Page 105 of Wicked Little Thief

“Well, good for you. She’s not so lucky.”

Oh shit.

The dilemma smacked him right in the face. “Right. She can’t go anywhere.”

“Exactly. Not to mention you’re the one she’s technically reporting to. How do you think a new CEO would treat her?”

He still didn’t like the idea and decided to dig his heels in.

“I’m not going to get fired. There’s no nepotism policy. Hell, half the staff are screwing each other.”

“Half the staff aren’t court ordered to be there.”

Liam begrudgingly had to admit Parker had a point. This could seriously affect Utah if it got out.

“And you’re acting so cavalier about your job, but aren’t you the one who will sign off to the court on her performance? Do you think your replacement would treat her fairly, knowing why she’s there?”

“I’d hope he or she would see her value.”

“Can you guarantee it?”

“Well, no.”

And if she wasn’t given a favorable review at the end of her four months, she’d be thrown in jail and would have a felony on her record.

He needed to change his attitude.

“So, what do I do?”

“Well, for starters, I’d take the new Ob/Gyn nurse we just hired to lunch tomorrow, then the new ER doc on Wednesday.”

It wasn’t the worst idea, even if he’d miss spending time with Utah in the middle of his day.

“Okay, I can have Kathy arrange that.”

“And I wouldn’t walk in with her in the morning at eight-thirty when everyone else is arriving.”

Liam squeezed the bridge of his nose. He didn’t want to hear this shit, even though he knew Parker was right.

“Okay.”

“And if you’re planning on bringing her to the awards ceremony on Friday, don’t sit next to her.”

“I’m not letting her sit by herself so any asshole who thinks she’s available can just come up and hit on her.”

“She’ll still be at our table. No one will approach her. Maybe you need to get her a ring in addition to that chain around her neck.”

“Excuse me?”

“A ring—she could wear it on her left ring finger. Because unless you’re at a sex club, her choker could mean anything. But a ring on her left hand is universally recognized as she’s taken.”

“Yeah, I understand that, but you’re not suggesting I marry her, are you?”

“What? No! I’m just suggesting that since you can’t publicly claim her, that might be a good alternative.”

“So, I’m just supposed to hand her a gold band and say, hey, put this on, but don’t read anything into it?”

“I mean—”

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