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“It does matter,” I say, correcting her. “It matters a lot. Even if you weren’t our wife, she doesn’t have a right to talk to you like that. And you are our wife, so she doubly doesn’t have the right.”
I march back to my desk and open my messaging client, firing off a quick message to Sienna to have her come to my office.
She shows up with her heels clacking on the floor, just a few moments later. There’s already a smile on her face, and she glances at Penelope like she doesn’t even matter as she lets herself into the room.
“You wanted to see me, Mr. Sterling?” she asks.
Now that I know what I’m listening for, I can hear the way she practically purrs my name.
“I did,” I tell her. “So I can tell you that you’re fired.”
She freezes, smile locked in place on her face while her eyes go wide with shock. “You… what? I… Mr. Sterling, there must be some mistake.”
“There isn’t a mistake,” I say coolly. “Your work is excellent, but your manners in the office leave a lot to be desired. I hear you’ve been almost bullying other assistants, as if you have any right to do that.”
Her eyes cut to Penelope again. “I wouldn’t say bullying, sir. It… if I’ve been stern with them, it was because I expected them to hold themselves to a higher standard. The way everyone does here.”
“That’s not for you to ‘expect’. You’re not in charge, Sienna. I always wrote it off as you being passionate about the work, but I see now that isn’t true.”
“It is!” she insists. “I care so much about this company. I care about the people who work here. I just want what’s best.”
I fold my arms, lifting an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Yes!”
“And you disrespecting my wife does what for the company, exactly?”
Her mouth opens, but she seems lost for words for a moment.
“Did you accuse her of trying to get us into bed to further her own career?”
Sienna’s face goes pale. “I… I wouldn’t say anything like that?—”
“But you’d imply it. I don’t stand for people disrespecting what’s mine,” I tell her. “Clean out your desk and turn in your badge. You’re done here.”
She looks at my face like she’s hoping to find a hint of mercy there, but I just stare back at her, impassive. After a beat or two, she slumps and turns to leave, slinking out of the office and closing the door quietly behind her.
As soon as she’s gone, I turn my focus back to Penelope and trying to fix all the things I didn’t even realize were an issue.
Penelope just stares at me, clearly caught off guard by what just happened.
“I can’t believe you just did that,” she says, her eyes wide. “You just… fired her. Just like that. I can’t believe you did that for me.”
There’s a bit of hesitation in her tone, like she’s not sure if I did it for her or not. “Her acting like that, saying that stuff about you is unacceptable,” I tell her. “So of course I did it. If she can’t respect you, then she has no place here. If anyone else says anything out of line, you need to tell me.”
She chews on her bottom lip a bit, and it catches and holds my attention. That full, soft lip, caught between her teeth. It makes her mouth look even more tempting, the way her lips are so pink and plush, and everything in me wants to kiss her in that moment.
But I keep thinking about what she said earlier, about not being my mate. This was just supposed to be business. Just supposed to be a temporary thing to get the investors and the board off our backs. We’re not supposed to have this attraction between us.
But it’s there.
I don’t think either of us could deny that. I want to kiss her. To draw her close to me and inhale her scent from her hair and kiss her until she’s starry eyed. I’m just not sure if I should. Or even if I can. The lines around this thing we’re doing are so confusing, and it feels like they’re constantly blurring and then reshaping themselves with no real input from us.
Penelope just stands there, like she’s waiting for me to make a move. In the end, I pull her in for a hug. That seems safe.
“So, we’re good now?” I ask her, pulling back to search her face.
She smiles and nods. “Yeah, we’re good. I’m sorry if I overreacted.”