“Yeah. Was going to see about stealing him away for lunch or maybe ordering something in.”
“I’m slipping out early myself. Will I see you for Sunday dinner?”
“Yep. I’ll be there.” He drops a kiss on top of my head before he leaves. I grab the elevator and take it up. When I exit on Ace’s floor, I give Jenny a wave. I might not have been to Ace’s office yet, but I’ve been here through the years off and on.
As I close in on Ace’s office door, I spot the woman behind the desk outside and to the left of his door. Her brunette head pops up when she hears the click of my heels as I draw closer.
“I’m sorry. Ace is busy at the moment.” Well, then. She’s gone from pretending to not know who I am to clearly knowing who I am. It seems she doesn't care much for me either.
“Excuse me?” I pause before I get to her desk.
“If you’d like to wait over…”—she motions to a sitting area—“I’ll—”
“Is that how you greet people?” I ask, cutting her off.
“I—”
“His name is Mr. King.” I cut her off again. She narrows her eyes on me.
“I don’t answer to you. Mr. King is my boss. Not you.” She stands, tilting her chin up. She’s really pushing her luck with me. Her responses let me know her intentions are not good when it comes to Ace.
“You really must not like your job.” I know I sound like a snot, but what the hell is with this woman? She is really pretty. Model pretty even. She towers over me in her heels. But she needs some major work on her social skills. Or maybe it’s just me she’s like this with.
“You can't—”
I hold my hand out to cut her off. I’ve had enough of her crap. But I don’t get a chance to say another word because Ace beats me to it.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Tiffany.”
Her eyes widen, and she spins around to face him. He’s holding his hand out toward me. I walk over, and he wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me into his side.
“Sir, I thought you were on a call.”
“You’re fired,” he responds.
“What? I didn’t do anything. You can’t fire me because—”
“I told you last week, and I know I made myself extremely clear. When it comes to Faith, I don’t care what I am doing, that I am to be alerted if she is trying to get in contact with me. Did I not?”
She purses her lips. “But I was—”
“It’s a yes or no question.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then I don’t need to repeat myself,” Ace says dismissively to her.
“I’ll repeat it for you,” I volunteer, making Ace’s lips twitch. “You’re fired.”
Tiffany starts to try and say something again but quickly thinks otherwise at the stonewall expression Ace gives her. She starts to grab stuff off her desk. Ace opens his office door for me.
“Give me a second, Kitten.” He heads over behind his desk, hitting a few buttons before Jenny’s voice comes through the speaker. “I just fired Tiffany. Can you make sure security sees her out please?”
“I sure can. I guess you couldn’t make it 'til Friday.” Jenny laughs through the line.
“Thank you, Jenny,” Ace says before pressing the button again to disconnect. Jenny has manned that front desk for as long as I can remember.
“You were going to fire her?”
“I was working on replacing her. I have a few interviews scheduled for later this week.” I walk over, sitting my box down on his desk.
Ace’s eyes travel down me and linger on the heels I’m wearing before they come back up. It’s not crazy for me to wear heels on a date night or such. But on a normal weekday, it’s a bit of a stretch.
“Kitten, you have plans with Whitney or something?” He starts to pull at his tie.
“No.” I lick my lips. The second that one word leaves my mouth, his jaw clenches. That gives me my answer right there. I’m in trouble.
“Kitten, tell me you’re not naked under your coat.” He pulls his tie the rest of the way off.
“I’m not naked under my coat.” He steps around the desk, coming to stand in front of me. His hands go straight for the buttons of the long coat. In only a couple of seconds, he has it undone and pooling at my feet. “See? Not naked.”
The petal pink panties and bra leave nothing to the imagination. In fact, being as sheer and thin as they are, they are a bit pointless really.
“You left the house this way?” He takes a step back from me.
“I mean, I was only in the car and I—”
“Stop talking.” He cuts me off before he steps around me, heading straight toward his office door. My heart sinks. Is he really that pissed?