“We won’t be married for much longer,” she snaps. There’s that wild flame flashing in her eyes again. “So that won’t be true anyway. I really just want to get settled in and do my job. Are you going to make that difficult for me?”
“On the contrary,” I say. “In fact, I’m going to make it easier.”
She narrows her eyes. Adorable.
“Now that I’ve bought this company, I’m going to need an assistant here,” I say. “Someone to handle things for me, come with me to meetings, prepare my schedule, that kind of stuff. And who better to do that than you?”
Her jaw drops. “Really? You’re going to be like this? You really are a jerk, you know that?”
“Some people do say that to me,” I say, chuckling at her indignation. “But you don’t get to where I am by making everyone happy all the time. Sometimes you’ve got to push people a little, you know? Help them reach their full potential. Besides, PA to the CEO will be a nice bump in salary, and it’ll look great on your resume.”
“I don’t need your charity,” she says haughtily. “I told you already that I’m not interested in your money.”
Now it’s my turn to feel a little spark of anger.
“Charity?” I growl. “Who said anything about charity? I assume you were hired here because you’re qualified for the position, yes? You know how to do the job, and I need an assistant. Nothing more to it than that. You wanted to keep things professional, remember? No need for the personal barbs.”
She closes her eyes and sighs, her full lips moving silently, counting to five. Then she looks deep into my eyes, sizing me up.
“Fine,” she says. “I accept your job offer. I’ll perform my duties to the best of my capabilities, and I won’t let you down.”
“Great,” I say breezily. “Just what I wanted to hear. Now, let’s go get some lunch. I know a great little Lebanese place down the road.”
Tessa
I guess I should feel lucky that Mr. Garamond obviously doesn’t read trashy gossip magazines. If he had any interest in them whatsoever, he would’ve recognized me the moment I stepped off that elevator.
The story has died down a little in the weeks since Luke and I “married,” but some of the online sites and the trashier magazines are still printing the blurry-ass pictures of Luke and I as we left the Vegas chapel.
If Luke hadn’t actually ended up buying the damn company I now work for, it never would’ve been an issue. The pictures were grainy enough that even if someone asked, I could’ve just passed it off as someone who looked like me.
But now? Now that people are actually seeing him and I together? Not a freaking chance.
We head down the corridor together, his hand placed embarrassingly on the small of my back as he guides me along.
I turn and hiss at him to stop, but he just smiles that infuriating smile of his and shrugs nonchalantly, as if to say, what? I’m not doing anything.
I roll my eyes at him. He’s acting like a disobedient child.
“Everyone’s staring at us,” I whisper at him. “Stop it. You’re just making things worse.”
“Stop overreacting,” he replies. “Everyone stares at me all the time anyway. I’m the big boss man, remember? I’d be more surprised if they weren’t staring.”
“Well, you might be used to it,” I huff grumpily, “but I’m not. I only just started here, and the last thing I need is to be the subject of all the office gossip.”
“You’re my new PA, remember? People would be gossiping about the two of us no matter what. Even if we weren’t . . .” He trails off, a small, barely-hidden smile playing on his kissable lips. His eyes sparkle with mischief.
Damn it. Why does he have to look so hot when he’s turning my whole life into a dumpster fire?
I know what he was about to say. Married. But I’m not about to finish his sentence for him. I can already tell he’ll turn that into a joke too.
“Let’s get out of here already, I can feel everyone’s eyes on me and I hate it.” I quicken my pace, hoping to put some distance between us. But his hand remains on my back, spreading heat up and down my spine. Distracting.
We step into the elevator, and I thank my lucky stars that we’re the only ones on it once the doors close.
“All I wanted was a fresh start,” I tell him. “I wanted to put all this behind me, work hard, make something of myself.”
“You can still do all those things.” He shrugs. “Assuming you still want to just go ahead and throw away our marriage. Whatever happened to ‘‘til death do us part?’ Or ‘in sickness and in health?’ Huh? I’m appalled that you’re taking those vows so lightly.”