Page 118 of By His Rule

“Sit.”

“I-I’m sorry, it may have escaped your notice, but I’m not a dog. Nor do I appreciate being spoken to like one.”

I shake my head as I reach for my coffee and take a sip, watching with amusement as she lowers herself into the chair on the other side of the desk like I instructed her to, despite her little tirade.

“Noted.”

“What is happening today?” she asks curiously.

“Something has come up.”

“Right. Do you require me to do anything for whatever situation has arisen?”

“Yes, actually, I do.”

She grabs her notebook from the corner of the desk and places it before me, giving me enough time to read the front.

Internally, I laugh, but I don’t let her see that.

Instead, my lips press into a thin line and my eyes narrow dangerously.

My pointless notes from meetings…that could have been an email…

She’s trying to rile me up, but I will not rise to it.

And today’s pen…

This job is shit.

Wonderful.

Finally, she flips the book open on a fresh page and is poised ready to scribble down notes…that could have been an email.

I take another sip of my coffee.

“Ten AM: Appointment with a personal shopper.”

She scribbles it down, but not before she glances up at me suspiciously.

She may have joked about collecting my dry cleaning and delivering it home for me the other day, but contrary to popular belief, I don’t actually want my assistant doing personal tasks for me. Lorelei is here to assist me at work, not with my personal life.

“One PM: Lunch reservations. Three PM: Hair and makeu?—”

“M-makeup?” she stutters, confusion written all over her face.

“Yes,” I agree, swallowing the rest of my coffee and pushing to stand. “Are you ready?”

“Ready?” she balks.

“Yes. I hate being late, and the traffic across town to your first appointment will be horrendous.”

“My appointment?”

“Yes,” I say for the third time. “You didn’t think it was all for me, did you?”

With a smirk playing on my lips, I pull my jacket on and pocket my cell. I may have gotten her to cancel all my plans, but that doesn’t mean the end of my work for the day.

Her mouth opens and closes like a fish, but she fails to find any words.

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