“I have to get to work,” she told him, pulling open her dresser drawer in search of some clothes. Not once since she had been working for Mr. Maloney had she ever been late.
Jarred’s hand landed on her arm and she looked up, seeing the stormy look on his face. “Listen,” he said firmly. “You need food and then we will go see my father together. I’m not taking no for an answer Kinsley.”
“Who died and made you in charge?” she countered, feeling even worse that she had to deal with him this morning. It was his fault in the first place that she had drunk all that wine. He made her nervous with just his presence. She couldn’t think clearly when he was around.
His hand covered hers, his finger landing on the diamond that Kinsley had gotten quite used to wearing. “This puts me in charge at least temporarily. My father is not going to fire you if you come in late Kinsley, trust me. So, take a nice shower, get dressed, and then we are going to breakfast.”
Kinsley opened her mouth to object, but Jarred placed a finger to her lips. “Trust me.”
Jarred was right. Kinsley hated to admit it, but a good, solid fry up had done wonders. Now she was sitting in the passenger seat of Jarred’s Porsche on their way to meet with his father over these wedding preparations.
“What did we decide last night?” she asked as they pulled into the parking garage. Kinsley wished that she could remember at least something, but her last true memory was of Jarred arriving at her flat and a conversation with him that she couldn’t remember the details on. That was it.
“You’re going to tell him that every woman wants to plan their own wedding,” Jarred answered, pulling the car into a spot and shutting off the engine. “And since he won’t let us elope, you are having to change all of the plans of your dream wedding.”
“My dream wedding,” she echoed, thinking of what that would look like. Unlike other women, she hadn’t really thought about her own wedding and certainly hadn’t pictured the man beside her as the groom. “Well that should be easy then.”
Jarred shot her a look before climbing out of the car, Kinsley following suit. He had been in a mood since they had left her flat this morning, as if he couldn’t wait to be rid of her company. It was a far cry from this morning, when she had found him in her bed. Even their breakfast had been awkward, both left to their own thoughts and Kinsley wondered what she had really done last night. Something had passed between them, something that he wasn’t telling her.
They walked into the lift and she pressed the button, hoping that she indeed still had a job when this day was over with. What if her boss found out that they had been lying to him the entire time? What would that cause for her? How would Jarred hold up against his father? She should have never agreed to this.
The lift opened to the office floor and Jarred reached down, lacing his fingers with hers.
“W-what are you doing?” she asked softly as they made their way to their destination. His palm was warm against hers and Kinsley found herself wanting to lean against him for some support.
“We’re engaged,” Jarred said bluntly as they reached the door. “We should play the part. Especially after this morning.”
Kinsley flushed and swallowed hard as he pushed open the office door and they walked in, finding her boss seated behind his desk. It was showtime. They needed to talk about this morning. She’d been feeling warm and needy and it shouldn’t have happened. They needed to talk about it. But first, they were going to deal with his father.
“Kinsley, Jarred,” he said, pointing to the chairs in front of his desk. Kinsley gave him a brief smile as Jarred released her hand and they settled in the chairs. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“We are here to talk about the wedding planning,” Jarred answered before Kinsley could even open her mouth.
Mr. Maloney raised a brow as he rested his elbows on the desk before him. “Have you? Good. I have the name of the wedding planner right here.”
Jarred looked over at Kinsley, who put on a nervous smile. “Actually, sir, I would like to plan my own wedding. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Call me Harrison, Kinsley,” her boss said, looking at his son with a frown on his face. “After all, we are going to be family. Isn’t that right Jarred?”
“We are engaged, aren’t we?” Jarred ground out. Kinsley fought the urge to roll her eyes against Jarred’s response. That wasn’t exactly what she would have imagined his father would want to hear.
“We are,” she interrupted, giving him a smile. “And I can’t wait to become part of this wonderful family, but you are still my boss, Mr. Maloney, and I am afraid I wouldn’t feel comfortable calling you by your first name.”
His father gave her a warn smile. “That’s why you are perfect for my son. You understand respect and decorum. I’ve been trying to beat it into Jarred for years.” Well, that wasn’t what she had hoped to hear either. Jarred cleared his throat. Kinsley knew she had to stop this before it became ugly. “I beg to differ sir,” she said hastily, laying a hand on Jarred’s arm. She could feel the tightness of his muscle under her fingers, anger radiating from every pore. “I adore the way Jarred is. After all, it’s what attracted me to him in the first place.”
“How is that?” her boss asked, on a laugh. “He has no job, no real drive for the future.”
“You asshole,” Jarred said under his breath. Kinsley slid her hand down and clasped his tightly, willing him to let her handle this. What his father was saying was wrong. Just because Jarred didn’t have the same drive as her boss did not mean he didn’t have a plan. Everyone had a plan. Now whether it was a good plan remained to be seen, but she wasn’t going to let him just dog his son like this.
“Jarred is one of the most driven men I know,” she answered firmly, looking her boss in the eye. “Did you know he’s been sketching his own schematics for concept cars? That he attends all the races? That he has a list of all the driver’s stats? He’s extremely driven. Just not with what you would see as important. I’m proud to call him my future husband. He has his own dreams.” Without a second thought, she leaned over and touched his face with her fingers, forcing him to look at her.
There was shock, confusion, anger in his expression. Though the anger wasn’t likely directed at her. Unfortunately, she also saw hurt and embarrassment, which tore at her soul.
His father’s words really hurt him and Kinsley wanted nothing more than to soothe that hurt. Her lips somehow found his despite the armrests between them and she attempted to kiss away that look, her heart aching in her chest. Oh hell. First, she’d likely pissed off her boss and she needed this job. Secondly, she’d gone ahead and fallen for Mr. Sex on a Stick. Even though she knew he wasn’t anything but trouble. She needed to put the brakes on this somehow. But she couldn’t. She was in deep shit.
“Well,” his father said as Kinsley pulled away, inwardly shocked by her sudden revelation. “I applaud you then Jarred. I had no idea you had that much interest in the racing company. Seems that you have a great champion in your corner. Not every man is as lucky as you are. If Kinsley believes in you, then I should as well. Maybe when you have some time we can go over your ideas. Meet with Andrew Cordin. He’s the EVP of Racing.”