Page 23 of Ashes of Sin and Stardust

“Thank you for killing it!”

Sophie skipped back into the room, a huge grin on her face. “So, we did it, right?”

“I have very little doubt.”

“You’re the best!”

“Glad someone thinks so,” I murmured. Sophie gave me a shy little side hug before skipping off to whatever it was she did all day. Cat patted me on the back twice, threw me a half smile, and went back to the nursery to take back over her job of rearing the children.

Alice rose and began clearing up the room, her heels snapping smartly on the ground as she collected the coffee cups and barely-used notepads.

“Alice,” I said.

She didn’t say anything, she just turned to me and raised an eyebrow. I could already see the attitude seeping back into her face.

“I’m impressed.”

She worked to hide her smirk. “I told you I could behave if I needed to.”

“Was that a skill you learned from the CIA?”

“No. It was a skill I learned from working for a defense attorney for almost ten years. He got me the job at the CIA.” She clicked a pen closed and smiled at me. “No, the skills I picked up at the CIA were...much more interesting.”

She trashed the paper coffee cups and was about to leave the room when I spoke again. “I’d like to apologize.”

She spun around slowly, studying me like she didn’t quite believe the words that came out of my mouth. Staring at me like I was a lion about to pounce on her, she took one slow step at a time until she was right in front of me, gripping the notepads firmly in her hands.

“Why?”

I measured my words before I spoke. “First, because I said something to you on Sunday that was clearly very upsetting, and that was not the intended effect. I meant it sarcastically, but I’m afraid that is an art form I have yet to master, and I missed the mark spectacularly.”

She rolled her lips into her mouth like she was holding something back. I took her silence as an allowance to continue.

“Second, because I misjudged you as a childish, unprofessional, self-centered brat, and I can see now there is significantly more to your personality than what I initially assumed.”

She blew out the breath she was holding. “Well, you weren’t wrong about your initial reaction, but you aren’t wrong about your epiphany either. So... apology accepted. Thanks for putting those four corporate assholes in their place and letting me watch. Also... your hour is up.” She resisted a smile, but her jaw moved to the side slightly. “And I’ve had a really long day of dealing with alotof bullshit, and I fully intend to take it out on you. Fair warning.”

“Why me,” I asked, knowing I’d probably regret it.

“Because you’re so sexy when you’re pissed off.” She winked and sauntered out of the room, rocking her hips far more seductively than she’d done earlier in the meeting.

I shook my head as I watched her go, wondering what exactly was in store for me next, and wondering if I was really dreading it as much as I had before. I had assumed Alice was annoying me because I was the last one yet to win over, or because she found it entertaining... not because she felt any attraction towards me.It felt... novel.

As they usually did, my thoughts jumped to what I wanted to do to wipe that snarky smile off her face, and I had to shove those thoughts down before I lost my mind and my self-control. There was something so exciting about the idea of being the one to get her under control that I almost went after her.

You do not have time to deal with her shit on a daily basis. Shut it down, Weston.

I didn’t exactlylikeAlice... but she certainly wasn’tboring. And if I wasn’t careful, I was going to start acting out my fantasies of taming her. She may be a clever scheming brat... but I was a lonely, frustrated, under-stimulated sadist, and she wanted my affection.

Bad combination.

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