Chapter 3: Shot Herself in the Foot

Words : 2435 Updated : Oct 17th, 2025

Maddie Zimmerman had seen everything Lewis Casson did and felt a stab of irritation. She shot him a fierce glare, her face set, and snapped, "Since no one's backing out, I'm declaring the tryouts open. We'll pair off for sparring. You can choose your opponent, or I'll assign one." The moment she spoke, every applicant fixed their sights on Lewis. They all sensed how displeased Maddie was with him. If they took him down, they could curry favor and snag extra points to land the job. Cole Denford, thinking exactly that, was the first to step forward. He squared up to Lewis, scorn flashing in his eyes. "Kid, I'm a three-time kickboxing champion. If you know what's good for you, quit while you can. Don't get yourself killed." The others snickered, convinced someone like Lewis could be taken out with one hand tied behind their back. "Picking the softest target, are you?" Lewis smirked. He stepped forward and asked, half amused, "You really want to challenge me?" "Yes." "All right. Come on." Cole was fuming. He lunged, right fist arcing toward Lewis's chest. Lewis stood his ground, steady as a mountain. When the iron fist closed in, he shot a hand up, caught it, and with a casual flick-as if swatting a fly-sent it away. Cole screamed and sailed back like a rag doll, then slammed to the floor with a heavy thud. Maddie froze, eyes wide, jaw slack. She hadn't thought much of Lewis a moment ago; this outcome blindsided her. The other so-called experts fell silent, swallowing hard. The amateurs watched the spectacle, but the pros saw the craft. From that one move, they could tell exactly how strong he was. Lewis drew out a cigarette, lit it, and took a slow drag. His eyes swept over them one by one. "Who else wants a piece of me?" Lawrence had once served in special forces; he could not swallow that insult. "Me," he barked. He planted his right foot, then sprang into the air and whipped a flying kick at Lewis's head. The power in that kick was terrifying. A clean hit would've put him in the hospital, if not the morgue. A spark flashed in Lewis's eyes. He blew a smoke ring and darted in to meet him, quick as lightning. Fist and foot collided-two sharp cracks. Lawrence flew backward and crashed down. He strained and strained, but could not get up. That had been Lewis showing mercy. Otherwise, Lawrence would've been dead. Maddie was stunned again. Only one word came to mind: terrifying. The other fighters blanched, gulped, and edged back. Good grief. They had seen tough before, but never this tough. "Anyone else?" Lewis's eyes iced over as he swept his gaze over them one by one. Anyone who met his look flinched and dropped their eyes. They quickly shook their heads and waved him off. "No." The position of full-time bodyguard to the beautiful CEO, Elle Cutmore, was tempting, but they preferred breathing. Another round and they feared lifelong disability. "In that case, get back to whatever you were doing. Stop wasting my time." At that, the fighters slunk off, rattled and resentful. Lewis flicked away his cigarette butt and strolled up to Maddie. He waved a hand in front of her face, grinning. "Hey, gorgeous-did a little dust-up like that leave you dumbstruck? Come on, toughen up." The words hit her like a splash of cold water. She snapped back, shot him another glare, and huffed, "You're the stupid one." Lewis exhaled a smoke ring. "Fact is, I've just proven I'm the best of the lot. Doesn't that naturally make me Elle Cutmore's full-time bodyguard?" Maddie's expression shifted. By the book, yes. But everything about Lewis rubbed her wrong, and there was a dark, unruly edge to him. She worried he was approaching Elle with ulterior motives. She wanted him gone, and she wanted it ironclad so he could not argue. "You think it's that easy to become the CEO's bodyguard? I said we evaluate you across the board. Our CEO often travels abroad or meets foreign business delegations. A foreign language is nonnegotiable. Can you handle that?" Maddie lifted her brows, the corner of her mouth quirked. She had misjudged him earlier, but she was sure she would not this time. He just looked like a brute. How could a brute be fluent in languages? "Foreign languages? I speak a little, not much." Maddie took that for bluster and decided to make it hurt. "Here's the deal. I'll ask a few questions. If you can answer in a foreign