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“What the hell were you thinking last night?”
That presumed he’d been thinking at all.
When he’d run into Kaylee outside the fourteenth-floor fitness center and clamped his hands on her soft, feminine shoulders, the sight of her had stunned him. His prim and proper secretary had transformed into an ethereal, tempting elf.
The hem of her dress had been impossibly short and generously cut so it swished around her thighs as she moved. The top part conformed to her body, and the fit was perfect.
He had not been one hundred percent certain she was headed to the Quarter, but he’d had his suspicions, especially when she refused his offer to give her a ride. From the updates he’d received from Destiny once she convinced him to fill in for Master Denton, Frost knew most of the volunteers for the evening were going to be dressed as elves.
Then, as he’d drawn her aside and held onto her shoulders, he’d had a primal reaction.
For a fraction of a second, her breath had caught, and her soft hazel eyes had opened wide as she stared up at him.
Right then, he hadn’t viewed her as the woman who fought him tooth and nail every day and made his life difficult. Instead she’d seemed like the answer to the complex problems he’d been turning over in his personal life—namely what to do about his beloved, if persistent, grandmother.
Maybe they could be collaborators. He knew how much she wanted time off. And if he wasn’t such a dick, he would have signed her request form immediately. But the truth was, he counted on her more than he thought possible. She knew the employees, and she understood the company in a way he didn’t yet.
Kaylee Robbins was an invaluable asset. Selfishly he hated to be without her even for a few days.
“You’re a total bastard.” Aviana’s stern voice dragged him back to the present.
Why the hell had he even answered her call? Maybe because he knew she would have dialed him every ten minutes if he didn’t. After that, she would have shown up at his loft, banging on the door until he opened it. Then she’d breeze past him wearing some outrageous outfit that didn’t match her serene smile, make herself at home, and insist he uncork his finest champagne. Then after one glass, and giving him a piece of her mind, she’d pick up the bottle and take it with her.
“But I’m not telling you anything you don’t know.”
“Or anything you haven’t said before.” He stepped off the treadmill’s belt and dried perspiration from the back of his neck as he paced the confines of the room, ignoring the spectacular view of the Mississippi River.
Aviana could have waited a few more hours before dialing his number—at least long enough for him to have had coffee, or better, a Bloody Mary.
She sighed. “I continue to hope that you might reform your ways.”
At this stage of his life, he doubted it was even possible. “Is the only purpose of this unwanted interruption to highlight my numerous flaws?”
“There’s not enough time for that.”
He imagined her dismissively waving her hand.
“I’m offering you a friendly warning.”
He doubted thefriendlypart.
“I don’t like it when innocents are destroyed in your wake.”
Her accusation infuriated him, and his temper strained against the tight leash he kept it on. “You’re underestimating her.”
“Not at all. I see her strength, but I know what she’s been through.”
The intentional barb found its mark. He knew nothing about who his assistant was. And until now, maybe it hadn’t mattered.
“I’m also aware she has a heart.”
Heart? What did that have to do with anything? “I assure you Ms. Robbins was a consenting adult.” The club’s security cameras would prove his point.
“To the scene, yes. Otherwise I would have bounced your ass out of there. But as to everything else?”
“What the fuck do you know about my life or relationship to…” The provocative submissive? His assistant? He finally settled on, “Ms. Robbins?”
“I know who she is to you.” When she went on, the reprimand in her sharp tone rang crystal clear. “There’s an unequal power dynamic between you, and I see you manipulating her, using your authority to your advantage.”
