Page 23 of His Property

I’d been doing this for over twenty years and I’d never found anyone who did it nearly as well as I did. That wasn’t bragging—that was the truth. It wasn’t as if I never made mistakes—of course I did. But when it’s your ass on the line, your money being spent and risked—and potentially lost—there was nobody else who would try as hard to make sure none of that happened. Which was why I’d always been the one to do the hard stuff.

The grunt work, the detail-oriented shit,thatwas the difference between a company that struggled and one that had more work than it knew what to do with.

There was a knock at my door, as I gazed out the huge plate-glass window across the city. My suite on the 27th floor afforded a fairly dramatic view. But on an early autumn day like this, rather than the panorama of the cityscape, all I saw was the opaqueness of a fog bank. “Come on in.”

The tall, statuesque form of Alicia sauntered in the door, closing it behind her. She was wearing a black pencil skirt and an off-white long-sleeved top, the cuffs rolled up to her mid forearms. Her brilliant blonde hair was pulled back in a single ponytail. She clutched a tablet in one hand, a black pen being fiddled in the fingers of the other. “You got a minute to talk?”

“After the morning I’ve had, talking about anything but work sounds pretty fucking good to me.”

A hint of a smile curved her blush-glossed lips. “I’ve got good timing then, because this isn’t really about work—at least not the work you do here.”

I met her gaze at that, curious what it was she was after. “Have at it then, Alicia. I don’t think anything you could tell me could be even close to as bad as the dumpster file of a phone call I just had.”

She propped her ass on the corner of my desk, clutching the tablet computer to her bosom. “So, I wanted to talk to you about this new girl. The one you’ve got cleaning your house? I wonder if… she’s really a good fit for that job.”

I stared at Alicia for several seconds, trying to figure out where she was going with this. Was there an angle here? Of course, it wasn’t the first time she questioned my choices in personnel. It was one of the most valuable things she did for me.

The fact that she wasn’t afraid to call bullshit on something I said or did was precisely what made her so valuable. Among many other things. “It’s early days, but I think she’s got a lot of promise. She’s definitely eager to work, and she’s already proven to me that she’s willing to keep her word.”

Of course, there was no way I was going to tell Alicia justhowit was I’d verified the fact that Lola would be a woman of her word. My esteemed assistant didn’t need to know that.

“Look, I know it’s been a long year for you. A lot of ups and downs and, frankly, rebuilding. But I would be remiss if I did not tell you I don’t have a good feeling about her. No, I can’t exactly put a finger onwhatit is, but I just have the sense that there’s something about this girl that’s not the best fit. If it were me, I’d have her reassigned and tell the cleaning service to send somebody else.”

“Alicia, I don’t think that’s—”

She held up her hand, shaking her head slowly. “God knows I’m not going to tell you that you can’t do it, that’s not my place. But I’m a woman, and I understand women better than you do. This one… she could be trouble.”

Oh, you have no idea Alicia. No idea.

I’d been thinking about what happened the other night, and thinking about it a lot. At least she was right about one thing though—Lola Grantwasa whole lot of trouble.

Normally, I wouldn’t even take a second glance at a girl that young. Christ, she was practically half my age. But that was both a reason to stay away from her and the reason why she intrigued me. I’d never been the kind of guy who was interested in girls that much younger than me. And I didn’t think I was that guy now.

But therewassomething about Lola, and I didn’t think, no matter how much I thought about it, I’d ever figure out exactly what it was. Sometimes when you meet someone there’s just a certain energy, a connection, a chemistry. It’s just something that’s… there. The only question becomes at that point whether or not you act on it, and more often than not, it’s wisestnotto.

Of course my conscience, my pessimistic, almost cynical inner voice was telling me to do anything but what I did. I had to find out though. I needed to learn more about this girl.

Because there was something about her that I simply could not resist.

“Here’s what I’m gonna do, Alicia. Right now I’m gonna tell you that I’m going to give it a shot with her. The first few days always tell the tale, and if she’s going to be a slacker, or worse, a thief, I’ll know very soon. But I’m telling you I don’t think she’s either one of those things. I think she’s actually—maybe—a good person.”

Or maybe that’s just your cock talking right now?

That was of course certainly possible too. There was no denying that Lola Grant was very, very easy on the eyes. And while I normally went for more statuesque, even slender women, much like Alicia, well, it wasn’t one of those things.

It wasn’t that she was fat, not at all, but it was that she was built like a lush, feminine, classically beautiful woman. And that was something else I simply could not resist about her. Even so, she’d need more calories than she appeared to be getting, if she were to be filled out the way I’d love to see.

What disturbed me more, and it was something I had only felt once before in my life, was the sense that fell over me almost instantly as soon as I saw her naked body.

That this woman wasmine. That I already owned her, possessed her, and that what happened to her from here on out was entirely up to me.

Perhaps that was selfish, chauvinistic, even patriarchal. I didn’t give a shit. Lola Grantwasmine. Of course, in the end I still might have to send her packing anyway. That remained to be seen. But if what I had seen thus far—the spark of that connection between us—was real, was genuine, then I had a very good feeling Lola was going to feel in every way possible that she was indeed mine.

And very soon.

“Alicia, I trust you—”

“And you trust me to give it to you like it is. So, here it is. You’re making a mistake here.” She stood once more, flashing me a smile. “But when it blows up, I’ll be here to help you pick up the pieces. Just like I always have been. It’s what I do.”

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