Page 10 of The Rancher's Secret Relationship

"Yeah," the billionaire said finally, "I suppose you could say that."

Kady's fears dissipated at her boss' words.Oh no.She had been right, after all, and she looked up at him worriedly, saying, "If there's anything I can do to help—-"

"There is," he said right away, and as her gaze turned hopeful, he said lazily, "Don't ever talk to another man but me. Don't smile or meet their gazes. Don't even think of any other guy exceptme."

Kady's jaw dropped.She couldn't have heard him correctly. Could she?But when her boss only continued to gaze at her, she stammered, "I...I...I..."

"You asked me what was wrong," Slade reminded her mockingly, "so I'm simply answering you with the truth—-"

"Mr. Wyndham!"

He glanced at the tray she was holding. "That must be heavy." But instead of offering to help her with it, he simply stepped aside. "Come in, please."

And just like that, she was trapped, like a lamb being led to slaughter as she reluctantly followed him inside his office. The last time she had been here was when he had Kady signher employment contract, and she had been so nervous and overwhelmed that day to pay any attention to her surroundings.

This time, however, she had enough presence of mind to look around as she placed the tray on the coffee table. His office was a lot larger than it appeared from the outside, and while the furniture and fixtures were the same mix of leather, copper, and old wood, what did surprise Kady were the fully stocked shelves, with coffee books printed in various languages.Russian, Japanese, Spanish, German...

Slade's lips curved when he saw her staring at his books. "What if I told you all those were for show?" he asked slyly.

She shook her head. "I know you'd be joking."

He raised a brow. "How come?"

"Because you don't seem the type," she answered honestly. Despite his rather wickedly offhand attitude to most things, Kady's guts told her that one flaw her boss would never be guilty of was being a fake. He simply didn't strike her as the type to be weak or shallow enough to change himself to suit other people's—-

What was he doing?

Too late she saw the pair of glasses her boss had set next to the tray. Panicking at the thought of having to share even just a drink with him, she blurted out, "I think I should go—-"

"Too late, little chick. Just give in gracefully and have supper with me."

Kady watched her boss take a seat on the couch.

The billionaire's gaze turned thoughtful. "It's your choice," he said pleasantly. "Do you sit next to me—-" He tapped the extra space on the couch. "Or on my lap—-" He had barely finished talking when Kady hastily took her place next to him, and Slade grinned. "Thought so." He gestured to the selection of drinks he had taken out of the minibar. "Pick your poison."

"Just apple juice, if that's okay?"

He glanced at her oddly. "It's your drink."

Kady avoided meeting Slade's curious blue eyes at his words, not wanting to tell him the countless times Margaux's boyfriends had made fun of her every time she refused to drink alcohol with them.

Seeing Slade cut his sandwich into halves and realizing he was going to offer her one, Kady started shaking her head-—

"Your choice again," he reminded her. "Do I feed you or—-"

She practically snatched the halved sandwich from his hands. "Thank you very much," Kady said quickly.

Seeing her hesitate, he said gently, "You can say grace."

A small, shy smile flashed on her lips. "Thanks." As soon as she was done praying, he saw her take a huge bite right after, and the billionaire had to cough to hide his laugher, knowing that it was her way of giving him zero chances to change his mind.

After taking a bite of the sandwich, he remarked casually, "Good, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir."

The billionaire grimaced. "Shouldn't you be calling me Slade by now?"

Kady started squirming. "It's just..."

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