Page 10 of Guarded King

“As I mentioned,” he says. “Sophie will call the agency and?—”

I’m not going to stand by and let this job slip through my fingers because another arrogant jackass in a suit thinks he’s better than me. “Yes, I’m young,” I interrupt him again, and I swear his teeth snap together. “But that doesn’t mean I’m incapable of doing all of those things. I’ve been working as an executive assistant for the last three years, and while that company wasn’t as big as this one, itwasfast-paced and high-pressure, and I handled it just fine. You have no valid reason to believe I’m not capable of doing this job. Lena obviously thinks I am.”

Sophie’s watching our exchange with her mouth open and eyes wide.

Roman’s brows pull low. “Look, Miss Callahan. I’m not questioning your skills. I’m merely telling you that you’re not suitable for this particular position. That’s not an insult to you. It’s the reality of the situation. I apologize for wasting your time, but the sooner Sophie can talk to the agency, the sooner we can get this sorted out.”

He turns toward his office, but before he can disappear, I rush out from behind the desk, my heart in my throat. “Give me until the end of today, and I’ll prove I can do it.”

He pivots slowly, his features an enigmatic mask as he scrutinizes me. I hold his stare, even as I hold my breath, certain he’ll laugh in my face and send me on my way.

Instead, he rubs his chin, letting the silence stretch on and the tension rise until finally, he nods. “All right, Miss Callahan.” The rough edge to his voice when he says my name almost makes me shiver. “Let’s see if you’ve got what it takes to impress me.”

Without waiting to see my reaction, he strides into his office and shuts the door behind him.

CHAPTER FIVE

ROMAN

As I stalk toward my desk, I drag my phone out of my pocket and navigate to Lena’s contact information.

She answers with a cheerful “How’s my favorite ex-boss?”

I don’t let her sunny greeting deter me. “What the hell did you do?”

“Whatever are you talking about?”

She’s used that faux innocent tone plenty over the last few years. It doesn’t fool me.

“You hired the one person I expressly told you not to.”

When I spoke to Lena after her interview with Chloe, I told her to look for someone else. Someone older, experienced—like her. Not a woman who looks like she’s barely out of college. Not a woman with silky pale blond hair, full pink lips, and wide eyes that don’t know whether to be blue or green.

Definitely not a woman who, the second I laid eyes on her, had me imagining what those lips would look like wrapped around my dick.

Her attractiveness isn’t my biggest problem with her, though, because, unlike my father, I have control when it comes to women—especially ones who work for me. My issue is that Lenaknew exactly what qualities I was looking for in an assistant, yet she went against my wishes and hired her anyway.

A renewed wave of irritation courses through me at the thought.

“There’s no way a woman as young as her will be an effective assistant,” I growl. “I told you that.”

Over the last seven years, Lena has run my office like a well-oiled machine. If I’m going to keep the King Group at the top where it belongs, I need an assistant who can handle high-pressure situations, who can handle the kind of hard-headed executives we do business with every day—not to mention the kind who try to get into the panties of any attractive woman they see.

And Chloe is nothing if not attractive.

I can’t exactly come out and say that her appearance is an issue, though, no matter how many men I do business with who either won’t respect her as my representative because of her looks or will be too distracted by them.

“And I told you that was ridiculous,” Lena says. “Qualified is qualified. Maybe having someone with a bit of a sweeter disposition around will soften you up a little.”

I blink, then frown. “What?”

“You know, I think my daughter is calling me. The baby’s due any day now, so I’d better go, just in case. Give the girl a chance, Roman. You’ll be glad you did. Bye!”

When the line goes dead, I pull my phone away from my ear and scowl at it. What the hell just happened? Lena might not work for me anymore, but I thought she’d take some responsibility for her actions.

I sit at my desk and punch the power button on my computer a little harder than needed. When my phone rings, I swipe to answer without bothering to look at who it is, since I’m expecting the call.

“Morning,” Cole says. “I’m on my way to the Genesis-1 site now, so I don’t have long.”