Page 29 of The Rebel

He cleared his throat and set his glass down. Then he focused his gaze on me. Making eye contact unnerved me, so instead I peered into my glass as if I found the ice cubes of utmost interest.

“How's the job search going?”

“Samantha is still on top of it. I’ve looked online myself, but there are no listings for senior marketing jobs.” I didn’t want to mention that Thornton’s told me to look elsewhere. Honestly, I was still coming to grips with that.

“And you’re not interested in any junior marketing position?”

I finally looked up at him.Oh, damn.After only one sip, his sex appeal had skyrocketed. How was I supposed to finish my drink?

Someone jostled me from behind, and I stepped forward,nearly knocking into Anthony. He put a hand firmly on my waist, and my flimsy cotton shirt did nothing to dampen my body’s reaction to him. I shuddered as if he’d slipped his hand under my T-shirt and touched my bare skin.

“Are you okay?”

“Yep. Damn, this place is super crowded.”

I cleared my throat and stepped back, and Anthony immediately dropped his hand. Once again, he tried to compose himself and seemed to be staring at a spot on the floor. I followed his gaze, but there was nothing to see. I glanced back at him just as he drew in a deep breath, closing his eyes. I wasn’t even sure what was going on.

He finally looked back at me. “So, you were saying that you don’t want a junior position.”

“Not really. I’ve done that for a long time, and I want something fresh. To be honest, being your assistant paysverywell, so if I can’t get a senior position at your company, I wouldn’t bother changing jobs.”

He flashed me a smirk. “Then maybe I’ll pay Samantha off so you’ll have to continue working with me.”

Breath whooshed out of me. “Why would you do that?”

He swallowed hard, taking another sip from his glass. “I like having you as my assistant. Very much. I likeyou, Daisy. You are a breath of fresh air. I enjoy being around you, having drinks with you.” He wiggled his eyebrows and then shook his head. “That was out of line. But I’ve used up all my self-restraint for the week.”

My breath caught. I liked this side of him. “What do you mean?”

“This week, I’ve done my very best to behave. Now I’ve run out of willpower.”

I gasped.Oh my God!I licked my lips, and Anthony groaned.

“I don’t know what to say,” I whispered. To give myself something to do, I brought my glass to my mouth, taking a hugesip. Then I put it down and glanced back up at him. His gaze was still trained on me.

“I didn’t realize you were making an effort,” I mumbled.

“A fucking huge one.”

I cleared my throat, playing with the glass. “Anthony, I’m?—”

“Wait. I owe you an explanation.”

I had no idea what he was about to say, so I simply nodded.

“When I stepped into my office and realized you were my new assistant, I nearly lost it.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’ve got the reputation of being too hard on my assistants.”

“I did hear that. Only, I can’t seem to put two and two together. Do you have two personalities?”

Holy shit, how many sips did I have?

“No, I don’t.” He smiled, then seemed to struggle with what he wanted to say next. Then he blurted, “I usually make an effort to be extra distant with my assistants.”

What did he mean by that?