My jaw ticked in annoyance and after unlocking my office, I moved back to the doorway. There was no sign of her, so I sat in her chair. At six minutes after eight, she rushed around the corner toward me, her eyes on her phone. When she stopped, she jumped, startled to see me sitting at her desk.
“Late again,” I said as I looked her over. Her cheeks were flushed and her breath heavy. Black slacks covered her legs, flip-flops on her feet, and a green short-sleeved button-down that made the green in her eyes pop was twisted at the waist.
She must have caught my lingering gaze on her feet because she paid me no attention as she set her bag on her desk and pulled out a pair of black pumps.
“Are you going to explain?” I asked.
She swept a stray lock of hair back and slipped the pumps on. “The reason doesn’t matter, because all you’re going to do is be an ass about the fact that I’m a few minutes late.”
Her small feet were cute in the flip-flops, but the four-inch heels were sexy and made her the perfect height for bending over her desk. Thank fuck she wasn’t wearing a skirt like she had on Thursday.
I stood and looked down at her. “Come in when you’re settled.”
I returned to my desk and went through my email while I waited. Ten minutes passed before she appeared.
“Shut the door,” I said. I waited until she was done before asking her to take a seat. “One week down.”
“That’s it?” she asked with a groan.
“Yes, one week of wondering how big my cock is.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Oh, I figured that out on day one.”
“Did you?”
“Three and a half, maybe four inches.”
“It may be that small flaccid, but you just proved you have been thinking about my size.”
Her eyes widened, realizing she fell into my trap. The pink of her skin spread, and I grinned at her.
“What do you want?” she huffed in annoyance.
“To watch your squirm.”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Happy?”
“Not until I get you to bend to my will.”
“I’m not a horse. You can’t break me.”
“Oh, I don’t want to break you that way. My way is much more pleasurable for us both.”
She rolled her eyes again, but I didn’t miss her biting down on her plump bottom lip.
“The last man to say that to me was done in thirty seconds. I’m sure you’re no different.”
A grin spread on my lips. “Don’t make me prove you wrong right here, right now.”
She cleared her throat and stood. “Is that all you wanted?”
No, but it would do for now.
“To watch you squirm has made my morning. Now all I need is some coffee.”
“As you wish,” she said with that sweet sarcasm that spurred me on.
“Oh, and Roe?” I stopped her, and she turned back. “You should smile more.”
She lifted her arm and flipped me off before continuing on.
I chuckled as I stared after her.
Yes, it was going to be another fun week.
Days later, the stress of my job was weighing on me. I’d had so many meetings that one seemed to bleed into the next. Thankfully Roe was exceptionally good at taking notes, because I was not able to keep everything straight on my own.
Worthington Exchange was almost ours, but a couple of other companies we had interest in were coming to a head at the same time.
A groan left me as I ran my hands over my face. I scratched at the stubble on my jaw and glanced at the clock on my monitor.
When did it get to be noon? The last time I’d looked it was barely after nine. Had I even moved in the last three hours?
By the twinge in my back, I was guessing no.
The phone rang as I stretched my arms above my head and waited for Roe to answer it.
Another ring went by, and still nothing.
“Roe!” I called out as the phone rang again. The sound was grating. Over the last week she’d been better at answering it, but I couldn’t even see her.
Having had enough, I stood and stomped over to the door only to find her missing from her desk. I pulled out my cell phone and typed her a text.
Thane: Where are you?
I heard the chime of a phone and found hers sitting atop her desk, the screen lit up.
Carthwright the Assholian: Where are you?
I blinked down at the screen before picking it up, but it faded away.
There was no way I read that right. No way she gave my contact that name.
Thane: Why did you leave your desk?
The phone buzzed in my hand and lit up again.
Carthwright the Assholian: Why did you leave your desk?
I blinked down at it. Was that really what she thought of me?
For some reason, that didn’t sit right. It felt like a stone in my stomach.
I moved back into my office as I waited for her to return from wherever she’d run off to.
Yes, I was high-strung lately. Yes, I had taken my bad day out on her when she spilled coffee on me. But it was the clash of wills that had me playing with her. I enjoyed our back and forth, and as much as I knew she got annoyed, I didn’t realize I was the only one having fun.
James was right—she wasn’t a game. Verbal sparring was one thing, but I didn’t want her to think badly of me. Not when one of my goals was to have her.
Roe actually hating me was counterproductive. While I was certain the hate fuck would be spectacular, I craved more than that.
A few minutes later, she walked through my doorway with two bags in her hand.
“Where have you been?” I asked.
“I had to pick up your lunch,” she replied, holding up a bag.
Well, that made fucking sense.
“Without your phone?”
I tossed it onto the table in the corner of my office where she set the bags, and she snatched it up.
“Were you looking through my phone?” she asked, an edge of accusation in her tone.
“Of course not. It’s locked.”
“And if it was unlocked?”
“I would never.” Though I was tempted. “But I did see your screen when I texted you.”
She froze.
“Is that really what you think of me?” I asked.
“If the shoe fits, buy it in every color,” she said without missing a beat.
Another point for Roe.
I deserved the shot.
Still, it made my stomach twist. The woman had me falling all over myself, saying and doing things I would never do simply to get her attention, but now I was aware of how right James was.
What I thought of as exciting rubbed her wrong.
“Guess I’ll have to work hard to change your mind.”
“Do you really care what I think about you?”
“Yes,” I answered honestly. “And more than just because we are working together.”
She blinked at me and swallowed before turning her attention back to the bag in her hand.
“You know, I can get you this same salad for a fraction of the cost,” she said, changing the topic.
“It’s the best.”
She rolled her eyes. “And you only do the best.”
“Precisely. Did you get something for yourself?” I asked as I pulled two forks from a small liquor cabinet. I hated plastic utensils and kept a stash of stainless steel on hand.