Page 19 of Boss of Me

As I start down the steps, a gleaming black luxury sedan pulls up in front of the house. Before the car comes to a complete stop, the back door opens and a man in an expensive suit lunges out. He has his phone to his ear and is barking instructions to some poor soul on the other end.

The sight of him makes me freeze in my tracks, recognition slamming into my brain.

It’s the lying dirtbag from the bar.

Mr. Tall, Dark and Creepy.

He stops halfway up the steps and stares at me, equally stunned. “Marlowe?”

Fury bubbles up inside me, hot as lava.He’smy new employer?

“Un-fucking-believable,” I whisper.

He ends his call without saying goodbye, never taking his eyes off me. “What’re you doing here?”

“I came for a job interview,” I snap. “Big mistake, obviously.”

He moves forward, those long legs closing the distance between us with scary ease. An electric zing pulses through me, my head buzzing from his sudden proximity.

Though I’m standing on the step above him, he towers over me, his big shoulders blocking out the sun. His bespoke navy suit brings out the deep blue of his eyes and hugs his body like he was born in it. I hate myself for noticing these details. Hate myself even more for letting them affect me.

His eyes move over my face, focused and intense. “Did you interview for the housekeeper job?”

“Doesn’t matter. There’s no way in hell I’d ever work for you.” I try to storm past him, but he grabs my wrist.

“Let go of me!” I hiss furiously.

A muscle throbs in his jaw. “I’m sorry about Friday night. I shouldn’t have lied to you?—”

“No shit!” I wrench free of his grasp, my skin tingling from the warm clasp of his fingers. He smells incredible, which only makes me madder.

He stares down at me, his eyes narrowed in speculation. “I thought you liked your job. Why are you looking for another one?”

“None of your damn business.”

His stare hardens. “You’re on my property. That makes it very much my business.”

It takes everything in me not to ball up my fist and punch him in his gorgeous bastard face. “I heard about a job opportunity that interested me. But I wouldn’t have come to the interview if I knewyouwere the employer. Thanks for showing up just in time to save me from making the second biggest mistake of my life. The first mistake was going anywhere near an asshole like you!”

“Dammit, Marlowe,” he growls in frustration. “I’m not proud of what I did. I was wrong to deceive you, and you have every right to hate me. But we made a connection that night. It was real and we both fucking know it.”

I glare up at him. “As if it weren’t bad enough that you pretended to be my date, you had the audacity to take me to a club that you own. Which means you specifically instructed your employees not to blow your cover. Whodoesthat?”

“I’m sor?—”

“Go to hell!”

He scowls and rakes his hand through his hair, then gestures impatiently to the Mercedes-Maybach idling at the curb. “I was on my way to the airport. At least let me take you home.”

“Not a chance.” I’m relieved to see my ride pulling into the circle drive. “Please tell Mrs. Calder that I appreciate her offer, but I won’t be taking the job.”

Gunner’s jaw tightens. “Marlowe?—”

I shove past him and stomp down the steps to climb into my Uber.

The driver is gaping out the window at Gunner. “Isn’t that the CEO of?—”

“Yes.” I snatch my sunglasses out of my purse and jam them onto my face.