Page 44 of By His Rule

“But you trust me with them?”

“Hmm,” he mumbles.

“So, I did only get this job because of Tate,” I say with a frown.

“Yes and no. I don’t usually go around hiring friends of friends. I just…” My brows lift, impatiently waiting for him to continue. “I don’t know,” he muses, scrubbing the perfectly trimmed stubble on his chin. “I’m interested to see how this will work out.”

“Because I turned you down,” I reason.

He smiles.

“Not many women do that,” he says, leaning forward to press a button on his phone again.

A deep male voice greets him not a second later. “Please could you bring Miss Tempest’s computer and cell phone up. She’ll meet you at her desk.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kian cuts the call and focuses on me once again.

My temperature increases as our eye contact continues.

“Simon will meet you at your desk and get you logged into the network and go through everything you need to know.

“You will already find emails in your inbox with your first tasks for the morning, then we have meetings all afternoon. I’ve sent you notes from some of the previous ones. Make sure you’re prepared.”

“Y-yes.”

“Yes?” he asks, quirking a brow.

“Yes…s-sir,” I guess, my stomach knotting.

It’s not the first time I’ve called him that, but something feels very different right now.

He studies me for three more seconds before dismissing me in favor of his monitor.

“I’ll be unavailable for the next two hours. Any questions, Melissa will be able to assist you.”

“O-okay. Sure. Yes.”

His lips twitch with amusement, but he’s too focused on whatever he’s reading to respond, and a couple of seconds later, I let myself out of his office.

It’s not until I’m standing on the other side of the door and able to suck in a deep breath that reality begins to dawn on me.

11

LORELEI

“I’m not sure if I should be offering you a seat or the trash can to vomit in,” Melissa says as I shuffle back down the silent hallway toward her desk, which is perfectly positioned to intercept any visitors risking a visit to the top floor of this building.

I hold her eyes for a beat before a manic laugh tumbles from somewhere within me.

“Oh sweetie, how about you come and test out your new desk?” she asks, before wrapping her arm around my shoulder and guiding me forward.

The desk is as big and as ridiculous as hers. The second I step behind it, I feel like a tiny bug that’s about to be squashed beneath someone’s—namely Kian’s—shoe.

My ass hits the soft cushion of the chair and I take a moment to suck in a few deep breaths of air.

“This is crazy,” I whisper. I’m not sure if I’m talking to myself or Melissa, but she takes it upon herself to answer nonetheless.

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