Page 14 of Have To Be Mine

“Apparently it is.”

Krista leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. The movement made her tank top stretch across her chest. It was extremely distracting. I forced my eyes back to her face and found her watching me check out her boobs.

I wasn’t even going to try and apologize.

“Here’s how this is going to work,” she said. “I’m going to shadow you for the next three weeks. You’re going to cooperate. And at the end of it, your family’s campaign will be a success, and I’ll go back to my job. And you and me, we’ll never see each other again.”

“Or,” I countered, “you could just tell Adrian everything’s fine and enjoy a paid vacation in Greece. Hit the beaches. See the sights. Eat some baklava. I’ll handle my job, you pretend to handle me, everyone’s happy.”

“Not happening.”

“Why not? You’d still get paid.”

“Because I don’t take money for work I didn’t do.”

“Wow. Integrity. How refreshing.”

“Is that a foreign concept to you?”

“I have integrity,” I said unable to hide my scowl.

I grabbed the mimosa and took a long drink, trying to figure out my next move. She wasn’t budging. And something about the way she sat there, completely unimpressed by me, made me want to crack that professional exterior.

“So what did you do?” I asked. “In the military.”

“That’s classified.”

“Come on. You can tell me. What were you? A cook? Did you shine shoes?”

I was trying to get a rise out of her. It wasn’t working. She just smiled at me, that same dangerous smile from before.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“I would, actually. It’s relevant. I need to know if you’re qualified for this job.”

“I’m qualified.”

“Says who?”

“Says your brother, who hired me.”

And that hit. My fucking brother went behind my back and hired a babysitter. Bullshit.

“This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” I muttered.

She leaned forward, her dark eyes locked on mine. “Play along and this works fine.”

“Fine,” I said. “You can shadow me. But I’m not changing how I work.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“And you’re not bossing me around.”

“I’m not here to boss you around. I’m here to make sure you do your job.”

“I always do my job.”

“Eventually. Usually at the last possible second, from what I understand.”