Page 6 of The Heiress Masquerade (Dollar Princess #2)

The angel turned demon from the alley was Harrison Stone? Her nemesis…the man her father considered a son, and thought could do no wrong, praising him at every turn, until she’d become sick of hearing his name?

“You’re Harrison Stone?” she asked, her stomach suddenly feeling like she’d consumed a lead weight. Surely, it was a joke. Fate couldn’t be so cruel as to make this man her new temporary boss.

“I am.” He gave a brief nod of his head, looking as annoyed by the twist of fate as she felt.

“Have you two met before?” Mr. Hartley asked, confusion rife in his gaze as he glanced between them.

“Ten minutes ago in the alley,” Mr. Stone replied. “When I saved her from being assaulted.”

“Assaulted?” Mr. Hartley gasped. “Good Lord, that’s terrible! Are you quite all right, Miss Jenkins?”

“I’m fine,” she replied, her fury softening as she turned to glance at Mr. Hartley, who’d been just lovely since she’d entered the building and met him in the lobby as he’d been returning from an appointment. “Mr. Stone is exaggerating, for I had the situation well in hand before he interfered.”

“Interfered?” the man himself scoffed. “The bloody hell I did.”

“You don’t need to blaspheme. Mr. Stone ,” she said, turning her attention back to him, his name rolling off her lips like an expletive. She’d never known anyone to infuriate her so instantly as he did. “I was more than capable of getting myself out of that situation, but you’re seemingly the type of man who believes a woman can’t handle her own problems and must rush in and rescue her.”

“Yes, how rude of me, coming to your rescue and pulling that idiot off you,” he replied.

Aimee’s eyes narrowed. “What was rude was when you called me stupid.”

“You called her stupid?” Ben exclaimed, looking horrified at the suggestion.

“I asked her what stupidity possessed her to confront a man alone in an alley,” Mr. Stone ground out through clenched teeth. “I never called her stupid, merely her actions.”

“I was saving a dog,” she explained to Mr. Hartley, who seemed far more sympathetic. In retrospect, perhaps it hadn’t been the wisest move to run after a man showing his propensity for cruelty, at least not without arming herself with her derringer when initially confronting the fiend.

“You were brave to interject,” Mr. Hartley replied, his eyes earnest as he nodded his head. “Not many people would put themselves at risk to save a person, let alone an animal.”

“That’s because most people have a sense of self-preservation, unlike Miss Jenkins,” Mr. Stone growled, dragging a hand through his hair. “And what are you even doing here in the first place? Fred was told to take you to Mrs. Holbrook’s to settle in. You’re not meant to start work until Monday.”

“It’s not Fred’s fault,” Aimee was quick to point out. “I insisted he bring me here.”

“You don’t say,” Mr. Stone replied.

“Is he always this sarcastic?” she asked Mr. Hartley, to which the man apologetically nodded. “But to answer your question,” she said, returning her attention to Mr. Stone, “there was no need to settle in as I only have one trunk. I decided to get a head start on my traineeship, given there’s no time like the present to see a dream fulfilled.”

“A dream?” His eyes narrowed. “Your uncle said you weren’t enthusiastic about learning the skills of being a secretary.”

Darn. What else had her father told him about Evie? Hopefully, not too much. “I’ve since realized this is an opportunity I’d be a fool not to embrace.” That sounded plausible, didn’t it? “Why would I go to Mrs. Holbrook’s when she’s not even there and there’s so much to start learning here?”

She stared unflinchingly over at him, as he stood ramrod straight, towering behind his desk, almost like he was ready to do battle. Surely, the man would appreciate her desire to get to work, because despite her misgivings about him, her father always said the man respected hard workers.

“Part of the learning process, Miss Jenkins, means doing what you’re told,” he replied, his tone clipped while he matched her stare with his own. “Which is something you’re going to have to remember going forward given I’m to be your new boss for the next six weeks.”

Suddenly, six weeks seemed like a lifetime. “How lucky for me.”

His eye narrowed. “The next time you think to do something that hasn’t been arranged for you, don’t.” There was a finality to his voice that once again suggested the man was used to being obeyed explicitly, but Aimee had never been one to go along with being told what to do.

Tamping down on the anger threatening to spill over, she plastered the most serene smile on her face that she could. It was a smile she often wore at balls and the like when she was digging her nails into her gloved palms, wanting to flee from the stifling confines of it all but unable to. “I feel it prudent to point out I don’t answer to you. Boss or not.”

“You answer to me while you’re here in London,” he said, his voice brooking no arguments. “Your uncle has charged me with keeping you safe, which I will. Though given what I’ve already observed, that’s going to be a damned hard task, if not impossible, if you regularly disobey commands.” He folded his arms across his chest and glared at her with the most ferocious scowl she’d seen on him yet. A scowl she was sure usually had most people capitulating, but instead only strengthened her resolve.

“I’m not a dog to be commanded about, and I’m most certainly not your responsibility, despite what my…uncle might have asked of you,” she replied, quickly catching her near slip-up. “You may be my temporary boss, Mr. Stone, but if you think for one moment that your reach extends outside of these walls, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“I’m rarely mistaken about anything or anyone, Miss Jenkins.” He shrugged.

