Page 8 of Mine To Keep (Southern Wedding)

“I meant, what are you doing?” I clarify. I can see her smirk start to fill her face and my whole body goes on alert, especially the one body part that needs to stay in his own fucking lane. I swear, it’s like I didn’t jerk off this morning in the shower.

“Well,” she says, “I was reading emails to better understand the company, as well as make notes of certain things I need to watch out for.”

Fuck, that was a good answer, something I would have told her to do anyway, but she beat me to it. “Grab a pad and meet me in my office.” I turn and storm into my office, throwing my jacket on the couch before going over to my desk.

Pulling out the chair, I toss the manila folders on my desk before sitting down. I look up at the same time as I reach for the button at my wrist, unbuttoning and rolling up the sleeve to my elbow. “I take it the meeting didn’t go well?” She saunters in, and yes, I used the word saunter. That is the only word that can describe how she slithered in here. Her hips swinging left and right, taunting everyone. I look around to see if anyone is watching how she walks and notice it’s only me. “Did they not like the snacks?”

I undo the other cuff before I speak. “The snacks were fine,” I grumble between clenched teeth. “We need to go over things.”

“Perf,” she responds, walking over to one of the chairs and sitting down, the notepad in her hand as she sits. She doesn’t cross her legs. Instead, she crosses her ankles and puts them to the side.

“Perf?” I repeat, and she smiles at me.

“Means perfect. It’s what all the cool kids are saying these days.” I grit my teeth as she smiles at me.

“It’s one more syllable,” I say. “If my four-year-old can do it, I’m sure you can as well.”

“Does not like abbreviations.” She writes on her notepad. “Noted.”

I ignore the way her eyes twinkle when she looks at me, as if she is playing a game and she’s just won. “Email must be checked accordingly,” I instruct her. “There are private and confidential items that are being exchanged, so discretion is a must.”

“That goes without saying,” she replies, writing it down.

“My calendar is synced on my computer as well as yours, so any changes have to be done immediately. If things are going to change drastically, I want you to come and talk to me first so we can do it accordingly.” She writes down everything. “Until you get the hang of things.” I lean back in my chair. “Every morning, I would like to go over your schedule to make sure you don’t—”

“F it up,” she pipes up. “Sorry, abbreviation again. Mess things up.”

All I can do is stare at her. She bites her bottom lip, and I swear to God, my cock gets so hard it hurts. “So, while you were in the meeting.” She taps her pen on the pad. “I was going through the extensive and impressive client list you have.” I nod at her, waiting to hear what she has to say. “And I went in and tried to find any notes on each client, and there were none. I was wondering, if it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to go over your client list so you can give me a quick rundown on the clients. Little things I might need to know in order to do my job better.”

I have to hand it to her, it’s a great question. “That is if you aren’t too busy. If anything, I can see if maybe another of the PAs can help me.” She holds up her hands. “Sorry, personal assistants.” I watch her look down at her pad, trying to hide her smile.

Her hair falls in front of her face, and she gracefully tucks it behind her ear. “I expect you to be here on time every day.” She nods at me. “The hours are from eight to five, Monday to Friday.” She nods at me, not taking notes. “There will be some times I will need you to stay after hours, depending on the workload or the case.”

“No,” she says right away, and I just look at her, not sure I heard her right. Also, I’m not really used to being told no. I mean, it’s happened occasionally through the years, but usually the boss is never told no.

“No?” I repeat what she just said, in case I misunderstood, but from the look she gives me, I know I didn’t.

“I made it clear when I was hired that I could do seven days a week, but I would have to leave by four, max,” she retorts, starting to get up. “I can’t budge on that.” She stands in front of my desk, her notepad in front of her in both hands. “I take it this is a deal breaker.”

“Why can’t you stay after four?” I want to bite my tongue the minute the words come out of my mouth. One, because it is none of my business and I know this, and two, because it looks like I care, and I don’t.

“I just can’t,” she says, not giving an inch. “I can even work before eight so I can catch up on whatever I was supposed to do after hours, but under no circumstances can I stay after four”

“This job isn’t a joke,” I tell her, and I swear to God, I can’t put my finger on why her working for me bothers me. “It’s a serious position in a serious company.”

“Did I give off that I thought this job was a joke?” she counters, not backing down from me. “Did I give off any indication from the time I walked in today that I thought it was a joke?” I just look at her. “I take your non-answer as a no. I’ve been nothing but professional since I walked into this office. I wish I could say the same about my boss.”

I’m about to get up and tell her thank you for coming and get out when I spot Nash over her shoulder. “Looks like I got here just in time.” He’s leaning against the doorjamb with his legs crossed at his ankles and his hands in his pockets. “Did you guys discuss the gala yet?”

“No,” I answer, looking at Grace, “we were going over a couple of things.”

“Good,” Nash says, coming in and sitting in the chair beside the one Grace was just sitting in. “Grace.” He looks up at her, and I swear, it’s like slow motion in my head of me reaching out and punching him in the middle of his face. “Our parents are looking at having our twenty-fifth anniversary for Cottrell Group.”

“Oh, fun.” Her voice is upbeat, and I roll my eyes as she sits down and looks at him.

“It’s Caine’s job to plan it, and well, between you and me, he’s a bit—”

“Dry,” she adds in as if I’m not in the room. She doesn’t even look my way.

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