Fuck. She should be some old asshole’s trophy. And when I ask her if it was worth it, she should look at me with misery in her eyes, as the diamonds on her ears and throat sparkle like tears. So I could laugh at her for being stupid. And laugh at myself for having been so blind.
She doesn’t glow like she used to. Guess she found out the hard way that it isn’t so easy to snag a sucker after ditching me the way she did. She’s too old now to play the it’s-my-first-time game. Emmett made it sound like it was some opportune coincidence that got him to hire her, but I don’t believe that. She must’ve discovered somehow that I’m at GrantEm, and engineered events while I was out of town to get this job. She’s nothing if not persistent and manipulative.
She should know I’m not the idiot I used to be.
“Put on something else when you come tomorrow,” I say.
Her eyes narrow. “What’s wrong with my outfit?”
“There’s no need to play at being poor.” I give her a fake smile. “You can put on something better. I won’t treat you any different.”
Her lips thin. “I didn’t see anything in the employee manual that specified I have to wear something expensive to suit you.”
“Things would go a lot better if you just learned to say, ‘Yes, sir.’”
“And I’ll be more than happy to say that—if the request is reasonable,” she says in a dulcet tone.
“I’m your boss, not your friend. When I tell you to do something, it’s not a request.”
“Oh?” She raises an eyebrow. “Would you like me to get on my knees while I’m at it?”
The image of her on her knees before me, while looking up at me and whispering, “Yes, sir,” makes my blood heat.
She continues to regard me with a challenge in her eyes. She knows exactly what she’s doing.Bitch. “Why not? Getting on your knees might earn you some points.”
“Is that an order, too?”
“It’s a suggestion, since you seem so eager for this job. Employees with shitty evals get fired.”
Her jaw flexes. “I’ll make a note of that.”
“Good.”
“Would you like me to bring you a morning coffee too?”
I start to say yes, then stop. She could put rat poison in it. Or worse. “No. You don’t go anywhere near my coffee, morning or otherwise.”
“Scared I might spit in it?”
“You haven’t earned the right.”
Her face turns a dull red.
“But you can make yourself useful and return this.” I pull out the necklace Marjorie bought for Yvette’s birthday. I was going to make Emmett’s lazy assistant handle it, but this will be better. “I want a full return, not credit or a replacement.”
“What’s wrong with it?” Aspen asks.
I open the lid and reveal the row of diamonds. I want her to feel a deep, lacerating despair and regret. If she hadn’t betrayed me, she could’ve had stuff like this…and more. “It looks too cheap on my girlfriend. She deserves better.”
I watch her for a sign of disappointment that I’m not single anymore. Or a hint of determination to break me and my nonexistent girlfriend up so she can take her place.
But nope. She immediately looks down, her long lashes hiding her eyes. Damn it.
I shut the lid with a controlled snap of my wrist.
“Got it,” she says, taking the jewelry box. Her fingers move carefully, to avoid touching me.
“I need it refunded within an hour,” I say. That will be virtually impossible. The jeweler is at least half an hour away, and they won’t issue a refund without a receipt. I’m not telling her where she can find it. I hope Marjorie burned it.
