The Convenient Wife

My spirit shifts as the questions become more personal—too personal.

How the hell does he know all of this?

And how is it any of his damn business?

The butterflies I feel turn into heavy knots that twist inside my gut. I have no words for him. I’m completely flooded with emotions.

Embarrassment.

Sadness.

Anger.

Hitting my breaking point, I’m done with these questions, done with Yale twisting my past into a reason for Bolt to deny me this internship.

Because I deserve this. I’m the only one who is good enough for this internship, and I’m not going to stand by and let him bring up such personal nonsense. It’s no one’s damn business and it plays no part in what I could do for this company.

“All right, I’ve had enough, these questions have nothing to do with my experience or education—or why I’m even here—” My hands are on my hips and my teeth are clenched. “Tell me, what the hell does this have to do with me?”

“It has everything to do with you,” Bolt says pointedly, like these questions are fine and I shouldn’t be offended.

Those are his first real words to me?

Not, Thank you for being here?

Not, I apologize for my assistant and these questions.

His first words do nothing but tear open the wound in my heart a hair more than Yale’s questions.

“You know what, I think I’m done. None of these questions matter, not one bit of it. Everything you asked about my family has nothing to do with me.” Veering my stare, I move my eyes from Yale to Bolt. “I know whiskey, and if you don’t have any questions for me about how to dry barley, or the level of char in a cask, then this is a waste of my time and yours.”

Mr. Sheckler has a satisfied look on his face as he smiles. “I think you’ll work just fine.”

What did he just say?

“Excuse me?”

Did I hear him right?

“You’re perfect for the position.”

“Thank. . . thank you,” I say, surprised that I still have the position with my abrupt rudeness just seconds before. “I… I don’t know what to say. I won’t disappoint the Sheckler name, I’m good at what I do, I’ve worked hard—”

Holding up his hand, Bolt thins his lips and shakes his head, as if I misunderstood something. Quirking a brow, I stop speaking.

“I’m sorry, Starla, but this isn’t the internship you think it is. This is a different opportunity for you. What I need to know is if you’re interested?”

“What do you mean? I don’t understand.”

“It’s a simple yes or no question.”

“How am I supposed to know if I’m interested, if I don’t even know what it is I’m being asked to do?” Taking in a deep breath, I anxiously wait for him to answer.

“This is a big opportunity, Starla, one that won’t come again in your lifetime. I suggest you don’t pass on it.” Yale closes his folder and leans back against the wall. “Bolt doesn’t make offers like this every day.”

What the hell does that even mean?

“Thank you, Yale. I can take it from here.” Bolt nods his head, letting Yale know he can go.

Yale bows lightly, backing out of the office and closing the door behind him.

Now I’m alone, alone with a man whose eyes hold me still, and whose smile makes it hard to breathe.

Bolt rests back in his chair and the shadow lifts from his face. My breath escapes like a gust of wind. I’m tempted to grab my chest, because my heart jumps to my throat and my ribs contract like a snake around my lungs.

Bolt Sheckler is hot as hell.

His jet black hair is tousled to perfection, causing my fingers to tingle at my sides, itching to dig in deep.

An image floats into my head of him pulling my hair as he takes me on his desk. It’s in my head clear as day, his hands as they find my ass, his strong muscles as he bends me over his desk and fucks me from behind.

No, no, no. Stop it.

With a defined jaw and long nose, his lids hover half open as he arches a brow. For a second I wonder if he can read my mind, but I know I must look lost, because he crooks a finger and nods his head. “Come on closer, I don’t bite,” he says, steepling his fingers as he rests his chin on his thumbs. His eyes jump to a piece of paper on his desk, then back up to mine. “I apologize for my assistant, he’s too thorough sometimes. But I would like to learn more about you.”

A wave of tingles washes down my body, making me warm between my thighs. Fuck, if his voice was any deeper, he’d probably be able to make me come from just the bass in his tone.