Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
“So you’re firing me? For doing my job?”
“No, I’m firing you for bringing that asshole with you. Tell me something, Kay, you playing around with him? Having some fun when I’m not here? That’s the only way to explain why you would hop into his car without a second thought, putting my privacy on the line. Maybe this is what the two of you planned all along.”
Such an ass. These were the times she could easily walk away from him. “Yeah, there’s no other explanation. I’m just a whore.”
“Well, give me a better explanation,” he shot back and then shifted in his seat. “And I didn’t use that word.”
“You used that tone. Every woman in the world knows that tone. And my reason? I panicked. I freaked out. I lost my shit when I realized you were out there with absolutely no protection. You didn’t even have a gun.”
He shoved a hand through his hair, sweeping it back. “I wasn’t allowed to take a fucking gun. And guess what, I wasn’t allowed to take a bodyguard either. I’m going to pay for that.”
“You lied to me. What was I supposed to do? Sit back and hope everything worked out? You didn’t tell me anything. You didn’t explain anything. How was I supposed to know you were even leaving of your own volition?”
“Because you were supposed to do what I asked you to do.” He still hadn’t looked at her. The whole time they’d gone back to the club, gotten his things, seen the doctor—who apparently was used to not asking a lot of questions—that whole time he hadn’t looked at her once.
“I did exactly what you told me to do. I got presentable for the party. I’m sorry if I stepped outside to get some fresh air and happened to see you hopping on Jared’s bike.” Yes, this part was a lie, but she didn’t feel bad about that anymore. He’d nearly gotten himself killed. He couldn’t handle the truth.
He went silent.
She squeezed the steering wheel, frustration welling inside her. “You can’t honestly think I was out there to…do what? Meet with Master Riley? Was I making out with him? Did I need more sex after the four orgasms you gave me in the red room? I’m not just a whore. I’m a crazed nymphomaniac.”
“Stop it. I didn’t fucking say those words,” he said. “This is a stupid argument. There’s zero point to it. It doesn’t matter now.”
“Because I’m fired.”
He went silent again.
She was not going to panic. Logic. She needed to bring down the emotional charge and present him with sweet logic. “Are we all fired? Because I assure you Shane or Dec would have done what I did. They wouldn’t have allowed you to run off into the night. Not even if it meant their jobs. They would have been running after you, flagging down anyone they could because the one thing we cannot live with is losing a client.”
He stared stubbornly ahead.
Okay, logic wasn’t going to work. Maybe emotion was the way to get to him, but not anger. He needed warmth. Softness. Vulnerability.
Fuck it. She would give him the truth. As much of it as she could.
“Do you have any idea how it felt to see you facing down that damn snake?” When he didn’t answer, she continued. Even if he kicked her ass to the street, he would hear the truth. “I thought I was going to lose my damn mind. I don’t know that I’ve ever been that scared.”
“Couldn’t tell. That was a hell of a shot.”
That was bothering him? “Josh, my hand was almost shaking too much for me to take it.”
“Like I said, couldn’t tell. You’re cool under pressure.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing. This is my job. But it didn’t feel like a job when I was out there. I wasn’t some super-agent. I was a freaked-out sub watching her Master try to kill himself.”
“I wanted you to stay out of it.” His tone had softened, a bit of the stubborn will seeming to ease out.
“What is it? What is so important you would pull a stunt like this? And who the hell is that woman? She’s obviously got something on you. How much did she take you for?”
And then it was right back. He straightened up, his shoulders broadening, hands in tight fists. “It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t fucking matter now. Maybe if it had been you I could deal with it. But Riley? Do you think that guy is going to let this go? You think he’s not going to try to figure out what’s going on and use it against me? You might have simply been doing your job, but he wasn’t. He’s like everyone else—looking to make a big play, and guess what? Josh Hunt is a huge play. He can use this. He can manipulate me to get him a job, to get him a foot in the door, or he’ll use it to take from me exactly the way that bitch in the shadows does.”