Alice’s whole body stiffened as if someone had shoved a pole down the back of her grim black dress. Clearly indignant, she lifted her chin and glared at Ethan. “I see no reason for this—”
Ethan took a step closer to her and the woman backed up. Alice was in no physical danger and she had to know that, but seeing Ethan’s temper was so rare, it was startling when it finally appeared.
“This is my house, Alice. Not yours,” he said. “Something you seem to have forgotten over the years.”
“I don’t know what you mean...”
“Yes, you do.” Ethan loomed over her, using his height as an intimidation factor. “Do you really think I haven’t noticed that you’ve crowned yourself queen of my house?”
The woman’s eyes darted from side to side as if looking for an escape—but she didn’t find one.
“I’ve been willing to put up with your attitude because, frankly, you didn’t matter enough to make a change. But that ends now,” Ethan told her. “This is my house. And I’ll run it however the hell I want to run it. And I’ll hire someone who’s more concerned with her job than she is with pretending she’s the lady of the manor.”
Alice sputtered and Sadie ducked her head to hide a smile. She really shouldn’t be pleased about this, but Alice had had this coming for a long time. Plus, Ethan was the sexiest show she’d ever seen. Anger rippled off him in hot waves, yet he spoke so quietly, so coolly. It was the contrast, really, that was making Sadie feel as if her nerve endings were electrified.
Well, that and the look in his eyes. The man was so hot that smoke should have been lifting off the top of his head. He was definitely her weakness.
“You owe me two weeks’ salary,” Alice snapped.
“You’re right.” Ethan started for the stairs, already putting the awful woman in the past. “Leave an address on the entry table and I’ll mail you a check and a severance bonus.”
“A bonus?” Sadie said quietly, as she followed after him.
“It’s worth it,” Ethan muttered.
“See?” Sadie countered, her voice as quiet as his. “Like I told you. Not all change is bad.”
He shot her a look. “Save it.”
* * *
By the time they got the baby settled in her room, Ethan was even more on edge. He’d fired his housekeeper, been saddled with a baby and his assistant had resigned.
“Hell of a day,” he muttered.
“A long one, anyway,” Sadie agreed. “At least the baby’s room looks beautiful. Well, except for that beige paint. That should be changed to something a little more girlie.”
“I’m not having a pink room in my house,” he argued, walking down the stairs behind her. His gaze dropped to the curve of her butt and his hands itched to grab hold and squeeze. Actually, what he really wanted to do was get her out of her work clothes, stretch her out on the floor in front of the fire and explore every square inch of that tidy body.
“I didn’t say pink,” she said, tossing him a look over her shoulder. “That’s a little sexist, don’t you think?”
“I didn’t know a color could be sexist.”
“Well,” she quipped, “now you do. I was thinking something cheerful, bright. Pale yellow, maybe, or a soft green. With pictures and maybe a mural. Something to stimulate her.”
He snorted a laugh. “The way she screamed when you put her in the crib tells me she’s already plenty stimulated.”
At the bottom of the stairs, Sadie stopped and turned around to look at him. “She’s lost her parents, been thrown at people she doesn’t know and forced to sleep in a bed she doesn’t recognize. I’d like to see how well either of us would handle that situation.”
There were actual sparks in her eyes as she glared at him. Ethan held up both hands. “You’re right.”
Astonishment flashed across her features. “Wow. I’m right. A banner day indeed.”
“There’s that sarcasm again. What does it say that I’m starting to enjoy it?”
“That you’re a glutton for punishment?” She grinned, turned around and marched across the foyer to the front table, which held a massive crystal vase and a fall flower arrangement. She picked up her brown leather bag and slung it over her shoulder.