Page 72 of By His Rule

Makenzie: Will you come to our next cheer comp? It’s in Seattle.

She follows up that message with all the details.

Kian: Can I let you know closer to the time?

Makenzie: Sure, but Mom needs to buy tickets.

“Shit,” I hiss, guilt flooding through my veins as a knock sounds out from my door exactly nine minutes and fifty seconds later.

“Your coffee, sir,” she mocks as she moves across the room and lowers the mug to my desk.

She’s already spent a few hours in here today going over her spreadsheet and discussing the next set of data that needed to be inputted. It’s a job I’d usually have done myself so that I could get a better picture of the company as a whole, but it’s not the most exciting job in the world, and I wanted to test her.

The spreadsheet she’s built…I have almost an exact replica sitting in my documents that I made years ago. I wasn’t going to tell her that, though.

Honestly, I expected her to struggle. Just because someone has a finance and business degree, it doesn’t mean they have the skills they actually need to succeed. But I might admit that I’ve been impressed with her.

Sure, my intel told me that she did a good job at her previous place, that her dismissal was nothing more than a clash of personalities and a company that is on the decline. But still, it’s nice to see for myself that my decision to make her mine was the right one.

“Thank you,” I say after long, silent minutes.

“Did you need me for anything, or can I return to my desk?”

“I said that I needed you, didn’t I?”

I might not be looking at her, but I can see enough of her reflection to know that she stands a little taller as she prepares to go into battle.

Fuck if my dick doesn’t jerk at the thought.

Finally, I push my foot against the floor and spin around. The second her eyes land on me, they widen, her lips parting in surprise.

I get it. I don’t look like I did earlier. I’m no longer dressed for meetings. It’s Friday afternoon, and I’m dressed for the occasion with my tie hanging loosely around my half-unbuttoned shirt and my sleeves rolled up to my elbows.

“I hope you didn’t have any plans tonight, Lorelei,” I say with a smirk as I comb my fingers through my now messy hair.

“Um…”

“Good,” I state before she comes up with an answer. “Kingston is still adamant that this hotel chain in the UK is for us. I want to put up an argument based on all of this,” I say, pushing a whole stack of papers in her direction. “That he’s wrong.”

Lorelei swallows nervously as she looks between me and the paperwork.

“What’s wrong? I thought you agreed with me,” I say, cocking my head.

“I-I did. I mean, I do.” She has more to say, the words are practically dancing on the tip of her tongue, but she refuses to let them free.

“Go on,” I encourage. “You’re not usually one to keep your opinions to yourself.”

Her eyes narrow, and my smirk grows.

“Fine. Do you really think Kingston cares about the financial implications of this potential deal? Like you said before, he’s not going into this with his head. It’s fuelled by his heart. No amount of paperwork or business plan is going to deter him.”

I nod, completely agreeing with her.

“You’re right,” I say, pushing to my feet and walking around my desk, closing the space between us. “But I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t present this to him like I would any other acquisition we’ve gone into. And anyway, I didn’t have any other plans for my evening. Did you?”

I can tell from the expression on her face that she did, and it leaves me wondering what it was.

She saw Tate and Cory last night. And I know for a fact that Kingston is taking Tate out for a date tonight, so she’s otherwise engaged.

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