“Neither am I.” She smiled tightly, the man’s entire attitude of trying to control her infuriating beyond belief. “And you’re exactly as I imagined you’d be.” Well, except for the physical aspect of him—she certainly hadn’t imagined him being so attractive, darn the man.

Harrison Stone was meant to be a sniveling little yes-man who was out to steal her father’s company from her, not this Adonis who was as confident as he was commanding, wearing a perfectly tailored navy suit that only enhanced his athleticism and authority. A man she always believed she’d be repulsed by, not attracted to. Not that she was attracted to him, but she had eyes and couldn’t deny he was handsome, almost ridiculously so. Not that that made any difference to her. This man was her enemy, full stop.

“You were imagining me, Miss Jenkins?” The man’s lips twisted into a half smile as he walked around his desk and perched on the edge of it, now only a few feet away from her. “How flattering.”

“Oh, my imaginings weren’t flattering at all.” How dare the man tease her, especially when she didn’t want to imagine anything about him, even if some unbidden images of him had already flashed into her mind since meeting him. “They were, however, accurate about you being an arrogant ass.”

Mr. Hartley inhaled sharply behind her, while Mr. Stone himself didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.

“Resorting to name-calling, Miss Jenkins, when we’ve only just met?” He tittered, and Aimee felt her blood boil even more. “It’s either brave or foolhardy of you, given most would be worried their new job would be in jeopardy doing so.”

“Is that a threat, Mr. Stone?” She raised her chin and stared unflinchingly into his stormy jade eyes. No man apart from her father had dared to threaten or reprimand her before, and she was furious that Harrison Stone thought he could, though part of her was also reluctantly intrigued.

“I don’t do threats, Miss Jenkins,” his deep voice rumbled as he spoke. He stood and took a few steps toward her, making her tilt her neck up to maintain eye contact. “I state facts. Something you’d do well to remember.”

Aimee felt her breath hitch slightly being so close to him again. “Your facts sound a lot like threats, and I will not be intimidated by you, no matter what your position is in the company.” It probably wasn’t the smartest move to antagonize him, which didn’t even seem to be working, but everything about him rubbed her the wrong way.

“Who says I’m trying to intimidate you?”

“Aren’t you?” She raised her chin, refusing to even blink as she stared him down, or up as was the case, given he was a great deal taller than her.

The sound of Mr. Hartley clearing his throat broke through the tense atmosphere like a knife. “It seems you’ve both gotten off on the wrong foot.” He walked around to stand between them, almost like a referee.

“It’s not just the wrong foot, Mr. Hartley,” she said, glaring at Mr. Stone. “It’s both feet.”

“You weren’t even on your feet when I rescued you, Miss Jenkins,” Mr. Stone had the audacity to say.

Mr. Hartley began to chuckle but hastily covered it with a cough, while the devil himself winked at her. The absolute temerity of both men! She swung her gaze between them, and Mr. Hartley had the grace to appear apologetic, while Mr. Stone’s expression was the opposite.

“I might just go and answer the phone seeing as it seems your secretaries aren’t back yet, Harrison,” Mr. Hartley blurted out, before rushing to the outer office, leaving them alone.

Aimee took in a deep breath and plastered another smile on her face before turning her full attention back to Mr. Stone. Which she realized was a mistake as soon as her eyes clashed with his and she was subjected to the intensity in their depths. “Do you always welcome your new employees by mocking them?”

“None have ever dared talk back to me like you have, Miss Jenkins,” he replied, an expression of curiosity crossing his gaze. “I don’t know whether to be impressed or have you shipped back home immediately.”

“I’m not some parcel to be shipped anywhere.” The hide of the man suggesting he had the power to send her home. Didn’t he know who she was? Actually, he didn’t. As far as he was concerned, she was his boss’s illegitimate niece. Darn it. But still, even Evie had leverage. “I feel it prudent to remind you that my…uncle is your boss. It would be wise for you to remember that fact when you interact with me.”

Instantly, the amusement vanished from his eyes. “Now who is threatening whom, Miss Jenkins?” He took a step closer toward her, their bodies now only a foot from each other.

Aimee raised her chin higher, refusing to back down even an inch. “It’s not a threat, Mr. Stone, but a fact, seeing as you’re so fond of those.” This close to him she could smell the soap and sandalwood on his skin and had to clench her fingers into fists as an unaccountable longing swept over her. Oh my goodness, what was wrong with her? She loathed this man.

“Well, here is another fact for you, Miss Jenkins,” he said, leaning down until his head was but an inch away from her ear, and Aimee had to will herself not to budge as his voice sent a current of electricity through her body. “Your uncle trusts me to run the London company as I see fit. He respects my decisions, and, make no mistake, he will not interfere in them, not even for his niece.”

