Page 91 of Playboy Boss

Chapter Thirty-Three

Konrad didn’t quite catch the tray. Salmon puffs went flying. God, she really was the worst server.

“Dios mio, guapo. She’s really mad,” Pilar said, kicking a puff with her Louboutins. “What did you do?”

“I’m quite tired of salmon puffs anyhow.” Konrad looked up from the mess. Antonia was in his face almost instantly. She’d seen the exchange.

“What happened?” Antonia’s dark eyes were intense on him.

“So sorry, Antonia. It was my fault. I accidentally knocked the tray out of Scottie’s hands.” He rubbed the back of his head. He couldn’t let Scottie get too far ahead. Or leave.

Antonia’s gaze narrowed further. “You’ve become quite clumsy around her, Konrad.”

The mimosa incident came to mind.

“She’s not just your temp, is she?” Antonia waved her hand to someone, whom Konrad assumed was Mary, her housekeeper.

Damn. He needed to come clean about Scottie. He needed to prove himself. He needed to show how far he would go.

“Pardon me.” He went for Scottie, following the back of her head through the maze of people, and soon he was behind her. Close enough to smell her sweet perfume. “Scottine!” He called. Or yelled was more like it. She stopped. Everyone did. The reservoir of emotions he’d repressed had opened. Nothing could close it now. “You owe me.”

Everything was in slow motion, his heartbeat, his breath.

Scottie turned slowly, as if she pulled the wrath of hell with her. “Excuse me?”

She dragged out those words, her teeth snarling. Still, she was so beautiful. His heart ached with how beautiful she was. How much he knew she could change his whole life with one decision.

“What do I have to do?”

“Konrad—”

“No. You owe me a chance.” Throwing up his hands, he felt the weight of exasperation. The room filled with friends and acquaintances fell away. Scottie was the only one he saw. “You gave me none.”

She gasped, shaking her head. Anger colored her cheeks red. Emotions were running high. But this was how he wanted to show her he was serious.

“I said everything last night.” Her voice low and contained, she continued, “I have nothing else to say.”

“There is a lot more to say.” He was quite frantic, completely out of his body. “Tell me what you want. I can give you anything you want.”

Regret of the public display would have to come later. He glanced down at his wrist, the Richard Mille watch Pilar returned to him glaring at him. He took it off.

“Here. I’ll give up my favorite watch.” He tossed it toward a champagne glass sitting on the edge of a nearby table. It missed, falling to the floor, along with the champagne.

Scottie’s watery gaze moved over the mess and then met his. His heart skipped. She said nothing, made no indication that she understood what giving up his watch meant.

“Fine. How about my Mercedes? I’ll give that up.” He dug his hand in his pocket, searching for his keys. Spotting a cringing Dallas through the haze of his madness, he tossed the keys at him. “Here, mate. It’s all yours.”

“You don’t get it.” Scottie said, the extent of her pain coming forth with a few tears. “Those are things. I don’t want things.”

He advanced to her, taking the window of opportunity to finally connect with her again. “Then what? What do you want?” He may as well have crawled to her.

She stepped back from him. “Your loyalty.”

The room was silent.

“You have it.” He wanted to touch her, to wipe the tears from her face. And kiss her. God, he needed to kiss her.

She wiped her face. “Loyalty is too big a price for you.”

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