“It means…” She falters before visibly straightening her shoulders and pursing her lips with determination. “It means it probably wouldn’t look good to be slapped with an unlawful termination lawsuit before you’ve even taken over as CEO.”
Then, just to add a layer of shit to the shit sandwich she’s trying to feed me, she steps forward and lowers her voice. “When everyonefinds out you fired me because we slept together, the term ‘sexual harassment’ might get thrown around.”
I’m positive my jaw has hit the floor. “You’re threatening me?”
She swivels away from me, but not before I see the spark of guilt in her eyes. “Of course not,” she says, placing the pen into the box on my dad’s desk before picking up a sheet of bubble wrap and placing a framed photo on it. “I’m only saying I need this job, and I intend to keep it.”
My eyes follow the movements of her hands, which are carefully wrapping the picture in a protective layer. I think I catch the hint of a tremble, but she’s hiding it well. So she’s not as strong as she’d like me to believe, and goddammit, I like that softness as much as her fire.
“So you just want to work here. In my office. With me.” It sounds simultaneously fan-fucking-tastic and like the worst misery of my life.
“Or you can find me another position in the company.” She darts her eyes up toward me before returning to her task of taping the wrap in place. “With the same salary.”
Can the muscles of a person’s jaw actually snap in two, or is that just what it feels like? I massage the lower part of my face, feeling the beard I’ve been growing, and I stupidly wonder if Mindy likes it.
Yes, I’m worried about what Mindy thinks of my goddamn facial hair. Mindy, who just threw out a vague threat like it was her day job. I’m the biggest kind of idiot, though she does have me over a barrel.
The last thing my father needs right after he decides to retire and enjoy his life is a scandal surrounding the company he’s worked so hard to elevate to the largest cosmetics company in the world. No matter how good he looked this morning, his health is still perching on a delicate balance, and I can’t be the one to tip it in the wrong direction. Not to mention I promised him I would keep Mindy at Hale Cosmetics.
“Fine,” I grit out between clenched teeth as a plan begins to formulate.
“You’ll find me another position in the company?” she asks hopefully, looking up from her task of loading things into the box on the desk.
“No,” I say, making a snap decision. “If you want to work here, you’re going to continue in your current position.”
She blinks, three long, slow sweeps of dark lashes before nodding. “Okay then. I think you’ll find I can be very efficient and professional, Mr. Hale.”
Mr. Hale. She fucking called me Mr. Hale.
When I walk deliberately toward her, she stops what she’s doing and looks up at me with those wide, hazel eyes. Our faces are only a breath apart when I halt.
“I might not be able to fire you right now, but you’re welcome to quit at any time. And trust me, you won’t make it a week as my assistant.”
She swallows hard, but I can read the challenge in her eyes. “I think you’d be surprised at what I can handle, Mr. Hale.”
My next thought is,You handled my cock in your hot little mouth pretty well,but I wisely refrain from saying that aloud.
Instead, I tilt my face until my mouth is directly at her ear and whisper, “Just for the record, Ms. Espinoza, Hardware Joe has left the building, and Remington Hale is here now. You’ve been warned.”
Then I turn and walk out of my office with the scent of magnolia flowers lingering in my nose.
“So let me get this straight,” Phoenix says, holding his glass of pale ale in front of his mouth. “You find the woman you’ve been pining for for seven years and realize she now works for you. You attempt to fire her, and when that doesn’t work you threaten to ruin her life? Do I have that right?”
“I didn’t pine for her. I just… couldn’t stop thinking about her,” I argue. “And I didn't threaten to ruin her life. I simply implied I was going to make her want to quit.”
“Ah, glad you cleared that up,” he says, taking a sip and setting his glass down.
I’m at a downtown pub for lunch with Helix and Phoenix, whowere waiting outside my office like a couple of junior high girls anticipating the latest gossip.
Helix’s thoughtful face scrunches into a frown. “Why don’t you just find her somewhere else to work? I don’t know much about her story, but I’ve heard she’s going through a divorce.”
“Good for her husband,” I grumble. “Poor bastard.”
Phoenix smacks my arm, his face brightening. “Ooh, I’ve got it. Let’s trade. You can have Charlotte, and I’ll take Mindy.”
“I don’t want Charlotte. She’s way too bossy.”
My brothers share a look before Helix says, “Mindy gave you a reasonable explanation of why she left. What would you have done if you’d seen something like that?” When I don’t answer, he continues. “I don’t know exactly what happened between you two that night, but from the way you acted after, it must have been pretty intense. I don’t blame her for feeling used if she truly thought you were engaged to someone else.”
