Page 103 of Savage Bosses

Asha zeroed in on the two bottles of water in his hand. “Is that who that extra bottle of water is for? Trouble?”

Emir ignored his sister but grabbed an umbrella before opening the door to go and rescue the beautiful disaster waiting for him on the other side of fear.

CHAPTER 9

Friction

S

elene narrowed her eyes and glared at Emir, stalking towards her with a bottle of water.

He had swagger in spades. The man walked like whatever he carried between his legs was cumbersome and precious. She could watch him walk for hours, sometimes in the office, she did. That was the inconvenient truth.

Mentally preparing for battle, her hands clenched into fists at her side.

She wasn’t supposed to be in Palenque without an authorized tour guide, and seeing that his boy ran the only tour company for Palenque, she was clearly out of bounds.

Selene was also sweaty, thirsty, and stranded.

In short, she was at a disadvantage, and she hated being vulnerable.

She hated looking like she needed him at all.

She would not give him the satisfaction of playing a knight in shining armor.

He reached her as the rain picked up and ran down her face. He attempted to push the water bottle and an umbrella into her hands, but Selene quickly shook her head no.

“I’m OK,” She lied.

Emir released an exasperated sigh, placed the water bottle against her outstretched hand, and silently demanded she drink it. Then he opened the umbrella and held it over her.

She twisted the top off the water and threw it on the ground in defiance. “This is ridiculous,” she panted before sipping the water.”

Emir frowned. “All of it,” he growled. She wanted to be angry at his tone, but the thirst pot between her legs reacted like a total hussy to his commanding tone. So she closed her eyes, obeyed, and drank the entire bottle in one long gulp.

When she finished, she opened her eyes and caught Emir staring at her mouth and throat like a starving animal. His stare caused heat to spread throughout her entire body. She bent down to pick up the water bottle top she had thrown to the ground moments earlier to regain some composure.

When she rose, he had a raised eyebrow and a knowing smirk on his annoyingly beautiful face. She looked away before she did something stupid like kiss him for all he was worth.

“It looks like my favorite employee could use some assistance. Who left you out here to melt in the heat, Javier Rocha?”

Selene’s head snapped up because that’s precisely who left her out here looking like a fool, but how did he know that?

“Have you been following me?” Selene accused. If you took the time to stalk me, you could have just given me the information I needed and saved us both the headache.”

Emir snorted and looked up at the sky. The rain would become a washout within the hour, and he needed to get her back to Bocagrande before that happened.

“I don’t need to follow you to know that Javier is up to his same scheme. You’re not special; he’s been running the same scam for years. Antonio even tried to banish him. He’s not an actual tour guide or even a taxi driver. At least once a month, he leaves some unsuspecting fool exactly where you are and runs off with their money. I’ll admit it’s usually a journalist, but one fool is as good as any other.”

That’s it!

Selene was tired of his high and mighty attitude. She bet no one had ever really taken this man down a peg or two, but today was his lucky day because she was just the woman to do it.

“Look! I’m no fool—quite the opposite. I’m a Fulbright Scholar with a degree from Spelman and MIT, just trying to do my job. I grew up in New Orleans with a drunk father and a missing mother. My baby sister Tessa and I were all we had. I raised her and damn near raised myself. I cut my teeth, helping other architects build their careers. I came to Aspen and KJR because I was determined to develop my career for a cause I care about.

She paused for a moment as she stared Emir down.

“And for reasons I can’t fathom, you have made it your business to stand between me and my dreams. You think you’re the only one who knows anything about this community or cares. You’re not some socially conscious businessman; you're just a close-minded and privileged man who trusts no one except himself. If you cared about your friend Antonio and Palenque, you would welcome architects like me who only want to help by exposing the corruption that’s crippled this community. So fuck you!’”

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