the force of her stride.

She’d left the files behind.Dimitri smirked.That was careless.And convenient.It gave him a reason to see her again.

Not that he needed one.

She paused in the doorway, glancing back at him, and he got the distinct feeling that she wanted to say something more.But before she could, her phone vibrated with the same insistent ringtone.

“Everything I need…”

Giselle shut it off with a sharp movement, her jaw tightening.