Page 24 of Quarantined with the Billionaire

“You’re too kind, sir.”

“Okay, then soup it is.” I grinned at Simon. He really was a nice man, but I’d noticed the other day he was wearing a wedding ring, and I wondered how being at Maddox’s beck and call dug into his personal life.

But he always seemed to leave before I did, so maybe it was like a regular nine-to-five job.

After he left, Maddox and I got the camera set up, and I was looking at him through the screen. “Hold on, Bailey. Come sit here for a second. I want to see how it looks before we film.”

I sat as he scrutinized me through the monitor of the camera. When he started to adjust it, I said, “No, don’t try to center me in the frame. You’re taller than I am. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure it looks right.”

“Why don’t you film me saying a sentence or two so I can see what it looks like before doing the whole thing? So we can see what it looks like here in case I don’t like it?”

I continued looking at him through the monitor. “Move the chair closer to the fire so we can actually see it.”

“For an associate, you’re pretty bossy, Bailey.”

Blinking, I found myself momentarily speechless—but the words finally came out. “Really?”

“You didn’t even say please.” His smirk confirmed that he was joking.

And that brought out my inner snark. “If I’d asked nicely, you wouldn’t have done it.”

“You really think so?” His lips were still curled up in a smile.

“I suspect you miss being bossed around. When’s the last time anyone told you what to do?”

Shifting my eyes from the camera’s monitor to the real man, I felt something tangible between us. His eyes were smoldering, but there was no anger in his gaze. It made me feel warm in the center of my body, turning everything to jelly—and I wondered what he might be thinking.

“You might be surprised.”

At this very moment, I saw in him what I suspected my dear friend had seen all along—raw sexuality, pure masculinity, and it jumped across the room, grabbing me about the waist and quivering thighs…making me want him worse than a thirsty man might crave a cool glass of water.

How I managed to make my mouth continue to move, I wouldn’t know. “Mr. Steel,” I said, hoping to break the spell, “when’s the last time you worked for someone else?”

Even though he continued to smile, there was nothing friendly or happy about his expression. In fact, I couldn’t read his face at all. “Probably longer than you’ve been in the workforce. But being bossed around isn’t necessarily correlated to working for someone.”

Saliva accumulated in my mouth, forcing me to swallow as I considered his words. “True.” I fought against a smile and began adjusting the monitor so I could escape his eyes, even if for only a moment. “And I suspect it might be more rewarding.”

“Infinitely so.”

Clearing my throat, I looked up at him, hoping again to break the spell. While I was now appreciating more about this man, I wasn’t ready to fall head over heels. In fact, I doubted he deserved my admiration.

Well…maybe as a powerful man of a successful company. I’d give him that.

But not my heart.

My voice didn’t sound as steady as I would have liked. “Are you ready?”

“Did I make you uncomfortable, Bailey?”

No way would I tell him he’d gotten under my skin. “The only things that make me uncomfortable, Mr. Steel, are tight elastic and sitting on a vinyl car seat in August while wearing shorts.”

“That’s only because you don’t have proper air conditioning. And why do you keep reverting to calling me Mr. Steel? You were the one who wanted to be on a first-name basis, but if you like, I’m always okay going back to a more formal address.”

Lying, I said, “I didn’t even notice it.”

“I must command that kind of respect—which makes it all the more puzzling that you’d have the audacity to try ordering me around.”

His voice was scary sounding but, as I connected my eyes to his, feeling sheepish and unsure, he started laughing. And I joined him.

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