Page 37 of His Rules

I grunted my response before bringing my glass to my lips. The whiskey had a smoky taste, the slight burn on the back of my throat exactly what I needed. Still, I almost detected a lingering taste of her on my tongue. What I wouldn’t like to do with that tongue at this point. “She said she hates me with her venomous eyes, which is perfectly fine. She’s already a thorn in my side. And don’t be so melodramatic.”

I’d been shocked when she’d stood up for the girl who’d tossed coffee on me. She had great nerve.

“I call them like I see them,” he chortled just before a spark went off in his eyes. “Hold on. Taylor. Why do I know that name?”

I swirled the liquid in the glass, trying to determine the best way to answer that. My brother had an uncanny ability to see through every lie I told. “Because she’s Daniel Taylor’s daughter.”

“Oh,” he said then glanced toward where they’d gone. “Oh! Did her dad ask you to hire her?”

“Not exactly.”

“Uh-oh. Why do I feel like there’s a story here?”

“Because there is.”

Steven leaned forward, his eyes opening wide after only a few seconds. “Oh, my God. Please do not tell me you slept with that girl.”

Saying no wasn’t going to make the situation any easier. “Yeah, I did. Trust me. I didn’t know who she was at the time.”

“And you hired her after you found out?”

“My human resources manager hired her under Drake’s direction.”

He coughed on his drink and was forced to use his cocktail napkin. “I always knew the gods had it out for you. Are you actually going to continue working with her?”

“Why wouldn’t I? She has excellent qualifications.”

“As an assistant or as a financial analyst?” He was more amused than before.

The fact was Kacey was highly qualified for the job. Her boss was none too thrilled she was leaving. I’d had an hour-long conversation about her and it was apparent she’d done a lion’s share of work at his company, including locating a source of embezzlement within his firm. Yet he’d sensed a story hiding under the glowing review. She’d left for a reason she didn’t want to talk about. Everyone had secrets, some uglier than others.

“I was right in hiring her.”

He grinned as if I’d been caught in a lie. “Not bad on the eyes either. Huh? Are you planning on indulging in the forbidden during her tenure?”

“Not a chance in hell. Daniel would kill me.” I knew he would.

“I’d kill you if I was her dad.” He laughed and shook his head. “She’s a hottie though.”

“Don’t you dare try and lay a finger on her.” I was a little more adamant than I should have been, and my brother caught it. We’d always been close, enough so I’d wanted him to enter into business with me, but he wasn’t keen on keeping a strong work ethic. He was a playboy, a true trust fund baby, while I’d invested both my time and money into the company.

“You like this girl. I can tell. Don’t you dare lie to me.”

I snorted and looked the other way. One drink wasn’t going to be enough tonight. That was easy to tell. “She’s my employee. Nothing more. Plus, I told her she must follow my rules at all times.”

“Right. If I remember correctly, your rules are difficult to follow and a little out of the ordinary. As in kinky as fuck.”

My brother knew me too well. We’d gone to kink clubs together over the years. “Not like that.”

“One thing I know about you. When you set your sights on something or someone, you go after it and never lose.”

“Yeah, well, she’s not a prize.” She was very much a prize. “End of subject. I can’t touch her.”

“O-kay. If you can convince yourself.”

“So why exactly did you ask me out for a drink?” While I was close with my younger brother, we weren’t exactly drinking buddies. We had entirely different sets of priorities.

“Our father called and had me drop by the house.”

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