R. Loren
I should have knownthat he wouldn’t have allowed me to take the reins, though, because less than a minute after sending that email my desk phone rang.
And guess who it was?
“This is Rebecc--.”
Joseph cleared his throat. “Do we have an issue, Miss Loren?”
I leaned back in my chair. “Are you sure you want to have this conversation over the phone?”
“Get up to my office. Now.”
He slammed his phone down, but I grinned as I dropped mine softly back into its holster. With a sway in my hips and a grin on my lips, I sauntered out of my office and made my way toward the elevator. I couldn’t wait for him to see me in the dress I had picked out. I felt like a fucking bombshell and a half.
And the second I slipped into his office, his heated stare raked along my body.
“You really enjoy playing mind games, don’t you?” I asked as I closed the door behind me.
He stood from his seat. “Flip the lock.”
I giggled as I gave the cold, hard metal a flick of my wrist. “Done.”
Then, he came out from behind his desk. “So, what is this attitude I’m sensing from you this morning?”
I turned to face him with my hands clasped in front of me. “I’m not sure of what you’re talking about.”
He leveled his gaze with my own. “Don’t. I’m not in the mood to play games.”
I took a few steps toward him. “You were up for them when you sent me out for these dresses. And now, I’m back to being your work horse?”
“You still get paid by this company, correct?”
“Yes, but--.”
He strode for me and wrapped his hand around my neck. “Then, let me be perfectly clear, Miss Loren: I still run a company that pulls more in a month than you ever will in your life. And if you want to be my good little girl, then you’ll learn to roll with the punches. You only get to have fun if you work hard for it.Thatis how the world works.”
I glared at him as I tried to keep my body at bay. I loved the feeling of his hand wrapped around my throat. I adored the way he pinned me to walls. I was damn near addicted to it, and that meant I had to regain the upper hand somehow.
I’d never be able to focus otherwise.
“Well,” I said as I wrapped my own hand around his wrist, “maybe you should’ve thought about that before putting me on this rollercoaster in the first place.”
His grin was practically wolfish. “And yet, here you are, with your nipples puckered every time my fingertips sink into your pulse points.”
I ripped his hand away and shoved it back to his side. I hated how he always got the best of me. I hated it because I never got the best of him. I never knew what version of him I was getting whenever I walked through those doors, and it almost made the dress shopping pointless.
Don’t let him do this. Don’t let him take your joy.
“Have a nice day, Mr. Ryker.”
JoJo’s eye twitched. “We aren’t finished.”
I turned around and opened his office door. “You might not be finished, but I am. I’ll have your work for you at a prompt time.”
Then, I left his office without even bothering to close the door in the process.
However, just as I got back down to my office and was about to dive into work, a soft knock came at my door.
