Temp

I’m going to annihilate her.

“They are sending her through a temp agency under the name Sarah Grimm. When she arrives, we’ll send her packing with a message for her father,” says my CFO.

“No we will not. We’re going to hire her.”

One of Randall’s gray eyebrows wings upward. “Are we?” His lips twitch. “Care to explain?”

“They want to send in a sacrificial lamb? The wolf will eat her whole. Simple as that.” I slide his phone back across the desk. “Do I need to remind you that her father cooperated with federal agents and sent my parents to prison for fifteen years? When they were finally released, they were broken. Pathetic. If they want to make it so easy for me to return the favor, so be it.”

I’ll send her back broken and pathetic, too.

Kaylee.

Do you know what you’re getting yourself into?

Deep down inside of me, there is a trace of sympathy that I thought had been completely eradicated. It sparks to life now, catching me off guard. Once upon a time, I was bored and hidden away on Long Island, too, no one but nannies to keep me company. I have that in common with the girl. And if she has that fire of anger inside of her, like the picture suggests, then we have a lot more in common than a hometown.

But it doesn’t matter.

Real estate is war. My whole life is war.

And another casualty is about to walk through my door.

This ought to be fun.

“What exactly are you planning?” Randall likes to pretend he has morals, but he’s practically salivating right now, holding on to my desk for balance. “Are you going to…”

“Seduce her?” When my cock stiffens slightly, irritation slithers under my collar. I’m not aroused over a photograph. That’s ridiculous. It’s the promise of revenge that’s getting me worked up. “Yes. I’ll have a little fun with the girl before sending her crying back to daddy. That should be a loud and clear message.”

“Don’t fuck with us, McGraw-Hale. We’re three steps ahead of you. I like it.” Randall is nodding, as if picturing the scenario in his head. “You should have no problem with the seduction part. Women trail after you like lovesick puppies. Wish you could send a little bit of that magic my way. You don’t even take advantage of it.”

“Women bore me unless they have property for sale.” I spare my CFO a quick glance, before opening an urgent email and scanning the contents. “And you’ve been married three times, Randall. Your alimony payments alone should be enough to swear off the opposite sex.”

“Never. Once a dog, always a dog.” He winks at me while backing toward the door of my office. “And it sounds like we’re on the same page now.”

The darker implication in his tone causes my fingers to pause on the keyboard, long after Randall has gone. What did he mean by that? Once a dog, always a dog. And it sounds like we’re on the same page now. Obviously he’s referring to my plan to seduce the girl. At age thirty-one, am I embarking on a whole new phase of evil? There’s part of me that is alarmed by the possibility.

But the strongest, most stubborn part of me says…good.

Life is dark. Embrace it.

As always, make them pay at any cost.

Even if the girl is footing the bill.

Chapter 2

Kaylee

I can barely hear over the crackling in my ears.

The sound grows stronger as the elevator climbs. All the way to the top of Borden Enterprises. I’m holding a slim leather folder in my hand. The only thing inside is a fake resume for someone named Sarah Grimm, crafted by my father’s lawyers.

Why am I doing this?

My eyes tick down to the emergency stop button, a string in my gut pulling taut.

Push it. Go home. You owe nothing to your father’s company.

But that’s not entirely true, is it?

After all, if I go home, I’ll be returning to the apartment he’s paying for. My new duplex on the East River with studio space for my projects. My college courses are paid for, not a single loan to my name, unlike so many of my fellow students. I’ve never done anything to earn what my father has given me. And I’ve been to countless therapists who tell me I shouldn’t have this constant guilt germinating inside of me. But I do. What did I do to deserve so much luck?

I’m not accomplished in anything.

Can’t manage a note on the piano.

Real estate is ugly and confusing and cutthroat—I want no part of the family business.

I am unforgivably awkward around my mother’s friends.

I’m not the daughter they were promised by the God of Rich People.

When my father asked me to infiltrate his competitor’s operation, my knee-jerk reaction was to say no way. Absolutely not. But then…I caved. I caved because he looked desperate. Caved because my father stopped asking me to show some potential long ago. Just gave up. I’m their silly daughter who designs dollhouses and doesn’t have any close friends. Meanwhile the daughters of their associates are champion show jumpers or already occupy a board seat. I’m a disappointment.