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“Don’t fire them.”
“This has nothing to do with you.”
“Doesn’t it?”
“This is business. They failed at their job.”
“How were they supposed to predict that someone was going to throw a rock at your window? They’re not mind readers. And even if they did know, you should only be firing the ones who did wrong.”
My lips curl up like a hunter in the dark. “You’re telling me how to run my company?”
“I’m… asking.”
“For mercy.”
“Yes.”
I reach for her throat. She gasps audibly when my hand dips over her jaw, thumb aligning with the bruises that I know are still there beneath the makeup. “I don’t offer mercy, princess.”
“Even for me?” The words are a sultry whisper. Her nose brushes mine.
I tilt my head back and release a breath to hide the way she melts me.
“You haven’t made me an offer yet,” I say darkly. My eyes return to her lips. She wants to play with fire? She should know it comes with a cost—the risk of being burned.
“What do you want then?”
How about we start with those pants at your ankles and your mouth groaning my name as I take you on my desk?
She lifts a finger between my lips and hers. “And nothing you can’t say in front of company.”
“You seriously underestimate how much I could do to you in public,” I growl.
“Nothing you can’t say in front of Abe and Regan then.”
I inch my lips upward, my breath leaving quick, hot stamps on her throat. “Come to the gala with me tonight.”
Her eyes widen. She looks… frightened.
The expression lasts only for a moment and then she smiles. “Deal.”
I lean down to kiss her, but she ducks her head and slides across my desk, wiggling away until she can spring free.
Clarissa gestures to the door. “Go on then. We have to meet Maggie in twenty minutes. I’m sure you can rant and growl and do your ‘angry boss’ act in under five.”
I narrow my eyes.
She played me.
I’m aching, throbbing from head to toe, and she’s wearing that mischievous grin.
“Do you have a problem, Mr. Bolton?”
The problem is that you still have your clothes on.
“No.” I straighten my tie, walk toward her and stretch an arm out. “This way.”
“Me? Why do I need to come with you?”