Page 1 of Just a Little Tempted

CHAPTER ONE

Simon

“You’re fired.”

Sarah’s eyes went wide, her jaw dropping open. She’d been my assistant for all of three weeks, so I’d hoped she’d take the news without much fuss. But the outrage twisting her features told me I’d miscalculated. She was going to make a scene.

“Is this a joke?” Fire flashed in her eyes.

I couldn’t fathom what part of this she imagined I’d find amusing. I folded my arms across my chest and let my gaze go hard. “No. Gather your things and leave your parking pass on the desk.”

I turned toward my office, but she recovered fast, darting around her desk to plant herself in my path. If looks could kill, the one she leveled at me would have dropped me where I stood.

“You can’t just fire me,” she said, her voice sharp with anger. “I’ve been a great assistant—”

“You were adequate at first.” I cut her off, my patience already thinning. “But your performance lately has been less than impressive. I gave you a list of tasks this morning. You’ve completed half of them.”

She rolled her eyes, and any flicker of doubt I might have had about letting her go vanished. I couldn’t trust someone who couldn’t finish the work and then got defensive when I called them on their incompetence.

“That list was ridiculous,” she shot back. “It was too much. I tried to tell you that, but of course you didn’t listen. You’re too much of an unreasonable tyrant.”

It wasn’t the first time I’d heard a variation of that.You’re too demanding. You’re mean. You’re impossible to work with. You’re bossy.

That last one always grated. Iwasthe boss. I signed the paychecks, and I expected results in return. I had standards for my assistants. There was nothing wrong with that.

And yet every assistant I’d let go lately seemed to agree on one point:Iwas the problem.

“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. Staying professional while someone insulted me took effort, but I refused to let my temper get the best of me. “If you find me to be such anunreasonable tyrant, then surely you’ll agree this job isn’t a good fit. Please leave.”

It wasn’t a request. We both knew it. I stepped around her and into my office, and the moment the door clicked shut behind me, the ranting began. Her commentary on my character was colorful and loud enough that Liam, my brother and business partner here at Powers Investment Group, was guaranteed to catch every word from his office across the hall.

Of course he was in today. He spent most of the week at GalvaTech, the electronics company we’d invested in a few months back. Any other day, there would have been no witnesses. Today, naturally, there would be.

Sarah was gone within fifteen minutes. Liam gave me five more before he walked into my office without knocking, his mouth set in a frown.

I was halfway through the quarterly report from one of last year’s investments, and I stubbornly kept my eyes fixed on the columns of numbers on my screen, hoping that if I looked busy enough, he’d take the hint and leave me alone.

Instead, he dropped into one of the chairs across from my desk. So much for wishful thinking.

“So.” He drew the word out. “That one lasted what—three weeks? Slightly longer than the last one, at least.”

I lifted my gaze from the computer screen. His jaw was set, his eyes narrowed a fraction, like I was a puzzle he’d given up trying to solve. He exhaled a heavy sigh and crossed his arms. Liam wasn’t a lecturer by nature, but everything in his posture said one was heading my way.

I leaned back in my chair and managed a shrug. “You and the staff have a bet going on or something? What’s the difference if she lasted three weeks or three days?”

Liam groaned and dragged a hand through his dark hair. “Pleasedon’t fire someone after three days. That’s insane.”

“I was exaggerating,” I said, though I didn’t quite meet his eyes.

“Were you?” He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Because lately it seems like you can’t hang on to an assistant at all.”

“It’s not my fault if they aren’t up to the job.”

“Itisyour fault if you’re impossible to work for.” He said it gently, which somehow made it land harder.

I let out a laugh that was completely devoid of humor. “Is this supposed to be tough love from my big brother?”

“This is concern from your business partner.”