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“Look, Kane, I know we have time, but I really wanted to start moving my staff over this next week. You see, I’ve got a buyer who is looking at my building and well, no opportunity like the present, right?” he laughed a little awkwardly.
“Mmmhmm,” I murmured agreeing. So, it was a financial deal that was making him press. I could respect that. “I’ll sign it tonight, Ash, afterhours and send it over. You can start moving in as soon as you want. I’ll have the carpet in the second office in the penthouse steamed cleaned for you. I know how fastidious you are.”
Ashton laughed a bit. Cleanliness was an ongoing joke between us. It came from a time in our college days when the hazing ceremony in our fraternity made us both wrestle pigs in the mud. Ever since that time, Ash couldn’t stand to be around dirt. Not like I really cared, it would make him a better partner at the office.
“Thanks, man,” he said, and I could tell he was smiling. “We’ll talk soon. I’m looking forward to this.”
I agreed with him and hung up. Spinning my chair so I could look at the clock, I let out a breath I wasn’t aware I was holding. Five. Finally, it was clocking out time and the building began to empty.
I didn’t like my employees working late, and I always stressed the importance of a work-life balance. Happy employees made for better employees. However, one of my employees would be working very late tonight. Reese had some assignments I expected her to complete. One of those was signing the NDA so we could take things to the next level.
A brisk knock rattled my office door. I frowned and put away the paperwork I had been working on. I hadn’t been expecting anyone. It wasn’t Reese because Melissa would talk to her before I saw her. I used my security camera to see who was there.
“Fuck.” I put my hand to my forehead and rubbed my temples a bit. This was going to give me a headache.
Sloane stood outside. Would she ever get the hint? Every time I changed the passcode for the elevator, she always managed to get it. No matter how often I’d explained there wasn’t a chance for us and that we had no future, she continually tried to get my attention. She just wouldn’t give up.
Her dad was the brother of my closest fraternity brother. We sometimes golfed. He was a good guy, but his daughter was a spoiled little princess. Something he was well aware of and didn’t do anything about.
All this was really getting to be too much. I’d have to talk to him about her. Tell him that the favor of giving Sloane a job wasn’t working out. She had to realize my friendship with her father didn’t give her access to me whenever she wanted. Or however she wanted.
I clicked open the office door, turned in my chair to face it and tapped my fingers on my armrests. She catwalked in with her head held high in the usual haughty manner she carried herself. It was annoying.
She smiled in a way I was sure she considered sexy. I considered it simpering.
“Sloane, to what do I owe the pleasure?” And displeasure. I didn’t give her a smile or any indication that she was welcome.
Unaware of my displeasure, she smoothed her hands down the front of her skirt and sat down in the chair in front of my desk without being invited.
“So good to see you, Kane.” She grinned; her garishly painted lips parting to reveal horse-like teeth. “It’s always a pleasure being in your office.”
I hated her familiarity with me, but I’d known her since she was a brace-wearing, gawky tween and my first name was something she’d always used.
“How can I help you?” My question held no warmth. I raised my eyebrows and gave her a bored look.
She frowned and leaned forward a bit. She ran a narrow finger over the top of my wooden desk, as if she was checking for dust. She was trying to show me her cleavage—a sight I didn’t care to see. “Why wasn’t the mentee program made public? And how did someone like Reese get it? She’s not qualified for the position. If you’re looking for someone to mentor, mentor me.” She made a big show of licking her lips. “I’m open to anything and eager to learn.”
I doubted that very much. I steepled my fingers together and tapped them against my chin. Sloane talked a good game, but kink wasn’t her thing. She would lie and say it was but in reality, she would most likely balk at being spanked, whipped, tied up, or ordered to do anything.
“Melissa and I analyzed every staff member and came to the conclusion that Reese was the person we were looking for,” I said in my most business-like tone. So what if everything I’d just said was a lie.
