Promise? Before I could ask, she continued on. It was like I was trapped in one of her therapy sessions.
“And now!” she said, her voice rising as she looked at me, her hazel eyes dancing on embers. “I have to answer to some overgrown manchild with a bad attitude. I have to teach you a job that I could do myself. And you want to know the most annoying part? You’re all these awful things, but you’re still hot.”
I laughed in surprise. I didn’t expect that to come out of her mouth. I don’t think she expected it to either, in her rant about how awful I was, it seemed to have slipped out. Her cheeksblazed red, and now IknewI had the same effect on her as she had on me.
“Don’t look so smug,” she said sharply.
“Who? Me?” I asked with an innocent shrug.
“You’re insufferable,” she muttered.
“I’m just glad to know the effect I have on you,” I purred, narrowing my gaze from her eyes to her mouth to her cleavage, with no effort in hiding it.
I swore I saw her shiver slightly as she shifted in her seat.
I smiled and sat back in my chair, crossing my hands over my chest as I leaned back.
“Now that we’ve gottenthatout of the way,” I said firmly. “Let’s get back to business. I have some things I need you to do today.”
“Excuseme?” she asked incredulously.
“You might want to write this down,” I said, gesturing to a pad of paper on my desk. She unsurely pulled it toward her and plucked a pen from the holder.
“I need you to transfer my calendar so it merges with mine here. I also need you to do the same with my contacts. I want everything in one place, so it’s seamless. I need you toreschedule tomorrow morning’s meeting because a bigger and better client needs to take their place. Just send an email from my account, making it sound sympathetic—yada yada yada.”
I watched as she quickly wrote everything down on the legal yellow pad she clutched in her hand, her eyes darting over the words in concentration. I continued to rattle off my list that would pretty much be impossible for her to finish by the end of the day, but she seemed like she liked a challenge.
“And then I need you to pick up my dry cleaning. The suit you ruined yesterday may have been salvaged.”
She shot me a look that I thought might turn me to stone. She slammed the pad of paper and pen on the desk and shook her head.
“I’m not done,” I said coolly.
“Iam,” she shot back. “These are things for Bernice to do. Remember her? She’s the sweet lady you almost made cry. She’s sitting right out there.”
“Bernice needs to toughen up.” I shrugged.
“She’s like sixty years old and has worked for my father from the very beginning.”
“She’s slow. And you saw how she fucked up my calendar.”
“Give her a break.”
“No. I would rather give her work toyou.”
“I am not your assistant. I am not your errand girl. I am not your slave.” Gabriella began ticking off each finger of everything she wasn’t. “I am yourhandler.”
“You’re not doing a very good job…”
Ignoring me, she continued on. “My role is to prepare you for leading this company, not pick up your laundry and wipe your ass.”
I laughed out loud. She was irritating, but quick-witted and I found it extremely sexy. Not many women stood up to me. Not manymenstood up to me. But she did and it made me want to fuck her even more.
“My role is to make sure you don’t fuck up my father’s legacy,notcome when you snap your fingers.”
Oh, I could definitely make her come.
She stood up a little straighter as she took a deep breath and smoothed out her skirt. I could tell she was trying to rein in her emotions. I almost felt bad for her. Almost.
