Page 9 of The Rebel

I blather about social media campaigns and photo shoots and upgrading websites. I manage to sound halfway intelligent but the intensity of his stare is unnerving.

When I give my final spiel about a newsletter blitz to tourism boards around the world, I’m ready to snap my laptop shut and bolt.

‘Your work is excellent.’ He steeples his fingers and rests them on the desk in front of him, channelling a guy double his age. ‘But you can forget about doing most of what you just said.’

I struggle to hide my shock. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I won’t do it.’

With those four little words, I realise I’m in for the fight of my life.

Chapter Five

Hart

The pocket rocket is gaping at me in a most unladylike manner. Her hazel eyes glitter, the gold and green flecks glowing like cut glass when she’s angry. I saw it earlier, when I dismissed that kiss as nothing.

A crock of shit considering the memory kept me up all night.

When she walked into my office full of bright-eyed optimism, I was stunned by the irrational urge to bend her over my desk. I don’t give in to impulse as a rule, so her boldness bamboozling me last night into making out on the beach had already put me on edge this morning. But I’d chalked it up to a brief encounter that meant little, until Daisy strutted in here and I remembered exactly how good she tasted…

I hid my reaction well. I’m a master of the poker face. No one can get a read on me. Only Pa has ever seen the real me: to a point.

How he had the patience to coax my angry, recalcitrant sixteen-year-old self into a new life I’ll never know. After discovering my existence, a wiser man would’ve thrown money at the problem. But Pa insisted I live with him: sent me to the best school for the final two years of my studies, funded my university degree, gave me everything.

But all that didn’t make much of an impression: it was his unswerving faith in me, despite not really knowing me, that made me eventually trust him. I wish I’d realised it sooner and that I’d had the guts to tell him.

‘What do you mean you won’t do it?’ She bristles like an indignant echidna, making her even cuter. Her honey-blonde hair is piled on top of her head in a loose topknot, to add extra height I assume. She’s five foot two max, with the kind of curves that beg for a man’s touch. I obliged for an all too brief time last night and now we’re working together I can’t touch her despite the urge to do just that.

It makes me extra tetchy. ‘Unless you’re hard of hearing, I mean exactly that. I won’t do social media. It’s not my thing, posting nonsensical, egotistical garbage for all the world to see in the hope of making people “like my brand”.’

I make those annoying inverted comma signs with my fingers that I hate. ‘And I’m not doing photo shoots to promote the resort. Focus on the scenery, the ocean, the island, the resort’s many natural attractions, that’s it.’

I jab a finger in her direction. ‘And no way in hell will you get me doing live podcasts or videoconferencing on the beach.’

If she was bristling after my initial refusal, she’s practically livid now. A vibrant pink stains her cheeks, making her eyes glow even more, and her hands are clenched so tightly I can see her knuckles pop where she’s resting them on the desk.

When she forces a sweet smile, I know I’m not going to like what she says next.

‘That’s a pity, considering you were more than willing to do other stuff on the beach last night.’

Wham. She’s hit me in a weak spot: my foolish attraction to her. It’s wrong, fantasising about this woman, especially when she’s working under me.

Fuck, bad analogy, and my cock hardens.

I have to admit, she’s gutsy. A lesser woman would back down and defer to me because of my wealth and status. I’m the CEO of fifteen five-star hotels around the country and the media have been all over the story of Pa’s passing and my return home to fill his proverbial shoes. It’s why I hired this PR firm; because reports haven’t been favourable.

The media dug into Pa’s health decline and the accompanying effect on the hotels, making wrongful assumptions and generally painting him as an incompetent old fool who wouldn’t move into the twenty-first century. Bookings at all the hotels plummeted as a result, as if morons think the hotels will close their doors unexpectedly at any minute. Gem Island has taken the worst hit and considering it was always Pa’s favourite, it jolted me into doing something proactive.

Enter Daisy Adler, with her too-tight black power suit better suited to a city skyscraper, her immaculate makeup, her towering stilettos, and those expressive eyes that sucked me into a vortex I have no intention of going near again.

She’s smart. Her ideas are original and clearcut. I need her to make the Rochester brand look good. So I’ll have to say the C word, something I hate.

‘I’m willing to compromise.’

The last word sticks in my throat. I don’t do well working alongside other people. I have full autonomy with my foster kid charities around the world. I work better that way. Not many people know about my involvement in establishing outreach centres in high-risk cities and I prefer to keep it that way. The last thing I need is my face bandied around as part of the Rochester empire and scaring off kids who might see me as a rich prick flinging his cash around rather than a guy who was once like them willing to give them a break.

I don’t need accolades or publicity for what I do for those kids. I don’t expect anything in return.

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