Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
“Good morning, Mr. Frost,” she said, taking her headphones off. Her face remained impassive.
I felt my blood pressure go up. Here I was, on fire for her body, and there she was, proud ice queen herself.
“Why are you dressed like that?” I asked curtly.
She looked down at herself, then back up at me. Her voice was even. “Like what?”
“Attire more suitable for a stripper.”
Her eyes widened, but her voice was calm. “I’m wearing a turtleneck top,” she said slowly.
“Yes, but it’s at least one size too small. It leaves nothing to the imagination. You’re going to distract the rest of my staff. Dress appropriately in future.”
“I’ll adhere to your… dress code in future,” she said softly.
I grunted bad-temperedly and strode into my office.
For a second, I stood in the middle of my office, angry and resentful. Then I caught myself. Right. Time to begin Operation Get Rid of Ice Queen. I went to my computer and brought up the surveillance feed for the front entrance of the building.
I watched it for a few minutes and what I saw made me smile. I picked up the phone and summoned Lillian in. She came in with her notepad and a file. I noticed she had put on a black jacket and buttoned it. She put the file on the desk. “Here are the finished transcripts.”
I leaned back against my swivel chair and stared at her.
“Were you late to work this morning?”
“No.” Her voice was cool.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Yes, I’m very sure.”
“Are you aware you’re supposed to start work at nine a.m.?”
“Yes, I am. I was in the building by nine.”
I took a deep breath. “Either you’re lying, or the million-dollar, state-of-the-art surveillance system I’ve installed in this building is a total waste of money, and I should fire the firm and find a replacement contract.”
She frowned. “I was here at nine.”
I turned my monitor screen to face her. Then I walked over to stand next to her. I could smell her shampoo. Lemon. It was intoxicating.
“Is that you coming into the building?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Do you see the timestamp?”
“9.02,” she said slowly.
I walked back around the desk and sat down. “In fact, you were two minutes and thirty-seven seconds late.”
“It would seem so.”
“So you were lying before.”
She pulled her eyes away from the screen, her face blank of all expression. “I wasn’t lying. I made a mistake. I was under the mistaken impression I came in at nine. I didn’t realize it was two minutes thirty-seven seconds past. I’m so sorry. I will make up for the lost time tonight and it will never happen again.”
I stared at her. How the hell did she so effortlessly manage to make me sound like the pettiest guy on earth?
“Make sure it doesn’t,” I muttered grumpily.
“Of course. Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Frost?” she asked with unshakeable politeness.
I waved my hand at her with irritation. “No. No. Go back to work.”
She turned to go and I found myself watching her ass. That skirt, long as it was, was way too tight for a workplace.
“Wait,” I heard myself say.
She turned around. “Yes.”
"I need you to go to my house today and pick up some dirty laundry.”
Her eyes flared, reminding me of the expression in them last night. That flash of something. Was that fury or lust? My cock jerked to life in my pants and I dipped my hand in my pocket to hide the evidence of her drastic effect on me.
"You want me to take your dirty clothes to the laundry?”
“I did say that in English, didn’t I?”
A muscle ticked in her jaw. “Don't you have a housekeeper for that?"
I stood and took a few steps closer to her. She was so close I could just reach out and touch her. This was becoming a disease with me. This crazy desire for her.
I thought about the empire I had built. I built it over the best years of my life, giving it single-minded concentration. While all my friends were out playing, I was working. Always working. Without this… this… insane distraction.
Well, here was my chance to kill it forever. Goodbye, Miss Hudson. But even as I said the words, I felt terrible. The words were like ashes in my mouth. "Do you have a problem with doing that?"
She stared at me for a few seconds, her eyes giving nothing away. Then she shook her head slightly. "No."
I was shocked at the relief running through my body. What the damnation was going on with me? I wanted her gone. Of course, I did. So why the relief that she didn’t quit right then? Whatever that momentary relief was, I planned to kill it stone dead. I needed her gone. One way or another she had to go.
"I'll text you my address," I said and quickly turned away from her provoking presence. “Leave here after 2.00 pm,” I threw over my shoulder. That was when Mrs. Timmins, my housekeeper, and her staff left, and the house would be empty.