Page 10 of The Rules of Their Red-Hot Reunion

‘Newsflash, you’re not the boss of me.’ Really, who did he think he was trying to boss her around? His sous chef? One of his waitstaff? Arrogant jerk!

‘Ro is stressed and being stressed isn’t good for her or the twins. When she hears we can’t work together she’ll worry and then Muzi will rip off my head.’

‘I don’t really care what happens to your head,’ Aisha told Pasco.

‘But you do care what happens to Ro,’ Pasco quickly responded.

Dammit, he had her there. Though she’d only just met her, she liked Ro and she didn’t want any harm coming to her or her babies.

‘Look, I want to work with you even less than you want to work with me, but Muzi is my best friend and Ro means a lot to me. I try not to disappoint the people I love.’

His words were an arrow straight through her heart. ‘Except that you had no problem hurting me!’

As soon as the words left her mouth, she wished she could pull them back. She sounded every inch the wronged and bitter wife. Dammit, she shouldn’t be feeling anything for him, not after such a short relationship so long ago!

‘Hey, you were the one who left me!’ Pasco told her, his voice rising.

‘And it was so easy for you to let me go!’ Aisha retorted.

What was it about this man that made her temper bubble, her tongue fly? Her childhood home was a shouting-free zone—her professor parents preached dialogue and discussion—and she never lost her temper at work, but Pasco managed to blow every one of her fuses. How was she going to be able to work with him if all they did was shout and/or snipe at each other?

Aisha folded her arms against the chill of the autumn night and looked up at the swathe of stars above her head. It was a beautiful night, and she was in the company of a beautiful man, but one who despised her.

She couldn’t blame him for that—she did walk out on him without warning, leaving him a note explaining nothing. If he’d done that to her, she would still be angry too.

At the time she’d known that if she’d tried to explain her thoughts and feelings, explain that he didn’tseeher, that she needed time with him, he’d either kiss, charm, or persuade her into staying. She’d tried to talk to him, but he always deflected the conversation or distracted her before she managed to convey the depths of her unhappiness. And on the rare occasions she had managed to get her point across, he’d made no effort to give her the time she’d so desperately needed.

Talking and staying was a habit, and she’d broken that cycle with a note and by actually leaving.

The past was the past and nothing could be changed. But she could get a handle on what was happening now. Especially since the stakes were so damn high. If she did a good job at St Urban, she’d get a promotion. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t, and she’d stay where she was, spending months and months in strange countries. Another shot at promotion wouldn’t come any time soon, if it came at all.

Just calm down, Shetty...and think!

Ro is your client, and she wants Pasco to work with you. You can’t ask her to choose between the two of you because, if you did, you’d probably lose. Pasco is her husband’s best friend and it seems Ro and Pasco genuinely like each other.

If you want to work at St Urban, then you have to work with Mr Annoying. Also known as Mr Annoyingly Sexy.

Shaking off the thought, Aisha decided she had to treat Pasco as she would any other consultant.

But with stricter rules.

‘We need to establish some goalposts, guidelines...’ God, what was she trying to say? ‘We need to work out the rules.’

‘Rules?’ Pasco asked, his expression derisive.

Aisha dropped her hand to nail him with a hard look. ‘Yes, I know, you are a hotshot chef who doesn’t think rules apply to him, but with our history and if we are going to be working together, then we need some.’

‘There’s only one rule...’ Pasco told her, hands on his hips. ‘Do what I want, when I want it, and we’ll get along fine.’

Had he changed at all? If she had to judge by that comment, then he hadn’t, not even a smidgen. Aisha clenched her fists, her fingernails digging into her palms. She hoped he was teasing her, but in case he wasn’t she couldn’t back down, be seen to be weak. If she did, Pasco would gobble her up and spit her out. Not happening. ‘You really should see somebody to talk about your delusions of grandeur, Kildare.’

She saw a gleam in his eyes she didn’t like but decided to ignore it. ‘That tongue of yours has got sharper, Aisha Kildare—’

‘Aisha Shetty. I dropped your name as soon as I could.’

Pasco responded with a mocking smile. He slid his hands into the pockets of his trousers and raised his dark eyebrows. ‘Why did you come back here, Aisha?’

‘What do you mean?’ Aisha asked him, confused by the swift change of subject.

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