The CEO's Assistant

"If its money they're looking for, we can certainly buy their loyalty." William smirked as he began to scheme.

"But what if they have a strong loyalty to Arianna?" Odette couldn't help but ask.

"Poor people will sell their children for a slice of bread." Lorraine exaggerated to reassure her daughter.

"Your mother is right my dear. They will have no loyalty towards her." William agreed.

"Ok, but what about Joan, she hasn't left her company to someone she would care for. I'm sure Joan will be far more difficult to deal with than a couple of Australian gangsters."

"True, however to Joan this is simply going to look like petty revenge. She might take it out on them, but it'll never lead back to us. Especially if we don't let them know that's exactly who we want them to take care of." William had also been thinking about Joan, as she was also much more of a threat then Arianna's biological family. The scheming president had seen similar situations, commoner were all the same, just after money and power.

"Good as long as I get my Liam," Odette arrogantly smiled, as if she didn't just basically sign someone else's death warrant.

~ ~ ~

Arianna had blindly followed this guy not knowing if she were going to come out of this alive, but she knew the best thing for her was to get as far away from Julien as fast as she could.

Finally they stopped.

"Who are you?"

"The names Adam" he nodded as he tried to catch his breath.

"Well thank you Adam, but why'd you save me?" she asked cautiously as she knew most things came with a price.

"Because I told him to." The deep familiar voice from early echoed from behind her. Startled she turned around and almost didn't recognise the man.

"Jay?" she asked, she hadn't seen the man in early ten years, yet he didn't change much.

"Good to see ya Ari." He smiled at her. Despite how anxious he was when she left, Arianna had kept her word and never leaked nor snitched on his illegal doings. Of course Jay knew better than to be too careful, so he'd kept a close eye on the little bird after she'd left the nest.

Arianna was shocked, Jay Blackwood was the last person she expected to see in the end streets of Paris. She hadn't thought about Jay, her biological family or the gang she grew in, for years. They had become a part of her pasted she tried so desperately to hide and forget, yet

despite all that, apart of her was felt a familiar warmth in seeing him.

"What are you doing here?" Arianna asked after the shock finally settled and she walked over to the man who pulled her in for a hug, as if they had never left on bad terms.

"We've grown Ari, came to do some international business now." He stated proudly. His hands still resting on her shoulders. "What about you Miss big-hot-shot?"

"GET YOUR FLITHY HANDS OFF HER!" before Arianna could even reply, Jay was violently thrown up against a wall. She turned and to her surprise, Liam's usually calm expression possessed a violently frightful look of anger and rage as he pressed his forearm against Jay neck.

"Liam!" Arianna ran to trying to pull him off. Jay's men looked confused, but at the sight of Liam didn't move and still particularly surprised Arianna. Worried about Jay she looked at him with concern, to see his expression calm and smiling.

"If you have hurt so much as a hair on her head, I am going to shred you alive." Liam threatened with a cold kingly aura that mad the other men around shiver in fear.

"Liam I'm fine." She clung onto his shoulder as she tried to pull him away, before she could explain who Jay was, the gangster started laughing.

"Oh Ari, you might have left the underground, but the underground didn't leave you, did it?" Jay smiled at the girl whom he treated like a daughter for many years. Hearing these words both Liam and Arianna looked at each other in confusion.

"What is he talking about?" They spoke in unison. Neither Liam nor Arianna knew what to say. They didn't know how to explain and at the same time they were curious about one another.

"Ari, never would have pegged you as someone the underground prince would care so deeply for." Jay smirked. In reality he could sense that the pair had some unresolved issues and perhaps neither had any idea of one another's darker identities. "I'd be more than happy to leave you to sort this out, but your highness would mind letting me go."

"Did this man hurt you?" Liam's aggressive tone and mien had severely softened as he turned towards Arianna.

"No, Jay and his men saved me." She tried to explain, her eyes didn't move from his. Liam pulled his arm away from Jay's throat.

"Sorry about that. Thank you for saving my girlfriend." There was bit of shock when Liam said 'girlfriend' Arianna's golden orbs widened in shock, but she also didn't correct him.

"She like a daughter to me mate, I don't give a shit whether you're the king or a peasant, you disrespect her, and they'll never find your corpse." Jay gave Liam a serious smile. Arianna couldn't help but laugh.

"Just who are you?" Liam asked.

"I think you better ask that girlfriend of yours." Jay nodded towards Arianna before disappearing around a corner.

The couple stood in silence for a while.

"Since when am I your girlfriend?" Arianna tried to focus that topic.

"Don't try to avoid this, who is that guy and what did he mean?" Liam raised his eyebrow is a non-judgemental yet curious way.

"I should ask you the same thing your highness?" She quickly questioned back at the odd way Jay had addressed him.

"Oh no, your story is fair more interesting than mine." Liam smiled encouragingly, without trying to force her.

"Well umm, that's Jay Blackwood a notorious Australian gangster and his righthand man is my biological father. So in short, I grew in a gang." She said sounding defeated. She knew what admitting this meant. It meant she didn't actually belong in his world, the despite the beautiful and expensive clothes, the position and power she had, it didn't actually belong to her. Arianna understood that when she'd said those words, she surrendered to her envitable fate. All these years she'd believe if she could fake, she could make it, but the only person she was really fooling was herself.

Liam didn't know what to say, he knew very well that Arianna wasn't Joan's biological daughter, but he never believed that her childhood was spent that way. He could now understand why she often felt so far away, because in her eyes she was. He didn't know what he was supposed to say, but he recognised the look in her eyes. She was preparing for abandonment, for the pain that had come before.

"Why did you leave?" He finally asked, his voice still gentle and soft.

"What?" She looked up at him, startled at his question.

"Leaving the underworld isn't exactly easy. Why did you leave?"

"Oh, I wanted a better life. I was bad terms with my family and I… I…" she fell silent at the thought of her memories.

"It's okay." Liam pulled Arianna into his arms and she buried her head into his c.h.e.s.t.