Page 149 of Boss of Me

His whole body tenses against me, and for several seconds he doesn’t speak. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, forget it.”

He pulls away and tilts my chin up with firm fingers, forcing me to meet his demanding gaze. “What’s wrong?”

I shake my head. “I don’t want to get into it right now. You’ve got enough?—”

“Just fucking say it.”

My anger returns in a flash. “Why did you tell Elliott Campion not to hire me?”

He looks genuinely surprised by my question. “Who told you that?”

“I ran into Harlan today?—”

His eyes narrow with fury.

I plunge ahead, undaunted. “He told me that you talked Elliott Campion out of interviewing me. Not only that, you referred him to someone else. Why would you do that, Gunner? I have experience as an executive assistant plus a strong music background. Why wasn’t that good enough for you?”

His voice is dangerously low as he replies, “I thought I told you to stay away from that son of a bitch.”

“This isn’t about Harlan!” I exclaim furiously. “It’s about us, and the fact that you went behind my back and screwed me out of a good job opportunity!”

His jaw tightens. “It wasn’t like that.”

“No? I called Elliott myself and he confirmed that he was interested in hiring me. But after talking to you, he went with a different candidate. A more qualified candidate, peryourrecommendation.” I wait for him to deny it, to tell me that I’m crazy to even think he could do such a thing.

He fixes me with a level stare. “It’s true. I did steer him away from you.”

I step back, gaping at him in wounded disbelief. “Why would you sabotage me like that?”

“I didn’t sabotage you. I did it to protect you.”

“Protect me from what?”

He clenches his jaw. “What Harlan conveniently left out is that Elliott Campion is a notorious sexual predator who goes through assistants like most people change socks. It’s an open secret in the industry that he can’t keep his fucking hands to himself. If you went to work for him, he would’ve been all over you. No way in hell was I letting that happen,” Gunner growls with a feral glint in his eye. “So yeah, I told him not to call you. At no point did I dispute your skills or qualifications, but I did recommend another candidate. Amalecandidate he’d have no interest in banging.”

His explanation defuses my anger, but only a little. “Why didn’t you tell me all this before?”

“Why the fuck would I? You didn’t need to know.”

“Seriously, Gunner? This ismylife we’re talking about.Mycareer.Myfuture. You can’t just go around chasing off prospective employers!”

“So youwantto work for a lecherous sleazebag?” he challenges in disbelief. “Youwantto be sexually harassed?”

“Of course not!”

“Then what’s the fucking problem?”

I shake my head at him. “I can’t believe you don’t get it. You kept me in the dark about an important matter pertaining to me. You could have simply warned me about Elliott and then let me decide for myself whether I still wanted the job. I wouldn’t have, to be clear. But it wasn’t your call to make.”

He scowls and rakes a hand through his hair, tousling the midnight strands.

“You can’t keep me to yourself forever, you know,” I say starkly. “Sooner or later you’re going to run out of ways to eliminate your competition.”

His gaze slashes to me. “What are you implying? You think I had an ulterior motive?”

“Maybe you did. Maybe you didn’t appreciate Elliott trying to steal your housekeeper. Or maybe you were mad at me for seeking another job.”