Jade smiles at him. “That sounds nice. I’m sure your country is beautiful.”
“It will be even more beautiful with you in it,” the smarmy bastard oozes.
Jade laughs.
My heart blazes with black fury.
“You’re too kind, Carl,” she says. “Maybe one day we can arrange something, and I can visit. But you know how busy I am.” She throws a look at me. “With Luke.”
Carl has the balls to turn to me like we’re fucking friends. “Luke, you can spare Jade for a week or two, can’t you?”
I’m one second away from punching him in his smug fucking face, but I remind myself that I’m not in the jungle. I’m not a caveman. I’m not going to act impulsively. There is a better way. I smile. If he can’t see it’s a tiger’s smile then he’s a bigger fool than I think he is. “No, Carl, I actually can’t spare her.”
He doesn’t even seem to notice the rage flaring inside me. Incredible!
Jade, who is obviously, a lot smarter than him, does. She turns and gazes at me with a worried expression.
“Don’t be silly,” Carl scoffs with a laugh. “Let her off the leash for—”
I slam my hand on the table, shaking the plates and the glasses. “Jade is not a fucking dog on a leash.”
Half of the people in the restaurant stop talking and look in our direction. Jade blinks in confusion while Carl leans back slightly and regards me with a curious, almost satisfied expression.
I force myself to smile. I doubt it reaches my eyes, but it’s the best I can do. “You’re being inappropriate, Carl,” I state, my voice tighter than I want it to be. “This is a business lunch. Act like a fucking professional and stop harassing my assistant.”
The smile drops from his face. He looks from me to Jade and back to me. “My apologies if I have offended you, Luke. Or you, Jade. I was just having a bit of fun.”
“Well, don’t,” I snap. “If you want me to keep working with you, you’ll go have your fun somewhere else.”
Carl nods. “Yes, of course, Luke. You’re right. That was unprofessional of me. I value your company’s services. Sometimes my sense of humor doesn’t translate to English.”
I nod, giving him a graceful way to back down. I know damn well his English is perfect. It’s his goddamn manners that are the problem, but I don’t want things to escalate further than they already have.
“Well,” Carl says, standing up. “I’m sorry for my rudeness, but I have another meeting to attend. Please excuse me.” He nods and leaves without saying another word.
Jade watches him go, her mouth agape. When he disappears from sight, she whips her head around to face me. “He’s our best European client. Why did you do that? We could have lost him.”
I stare into her eyes, letting her feel the weight of my gaze. “Fuck him and his fucking business. He can walk if wants to. I’ll replace him in no time.”
“But—?”
“Jade Emerson, you belong to me and no one else. Is that understood?”
Her head jerks back and she gawks at me as if she can’t believe her eyes. “What do you mean?”
I lean in. “I mean, if you want to be with me, then you are mine and only mine. You’re a beautiful woman, Jade. Other men will always notice. But when they come around, I expect you to brush them off real quick.”
“I wasn’t flirting with him, if that’s what you think,” she gasps defensively.
“No, if I thought you were flirting with him, I wouldn’t be sitting here with you right now. That would have been unacceptable.” I pause and let that sink in. “But I’m just making this clear to you. I don’t like games. I don’t find it attractive to see other men fawn over you. If we’re going to be together, it’s just you and me. Nobody else.”
She stares at me, silent.
“Now, I’ll have to punish you for what you did.”
Chapter 10
Jade
Luke signs for the bill and stands up. “Come, Jade,” he growls.
Hell, I almost do, just from the completely authoritative sound of his voice. We walk together out of the restaurant. There is not a word exchanged all the way to the auditorium. We step into the darkened auditorium, and I can feel Luke’s emotions pulsing off him in waves. I don’t dare look up at him because his face seems like a stone mask.
A man with steel rim glasses is on the stage discussing the developing Asian markets. Dr. Marty Rambul is a titan in our field, and I’ve really wanted to hear this particular lecture ever since Luke told me about the conference. At any other time, I would have found this topic, and the accompanying slideshow, absolutely fascinating, but right now, all I can think of is Luke telling me I need to be punished.