language, you pass. Deal?" "Sure." She thought for a moment, then deliberately posed a particularly tough question in English. It was a failsafe. Even if he somehow understood it, he would never answer it. She told herself she was brilliant. Lewis said dryly, "Assistant Zhang, you really want to ask that one?" "Of course. Hurry up and answer," Maddie said, smugness tugging at her lips. Lewis flashed a wicked grin, spread his hands, and answered smoothly in fluent English. "Assistant Zhang, not to be rude, but your question is too easy. If you want to go easy on me, at least don't make it so obvious. You're making me blush. Thanks, though." Maddie almost fainted on the spot. Infuriating. Absolutely infuriating. She cursed him up and down in her head, clamped down on her temper, and barked, glaring, "Don't celebrate yet. That was only the first question. I'll ask you another in French." "Go ahead. Just don't make it too hard. I might not be able to answer." Show-off, she fumed to herself. She fired an even harder question in French. Lewis pulled a face, pretending to think, frowning one moment, sighing the next. "If you can't answer, concede. If you can't answer, you concede. It means you aren't qualified to be the CEO's bodyguard," Maddie said, gloating again. Lewis's smile turned sly. "Got it," he said, then rattled off a fluent reply in French. Honestly, given the way he worked, always on the move across the world, how could he not speak a few languages? "Ah!" Maddie cried out, mouth agape. She realized he had been toying with her. She seethed, jaw clenched. If looks could kill, Lewis would have died a thousand deaths. "Assistant Zhang, just don't try Latin-I really can't do that one." She knew he was teasing her on purpose. She felt ready to explode. She shot him a venomous look and racked her brains for new ways to trip him up, desperate to have a proper pretext to throw him out. But that was wishful thinking. Reality was cruel. No matter what she threw at him, Lewis parried and neutralized it with ease. "Freak," Maddie muttered, stomping her foot in anger. She had never met anyone so accomplished. No wonder he had dismissed everyone else earlier. With strength like that, those people really had no business competing with him. Yet that was exactly why she was more convinced he had an agenda. With his skills, he could have his pick of jobs. Why apply to be a bodyguard? Lewis shrugged. "Guess I really am a freak-second time today someone's said that." He chuckled to himself, then asked, "Assistant Zhang, given I've passed all your tests, doesn't that make me the CEO's full-time bodyguard?" Maddie flinched. She glared at him and thought furiously about how to be rid of him. An idea sparked. "No. There's one last hurdle. Pass that, and you can become the CEO's bodyguard." "Really?" "Of course. Everyone in Elle Group knows what I say goes," Maddie said, firm and sure. Lewis smiled and spread his hands. "All right. Set the task. Don't make it too hard." The last few words grated on her. "Come with me. Our CEO is a powerhouse, and she often needs to head out at a moment's notice. So I need to test your driving. Only if you pass do you qualify as her bodyguard." "Oh. Test away. My skills are solid. Anyone who's ridden with me says it's a rush." "Perv." Color rose in Maddie's cheeks. She disliked him even more. Leaving a man this unreadable and this lecherous around the CEO felt dangerous. They hurried to the underground garage. Maddie tossed him a key and pointed at a silver Volkswagen. "Take that one." "Got it." Lewis slid into the driver's seat. Maddie buckled up and said coolly, "Take me to the Building Materials Market in the Western District. You have thirty minutes. One minute over and you fail." Lewis knew the place. Under normal conditions, the drive from here took over an hour. Maddie's half-hour limit was clearly a setup. Anyone else would have been stumped. For him, however… "Buckle up, Assistant Zhang. We're off." "Spare me the chatter and drive," Maddie said through her teeth, satisfied. No matter how freakish Lewis was, he couldn't make it to the Building Materials Market in the Western District in thirty minutes. Laugh while you can, she thought. You'll be crying soon. Lewis gave a crooked smile. He pressed the accelerator, and the car shot out of the underground garage.

Chapter 3: Shot Herself in the Foot

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