Page 72 of Savage Bosses

An invisible cord tugged the back of my skull and I pinched the bridge of my nose, waiting for the dull throb to subside. This was an indication that whatever it was, Zoe couldn’t work for me. I couldn’t afford the distraction.

When the throbbing eased, I picked up the phone and dialed human resources.

“Good afternoon, Gabby speaking.”

“Hello, Gabby.”

“Mr. Hijra, what are you doing here?” Gabby tsked. “You know I’m not paying you overtime, right?”

I chuckled. Gabby was the one person on my payroll that wasn’t intimidated by me. She was my breath of fresh air. “I could tell you the same thing.”

“You didn’t visit Dubai did you?”

“I wouldn’t dare return without your Maamoul,” I said. A sweet treat was a small price to pay for Gabby’s loyalty and hard work. She’d been with Pentiko from the beginning. “Why are you not home with your family?”

“I’m on my way out. I wanted to finalize the paperwork for the new hires.”

“That’s why I’m calling,” I said, “What can you tell me about my personal assistant?”

“Want me to fire her already?” Gabby teased.

I hesitated. I wasn’t the type to fire a person because I couldn’t control my attraction but I wasn’t above transferring her to a different floor. “Has she worked for us before?”

“Uh—ah. Receptionist for a telecommunications company if I recall correctly.”

I exhaled. So she told the truth about not working for Pentiko but… My head began throbbing again. The more I thought of the gorgeous Black woman who’d be sitting just outside my office the more frustrated I became.

“Let's see… Zoerina Prince. Twenty eight years old and only moved to New Orleans a few years ago. Experience…” Gabby’s mouse clicked but I didn’t hear anything else she said.

Zoerina Prince.

That name…

I gasped. Fatenah.

Like pieces to a puzzle, the blank spaces in my brain began filling in, bombarding me with sensation, scents, and… Zoerina and I in the Filth Den. I blinked. Willing my memories to slow, gain focus but they came fast and hard.

I would have known the sounds of her moans, the feel of her heels against my back and the way she looked in fishnet. I inhaled sharply. My memory intact, I would know her ass anywhere.

She’d lied.

Zoerina and I had not only met, we had fucked. I clenched my fists. After, she had distracted me while her boyfriend suckerpunched me.

Now I had to decide what to do with the woman who’d left me unconscious.

CHAPTER 10

Zoerina

M

onday

I turned up the volume on my phone as ‘I Gotta Feeling’ by The Black Eyed Peas blared through my headphones as I headed to work. I couldn’t help singing along. The music, the warm breeze on my face and the chirping birds from their perch between the tree branches all added to my euphoric bliss.

My day couldn’t have begun any better if I had drawn a pretty picture myself. Before entering the building, I tipped my face up, soaking in the soft rays of sunshine.

I tapped my feet, barely resisting the urge to break into full dance as I rode the elevator to the eighteenth floor.

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