“How long?”I ask.
“Forever,” he answers without hesitation.
I scoff and jab him with my elbow.
“That’s not what I meant.How long for the ice?”
“Fifteen minutes,” he says.
“In your lap?”I ask incredulously.
“Yes.In my lap,” he responds.
“I’m not taking off my jacket.The ice will work over my clothes,” I demand.
He hums his displeasure before lifting his cheek off my head.
“Then you’ll have to sit on my lap longer.Extra layers of fabric mean it takes longer to reach your skin,” he argues.
I huff.
“No.I’ll push my jacket aside, but my blouse, pants, and belt remain fastened.”
“You’re the only person I’d accept unfavorable negotiations with, you know that, right, lil stepsis?”
“Just shut up and put the ice on already,” I snarl.
He chuckles.Embarrassment and arousal jangle through me as my ass shifts against his hard thighs.I cross my arms over my chest and grit my teeth.Brennan takes mercy on me and grabs the ice pack off the coffee table.
“Lift your jacket.”
His throaty rumble tumbles through my abdomen.I part my coat and wince as he presses the ice to my bruised hip.
With his arm still around my waist and his body bracketing mine, I check my watch before forcing my muscles to relax.
“Now tell me, what’s wrong with your employment contract?”
I sigh and roll my eyes.
“You’re really not going to let this go, are you?”
“Nope,” he answers.
I rub my forehead.Today has been too much, but with such an unexpected and drastic change, I doubt the next few days will be any better.As the secretary’s CEO, the change in leadership will definitely throw my entire schedule out of whack.
I might as well negotiate with my new boss while I have the opportunity.
Because he is my new boss.My ex-stepbrother, the boy who broke my trust and abandoned me to his abusive father, is now the man who owns and is soon to be the CEO of the company I’ve worked at since before my sixteenth birthday.
There’s no escaping him, but maybe I can buy enough time to secure my job and prove I don’t need him in my life.At all.Maybe by the time the acquisition is complete and the company is trending the way he wants it, he’ll move on to his next business endeavor and forget all about me.
He did it before.Hopefully he’ll do it again.
Not a single cell in my body believes my nonsense, but I cling to the idea as though it’s my only lifeline.
I’ll accept Brennan Diamond as my new boss but deny him in all other aspects of my life.
What my body and soul want mean nothing.He is nothing to me.
