Page 47 of Dancing for the Minotaur

That mattered more than she wanted to admit. And it made her willing to try and forget the strange way he’d somehow seen into her mind when he touched her.

Taurex looked around the office, apparently taking in the visible desk, the neatly labeled folders and the piles that were finally beginning to make sense.

“This is the first time I have been able to see the surface of my desk in months,” he admitted.

Terra laughed.

“Well, don't get too excited. We still have six more boxes to go through.”

“I am not concerned,” he said.

She laughed again.

“You should be. That’s a lot of paperwork to get through. We need to get you on a digital system.”

His golden gaze settled on her again, and this time there was something in his expression that made her laughter fade.

“I am glad I hired you,” he murmured and his eyes seemed to speak of much more than the work they’d gotten through together.

Something warm moved through Terra's chest but she did her best to ignore it. She looked away and began gathering her things.

“Well, I'm glad you needed an office manager,” she said lightly. “I’m, er, not stripping anymore,” she added, looking down at her hands.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he said quietly. “I know you didn’t really enjoy it.”

That was as close as he’d come to talking about how he’d managed to look into her head all day and Terra wasn’t sure how to feel about it. There was a long moment of silence between them and then Taurex said,

“I believe we need to talk about compensation. I think I offered to pay you twice as much as you made, er, dancing.”

“Yes, that’s right.” Terra nodded, glad they were changing the subject.

“And may I know how much you made so I can double it?” he asked.

Taking a chance, Terra named a figure that was the absolute best night she’d ever had while working the pole. There had been a rowdy crowd of High Rollers for a bachelor party that night and she’d gone to the VIP lounge four times. The take had been impressive but at the end of the night she’d felt dirty and tired and had spent an hour in the shower getting clean.

Taurex didn’t even blink an eye at the sum she mentioned.

“Done,” he said. “I’ll pay you double that every day you work for me. Also, I think it’s only fair that you get ten percent of the delinquent invoices you manage to pull in.”

“What?” Terra looked at him with wide eyes. “But that means that for today…”

“You’ll be making four thousand, three hundred dollars. On top of your daily payment, of course,” Taurex finished for her. “And I’ll continue to pay you ten percent of the delinquent accounts you pull in for me going forward.”

Terra shook her head in bewilderment.

“That’s…too much.”

The big Monstrum frowned.

“No, it’s fair compensation. Look at everything you’ve already done for me…” he spread his hands, indicating the office where the paperwork was no longer taking over the whole room. “You’re a valuable employee—I want to keep you happy.”

“Well…thank you.” Terra still felt breathless. Was he really going to pay her nearly five thousand dollars for one day’s work? Taking this job was beginning to look like the best decision she’d ever made!

“You’re very welcome. Now, should I write you a check or do you want to set up a direct deposit?”

“I’ll take a check today and we can set up the direct deposit tomorrow,” Terra said, mainly because she wanted to be able to show the check to her mother. She was excited that Terra had quit “waitressing” at the strip club but had also been worried about money. The enormous check would definitely put her mind at ease.

“That’s fine.” Taurex got out a leather-bound check book which looked tiny in his big hands and began writing. He tore it off and handed it to her and Terra stared at it for a long moment before putting it safely into her purse.