Page 10 of Dangerous Pursuit

“No, tell me. I need to know if there’s some sort of dress code around here.” She’s not going to let this go.

“Fuck. You want an explanation? Here it is. I meant that I’d rather you walk around in sweats than have you tempting me while you’re completely off-limits. Is that clear enough for you,little girl?” Goddammit. Did I just admit my attraction to her? I watch as her face goes red, and that alone makes my confession worth it.

“Oh… okay… I’ll take that into consideration.” She pauses and then continues with an adorable pout on her face. “And I am not a child, so stop referring to me like one.” Of course that’s what has her irritated over all else.

“You are until your age says otherwise.” She rolls her eyes, proving that she’s done pretending to be immune to my attitude, which might make this situation a little more entertaining if nothing else. “Moving on. Order flowers to be delivered to Cindy’s room at the hospital—no price limit. Go extravagant, and I’ll email you what to put on the card. Also, get an update from our attorneys on the Bryer Building and Delaware transaction. That’s it for now. You can go.”

“Thank you, sir… I mean Jackson.” She didn’t even try hiding that she did that on purpose. This damn girl is playing with fire.

I watch her strut out of the office, and I swear she has a little more sway to her hips—fucking tease. My situation just became a lot more complicated. Shit.

Needing a distraction, I pick up the phone and dial my sister, Cici, as soon as the door shuts. She answers on the second ring. “Hey, Jackson!” It’s good to hear her voice.

“I just want you to know I’m still pissed at you for leaving, and with the latest development, I’m never forgiving you,” I tell her.

“What’s got you so cranky?”

I catch her up on the situation.

“Okay, well, how is she doing so far?”

“She’s been here a week. Who the fuck knows? Today’s the first day she’s been on her own, and I’ve been dealing with the weekend’s bullshit all morning, not paying attention to what she’s doing.” Not completely true; I’ve been paying plenty ofattention to her sweet ass as it exits my office each time. Okay—and I’ll admit this to no one—she did handle the morning way better than I expected andmaybeknows what she’s doing.

“Snap out of it and figure shit out. She’s there, so you might as well use her.” She lectures.

Fuck, everything sounds like an innuendo about Mia right now. That’s the main problem, one I’m not sharing with Cici.

“Did you not hear me? She’s a high school student. There’s no way she should be taking over Cindy’s job. I’m so fucking frustrated.”

“I get it, Jackson. But just because Mom and Dad are digging their heels in doesn’t make it this girl’s fault. What’s her name?” It comes out of my lips with venom before she continues. “It’s not Mia’s fault you’re in this position, so don’t take it out on her. Trust me, I know what you can be like when you’re mad. Be nice. At least it’s only temporary, right?” She knows how it is when our parents make demands, but that doesn’t mean she gets this particular situation.

“Easy for you to say, runner.”

“Yeah, yeah. Miss you too. Keep me posted. And seriously,be nice.”

I chuckle as I hang up the phone after we say goodbye. I love my sister, and I get why she left, but I’m not going to stop giving her shit for it, even though I’m proud of her. She never liked being under our parents’ control and knew early on that she wanted to make her own way, even though doing so got her cut off. It took balls for her to leave, but she’s thriving now, and unbeknownst to her, I check on her frequently. I can’t say I’d have made the same decision if this wasn’t what I wanted to do, but luckily it is.

She wants me to be nice to Mia, but if that happens, we’ll have a different problem altogether. Better stick with the plan.

EVEN LOWER

Mia

I’m not sure how I’ve survived my first week without Cindy. It was hard enough to put up with Jackson’s crap when I rarely had to interact with him. Now that our barrier is gone, it’s taken everything I’ve got. If he treated me half as nice as he did Cindy, we’d probably be just fine. I still can’t get over the message he sent with her flowers. It was so incredibly sweet that I may have developed a slight crush on the man—until our next interaction, that is.

I let my guard down for one minute, and we ended up going for each other’s throats. It won’t happen again. Getting a response out of me only seems to encourage him further. It’s best to maintain appearances and squash his attempts to provoke me. If he’d stop behaving like an ass, maybe he would notice that I’m great at this job.

I admit, it’s been fun messing with him by wearing the most suggestive clothing I can get away with since his confession lastweek. It was worth splurging on a few items from the thrift store, even adding a pair of heels. Walker was spot-on—age has no bearing when it comes to physical attraction. At least I’m the only one who knows it goes both ways. Jackson and I have two things in common: attraction and scorn for each other. Hopefully, scorn will continue to win out, or there might be a problem.

So far, the job itself is a piece of cake. Jackson, on the other hand, is like dealing with a grizzly. Speaking of which, it’s time to poke the bear again. Though it’s not my intention, my mere presence seems to have that effect.

I knock on the door and wait. I’m certain I have a mild case of PTSD from hislessonon day one.

“Come in,” he calls through the door.

We’re making headway; that was only one knock. I fist-pump internally and school my features as I enter.

“I have the updates you asked for. Would you like me to go over them or leave my notes for your review?” I remain inside the door, waiting for a response, cringing at my fake ass-kissing.

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