Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78304 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“So, what do we do?” I ask, making it clear that I’m not backing down from the position.
When she realizes my intention behind my words, Anastasia’s eyes turn into thin slits, going from emotional to savage in the blink of an eye. The transition is almost scary. “Once he knows you’re not actually the family man you’re pretending to be, he’s not going to hire you,” she says low, thinking she’s got this all figured out.
I bark out a laugh. “Wow, look at you … going from sweet to deadly in point-five seconds. By doing that, you’d be shooting yourself in the foot.”
“Okay, then what do you suggest we do? Keep going with this ridiculous fake engagement?” She scoffs, like she can’t even fathom being fake engaged to me when not too long ago, we were flirting and damn close to fucking.
“Actually, that’s exactly what I propose we do. We continue this charade until he hires one of us to take his place.”
She laughs. “You really think he’s going to pick you over his own daughter?”
“Well, I think I have a damn good chance since he didn’t ask you in the first place.” It’s a low blow, but, fuck, she’s making it hard to be nice to her.
“Fuck you!” she spits, swinging open the car door and getting out.
“Don’t be mad because I’m speaking the truth!” I call out, stalking after her.
When we get inside, she goes straight to the kitchen and grabs the bottle of wine from earlier, pouring herself a glass.
“You can talk all the shit you want,” she says, taking a sip of the wine. “But you don’t know me, and there’s a reason why my dad says I’m just like him. When I want something, nothing and nobody will stop me from getting it.”
“Okay, Red,” I say, bridging the gap between us. “Challenge accepted.”
I extend my hand, and she rolls her eyes.
“Red? Real original.”
She clasps my hand, and we shake.
“May the best man—” I begin.
“Or woman,” she corrects.
“May the best man or woman win,” I say. And then with a smirk that I know will piss her off, I add, “Oh, and, Anastasia?”
She glares my way.
“I didn’t nickname you Red because of your lips.”
She raises a questioning brow. “Okay, so enlighten me.”
“The red widow spider is one of the most beautiful yet deadly spiders. Just like you—beautiful but filled with venom. The only difference is, at this point, I probably know your father better than you do, so I know what you’re capable of, and I won’t be dumb enough to let you lure me in and bite me. I see you, Red, and when I stomp on your venomous ass, you’re going to wish you’d stayed in London.”
chapter nine
ANASTASIA
“Good morning. My name is—”
“Anastasia! It’s a pleasure to meet you,” the woman behind the desk says in a tone that’s way too perky for nine in the morning. “My name is Josie. I’m your dad’s and Julian’s assistant.”
She extends her hand, and I shake it, taking her in. She looks to be in her late thirties, maybe early forties. She’s dressed professionally with cute, thick, black-framed glasses perched on her nose. I check out her left hand and notice she doesn’t have a ring on her fourth finger.
“Nice to meet you,” I tell her, mentally noting that I need to be careful with what I do and say around her.
She might work for my dad and Julian, but everyone knows the COO actually runs the show, which means she really works for Julian, and as we established last night when the line was redrawn, he’s the enemy. She looks nice enough, but looks can be deceiving—Julian is the perfect example of that.
I’m not supposed to meet my dad until nine thirty for him to show me around, but I left early, needing to get out of that icy house. Julian was sitting at the table, drinking his coffee and scrolling on his phone, making it a point to ignore me. He hasn’t said a word to me since he compared me to a venomous spider and threatened to stomp on me.
On the way to work, I stopped at the coffee shop across the street and enjoyed a latte and a muffin and then walked over here, hoping to check things out on my own before my dad arrived. Security got me set up with an employee ID and badge, and then I was taken to HR, who had me sign a million papers before welcoming me to Kingston Limited.
“Your dad should be in at any moment. If you want to have a seat in his office, you can head back.” She points down the hall. “His door is on the left.”
“Thank you,” I tell her.
I’m heading toward his office when my phone pings with a text. I glance down at it to make sure it’s not my dad, telling me he’s running late, when I run into a wall. Well, not actually a wall. More like the very hard chest of my fake fiancé.