“I’m pretty sure that referring to my ass that way is grounds for sexual harassment, contract or not.”
He rolled his eyes. Actually rolled his eyes, like a normal human being experiencing humor and sarcasm at its finest. She didn’t think that Blaze Hanson actually had real emotions. That underneath that flawless skin, toned muscle, and beautiful exterior, he might just be a series of circuits and wires.
“Tell me how you managed to become one of the richest people in Florida by the time you turned thirty.”
He rolled his eyes again, and god, why was it sexy when he did that? “Richest? Please. There are so many rich people in Florida that to count them all would be like to number the rain. I’m hardly the richest. Just rich enough.”
Colette pushed her fork through her own cheesecake, which was absolutely divine. Even though she was nervous and her body was being plucked at like she was an instrument and Blaze the one to stroke her with his talented hands, even from across the table, she’d managed to taste most of her meal, not just pick at it. The cheesecake was even better, but she’d pretty much lost her appetite for being at the restaurant. She hated to admit that she just wanted to go back to his place and get it done already.
And not because she was eager.
Because the anxiety crawling up her throat and the inferno brewing under her skin were next to unbearable. The idea was a horrible one and the sooner it was over, the better.
“Well, how did you get rich enough then?”
He chuckled, a dark, spicy sound that no, she most certainly did not enjoy.
“I worked my ass off.”
“You mean you were born with a trust fund and did minimal work to get by while you partied and acted like a spoiled brat and screwed your way through school?”
His perfect lips quirked up at the corners, and no, it also wasn’t distracting that he’d had those lips on her intimate places right before dinner. Not distracting at all.
“I suppose you could say that. And after- you know. Everyone knows. I developed a few apps. They took off. Did a few more. I was always good at that.”
“Coding?”
“Giving people what they want.”
Holy. Shit. Those words and his pointed, predatory glare did not hit her right between the legs. No, her panties were not smoking or soaking. Okay, fucking shit, hell yes, they were. She squirmed uncomfortably, cursing her body for being so damn easy when it came to Blaze. For falling for his charms like everyone else with ovaries did.
She wanted to be better than that.
Though if she was, she wouldn’t be sitting there at the moment after just having signed a cherry popping contract.
Yeah. The whole thing pretty much shot her dignity to shit.
“And- you…”
“Made some good investments with that money? Developed and sold more apps? Absolutely. Got richer? Yes. Money makes more money. Did it until I could get some investors to back me so that I could make my own company? Yes. That would be right. Became a powerhouse and a force to be reckoned with because we hire the best? Yes. Right, right and right.”
“Make your employees slave for you? Barely compensate them for their work while you reap all the rewards?”
His brows pulled together and his fork paused in mid-air. He slowly set it back down on his plate. The way he looked at her was absolutely terrifying, with the burning eyes of a wolf.
“I didn’t realize there was a problem with compensation. It hasn’t been brought to our attention that paying double what the average salary is for the most part, was a problem.”
“I- uh- I mean…”
“No. By all means.” He picked up his fork and dropped his gaze, but she couldn’t breathe a sigh of relief. “Tell me how you got hired at eighteen when people twice that age apply over and over and never even get called for an interview.”
Colette gave up all pretenses of eating and pushed her plate away. She met his gaze head-on, though it made her stomach cramp. Staring at Blaze’s far too handsome face was like banking another log on the blaze inside of her.
Blaze. How apt. She’d never thought of his name that way before.
Was it really his? Or maybe that was just a nickname he’d earned, judging from what he did to women, turned them to liquid, molten fire inside, and it stuck.
“I- I actually did work hard. I wasn’t born to rich parents. I never really fit in at school. I was a girl and I was interested in techy things, so people thought I was a nerd. Naturally, I was uncool and didn’t have much of a social life, so I spent it working on my own projects. My parents worked hard so that I could have a new computer, a new laptop, blah, blah, blah, all that stuff I needed. They sent me to camps so that I could learn new things, and they sure as heck weren’t cheap. I’m an only child, so I guess you can say maybe I was spoiled. Or at least, they invested their time to give me the things I needed and wanted. I got good at it. Spent all my time on it, so yeah. I guess I had a pretty impressive portfolio even when I was in high school. I made my first app when I was fifteen and it made just over five thousand dollars. That’s pretty thrilling, so I guess it inspired me to get better, work harder, all that. So yeah. Uh- I guess that’s that. I saw the ad and I applied. Got hired. End of story.”