She couldn’t quite stifle a small involuntary gasp from the soft whisper of his breath against the skin below her earlobe. Damn the man. She hated not only how her body was reacting to him but that he was right, too. Her father did trust him, nearly above anyone except her mother, and he certainly wouldn’t meddle in the decisions Harrison made, not for his niece, not even for his daughter.

“If you defy me again, especially when it relates to your safety,” his deep voice rumbled, “I’ll ship you back to New York as fast as I can hurl you aboard a steamer, Thomas’s niece or not. Am I being clear?”

“Crystal, Mr. Stone,” she replied. “And do let me be as equally clear. I’m not going anywhere. I intend to stay here and learn all I can about this business, and if you lay one hand on me in an effort to haul me aboard a steamer as you so eloquently put it, you’ll see firsthand what a good shot I am with my pistol.”

Mr. Stone regarded her steadily for a moment before he took a step back. “You’re not at all intimidated by me, are you?”

“Did you want me to be?”

“No. Though it would have been handy given how headstrong you are,” he replied with a shrug, then his eyes narrowed with suspicion. “You’re not how your uncle described you. Not even in the slightest.”

“I’m not?” Her father had described Evie to him? Fear clawed up her throat. She hadn’t previously been worried about being caught in her masquerade but that was before she’d met Harrison Stone. If anyone was going to unmask her, it would be him. And if that happened, he really would ship her home.

“No, you’re not.”

Aimee forced herself to smile at him through her tightly pressed lips. Surely, he couldn’t suspect she’d switched places with Evie. No one was that good at detecting deception. Not even her father’s wonder boy. “Perhaps you misheard how my—uncle,” she managed to just catch herself again before saying father , “described me.”

“I didn’t mishear anything,” he replied. “You’re not bloody agreeable, or docile, or shy in the slightest. You’re the complete opposite of all of those things.”

“Oh…” Relief washed over her, and she took in a deep breath. That sort of description, she could work with. “Uncle Thomas does have a bit of a soft spot for me.” And he did for Evie, who was exactly as he’d described.

“A blind spot is more like it if he thinks you’re any of those things,” Harrison muttered.

Aimee narrowed her eyes upon him. “He might have exaggerated my temperament somewhat…though he’s known for bringing out the best in people. An admirable quality you seem to lack.”

“My dear Miss Jenkins, you have no idea of what I can bring out in people. In ladies most especially of all.”

Aimee gulped at the gleam of heat smoldering in his gaze, and her imagination started to run riot as her eyes were drawn to his full lips. What would they feel like pressed against her own lips? Would they be as soft and full against hers as they appeared? Would the slight stubble along his jawline tickle or tantalize her cheeks?

Stop it! She wouldn’t allow herself to succumb to him simply because he was handsome. His eyes, though, were almost compelling her to break her own rules, but then he blinked and was staring at her with a detachment bordering on coldness that she began to question if she’d seen any heat in his gaze at all.

“The only thing you bring out in me is annoyance,” she eventually responded. “Absolute annoyance, and nothing more.” Liar , the voice in her head whispered. Shut up, Voice, she silently whispered back. “Though I’m prepared to overlook that in my effort to work with you.”

“My dear Miss Jenkins, you will be working for me, not with me.” He pulled out a coin from his pocket and began flicking it backward and forward across his knuckles, using the same hand without help from the other hand.

The action was mesmerizing, and Aimee had to drag her eyes away from the silver coin and back up to his face.

“Things will be easier between us if we both remember that,” he continued, as Mr. Hartley came back into the room, his eyes glancing curiously between her and Mr. Stone.

“That was Wilheimer’s secretary,” Mr. Hartley said without preamble as he walked over to them, and Aimee took a hasty step away from Mr. Stone, realizing that it probably didn’t present well to be standing so close to him. “The meeting is set for Monday.”

Mr. Stone nodded and then his eyes returned to Aimee. “Good. Now I have to get back to work. Ben, please escort Miss Jenkins back to Mrs. Holbrook’s. And, no,” he forestalled her, holding up his hand. “You can’t stay here longer. I’ll relent and let you start your traineeship tomorrow instead of Monday, but that’s the best you’ll get from me.”

“But I’m here now.”

“Mrs. Holbrook isn’t,” he countered. “And she’s the one who’ll be training and supervising you.”

He inclined his head before walking back to his desk and taking a seat, busying himself with some paperwork in front of him. That was it? He’d summarily dismissed her, without another thought or even a courtesy goodbye?

She’d never been dismissed before. Normally, she was the one who left or sent others on their way. Was this what it felt like to be Evie? That because of her station in life, people could simply brush aside a person so casually. It was rude, was what it was. But, really, what else did she expect from Harrison Stone?

“Come along, Miss Jenkins.” Mr. Hartley held out his hand toward the door for her to precede him. “I daresay Mrs. Holbrook might be back home after her visit with her cousin, and will be able to assist you with settling in.”

Aimee began to follow him from the room.

“Oh, and Miss Jenkins?”

Mr. Stone’s deep rumble stopped her in her tracks and she glanced over her shoulder at him, only to find him staring at her with an intensity she felt down to her bones.

“No detours this time, or I will ship you back to New York.”