Page 153 of Forbidden Game

I had known this would come to a head eventually, but I hadn’t been prepared for it to happen now. I’m not ready. Sure, I have a little nest egg tucked away, but… I’ve been trying to find a loophole that would let me keep working with the guys. I had been planning to talk with Paige about it, see if maybe I could get around it by just being Aleks and Jackson’s publicist.

“Oh, I told him we were dating.”

My hands freeze on the keys, and I jerk my head up at Parker.

“What?”

“Well, Mathias had to fire you.”

My brain short-circuits, thinking it has heard him wrong.

“It was the only way to get you a new contract.”

“I’m sorry, what?” I blink as confusion wars with anger.

“Yeah, unfortunately, the one you signed with Mathias was pretty ironclad.” Parker cocks his head in the full-length mirror, fixing a stray piece of hair. “Paige couldn’t find a loophole even after pouring over it for hours. However, she still came up with a solution. A pretty good one, honestly.”

“Which was getting me fired? Seriously.”

“No. Well, technically, yes.”

“Parker.” I sigh at the lack of clear communication.

“Instead of having you work for us through Mathias’ firm, we’re hiring you directly. Congratulations, your unemployment lasted three minutes and eleven seconds.” He turns and grins at me.

“So, you fired me…just to hire me.” I say the words slowly, testing them on my tongue. “I lost my job, but I didn’t lose my job.”

“Correct. Paige said she’d get you a new contract by end of day.” Parker pulls a designer tie from a drawer in his ridiculously large walk-in closet before winking at me. “You’re looking at your new boss, baby.”

I roll my eyes and watch as he loops it around his neck with deft fingers, using the time to wrap my head around his words. Technically, Parker had always been my boss, it was just that Mathias was also my boss on top of the boys. Ugh. It is too much to think about.

“Mathias still didn’t have to be that rude about it.” I attempt to hold onto some of my anger, but it fizzles out to ambivalent annoyance. “And you could have warned me.”

“In fairness, I didn’t think he’d call you today.” He shrugs, checking himself in the mirror. “Not exactly in the Christmas spirit.”

God. He looks amazing.

And he knows it.

“Come on, love. Dinner is about to be served.” Parker kneels before me and holds out my silver heels. I sigh, shutting my laptop and slipping my feet into the expensive shoes. Parker buckles them around my ankles before running his hand up my calf, sending shivers along my skin.

“Parker,” I warn him.

“What?” he says innocently, but there’s no hiding his devilish smirk.

He continues to trace the tips of his fingers across the back of my leg, and I stand up shakily, forcing myself not to melt into his touch. I fall prey to Parker’s whims more and more every day. It is becoming a chore to keep myself from falling completely off the deep end. One of us has to remain somewhat sensible.

I grab my perfume and spritz my wrist before I touch up my makeup in the mirror. I fix my bangs before triple checking that the elaborate bun I’d spent an hour on this morning is still in place. One of the pins is poking me at an odd angle, but I’m not going to risk moving it.

Parker wraps his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder. The color of his shirt matches my dress, making us look like the perfect pair.

I won’t admit it to him, but my wardrobe is slowly turning more and more blue.

“You are proper stunning. Like a freshly polished gem glinting in the sun.”

I tilt my head against his. “Thank you.”

“What? No compliment for me?”

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