Boosting and selling stolen cars.
He’s good at it too.
Among other things, I’m sure.
“She can leave,” I snap at Jacinta, Archie doesn’t get to say if she stays or not.
“Yes, yes, I will. Seems you don’t need me for the rest of the day since you seem to think I have ulterior motives anyway. I’ll be on my way. Have a good day, sir.” Jacinta goes to leave, but I catch her before she can, my hand circling her wrist. She’s angry from my earlier comment, I like it.
She pulls it back, and her eyes zoom in on me. “Don’t you fucking touch me again,” she says with venom coating her tongue.
“You didn’t seem to complain last weekend,” I reply with a smirk. “Speaking of that—” She puts her hand up in front of my face, effectively halting where I was going. “No, we shall not speak of that. That is the last thing I ever want to think about again. Good day, Beckham. I’ll see you tomorrow when you decide to come to work with a bit less attitude.” She stalks off, and I hear laughter behind me. Archie is sitting in a seat in front of my desk with a cigar to his lips and smoke drifting up like billowing clouds, one leg crossed over his knee.
“I like her,” he says. “Keep that one around.”
“Did you simply come here to annoy me?”
“No, I’m your next client. You would know that fact if you bothered to check your itinerary.”
Shit, I forgot to check my client list.
Jacinta takes care of it, but for some reason, I didn’t check the list she left on my desk this morning as meetings were one after the other. Usually, Jacinta lets me know, but I guess with everything happening, she either forgot or was so angry she didn’t care.
“So, who’s the hottie, and have you fucked her yet?” Archie is smiling, and his eyes are sparkling with mischief.
“Fuck off.”
“Oh, so you did.” He rubs his hands together. “Mixing business with pleasure. Never thought I would see the day.” The laughter is deafening, and his whole body is shaking with the power he has put behind it. He is, of course, laughing at my expense.
“This is something you’re familiar with?” I question, knowing full well how many personal assistants he has lost over the years due to his indiscretions. “And how does that usually work out for you?”
“Well, the last mechanic I tried to fuck, let’s just say she chased me around with a wrench, and when she couldn’t catch me, she threw a hammer at my head. Just missed, but the Maserati wasn’t so lucky.”
“Yeah, so now you understand why I take no advice from you.” I sit back in my chair as he puffs on the cigar, billows of smoke wafting around my office space. “Put that damn cigar out before the alarms go off,” I growl.
“Personally …” he smirks, his bottom lip tips up as he does, “… I think you need to put out another fire, one that has nothing to do with my cigar and more to do with a hot secretary.” He laughs, and I throw the nearest thing I have at hand right at his head, only this time it doesn’t miss.
Chapter 16
Jacinta
“He isn’t always an ass.” I jump at the voice behind me as I stand in line at the café. “No, actually … come to think about it, he is.” It’s the guy from Beckham’s office, his friend and client. He holds out his hand, and I’m inclined to give him mine. Not only because he’s good-looking, but he scares me a little. He has that whole brooding gangster look down pat. “The name’s Archie.”
It isn’t in the way he’s dressed because he dresses well—suit, black button-down shirt, white tie, and the shiniest black shoes I have ever seen. Honestly, I could use them as a mirror to apply makeup. There’s a tattoo peeking out of his collar weaving up his neck, but that’s not necessarily the reason he gives off this persona. No, it’s in the way he holds himself. It makes me want to look the other way, even when he smirks at me.
“Jacinta.”
Archie nods and shakes my hand, gripping it softly but using force as well. I pull away and turn back in line to order my food before I need to leave to pick Oliver up from school today instead of sending him to afterschool care.
“He’s about to walk in, you know, just in case you want to run,” he whispers as I start to order. I look back over my shoulder and see Beckham. “He caught you, so I guess you can have lunch with us.” Archie steps up next to me. “I’ll pay for whatever the lady wants,” he says, then proceeds to order his own. After he pays, we both step away for the next person, and I blindly walk to where Beckham is sitting. Archie pulls out my chair, and I take a seat and cross my legs as Beckham’s dark eyes lock onto mine.