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“So where are you from then?” I’m fully expecting him to tell me he is from Papua New Guinea or Samoa or the depths of Africasomewhere. Where primitive people still live in isolated villages without electricity or any modern conveniences.
“New Zealand.”
“New Zealand has Neanderthals?”
A wry smile plays briefly across his lips. “I’m Maori.”
He obviously realised I wasn’t going to shake his hand because his smile disappears, to be replaced with a stern expression and his hand drops to his side. Somehow, the stern look he’s giving me makes him even sexier. I swallow back the hard lump in my throat blocking my air.I will not fall for this man.
“I don’t need a babysitter,” I declare, but even I can hear the whine in my voice. I’m totally out of my depth. I’ve never faced a situation even remotely like this before and I have no idea what to do. I don’t know how to fight against this, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand here and take it, to let my life be turned upside down. I’ve got places to go, people to see, things to buy, a reputation to maintain. I’m staying right here in the Hollywood Hills. I’m certainly not going halfway around the world on Richard’s whim. And even if I was going to, I definitely wouldn’t be going today. I fix him with a bored stare. “Are we done here? I’ve got things to do.”
I turn, fully intending to walk out of here and get on with my day, but the solid, sexy mountain of a man Richard hired blocks my way. I try to move around him, but he sidesteps, blocking me.
“Get out of my way,” I snarl, but he ignores me, trapping me very effectively in the office without even touching me. He doesn’t need to. He’s huge, and he’s between me and the door. There’s literally nowhere for me to go. I could try barging my way through him, but even I’m not that stupid.
“Sit down, Jade,” Richard says softly, but he says it as more of a suggestion than an order, so I ignore him. I probably would have ignored him anyway, if I’m honest, but it’s much easier to ignore him when he phrases his commands like an option instead of a requirement.
“Sit down,” he repeats, a bit more forcefully this time, and Mr. Giant is still right there blocking me, so I sigh loudly, exaggeratedly, letting it be known that I am deeply unhappy about this, and I flop down into the chair.
CHAPTER 2
Jaxon
“You’re on a fast track to jail, Jade. There’s only so much the lawyers can do. You fly out this afternoon. I’m sorry, my love, but you’ve left me with no other option.”
“No!” Jade yells, leaping to her feet. “No! I’m not going!”
“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.”
“You cannot make me do this!”
She spins on her sexy red heels, presumably intending to storm out of the office, so I shift slightly, using my body to block her way. Without even slowing down, she ploughs into me, using her shoulder to try to barge past, but I’m not giving in. No, this young lady is not getting the better of me. In me, she has definitely met her match.
“Get out of my way!” she screeches, her voice high-pitched and whiny. Grating, like fingernails on a blackboard. She tries toduck under me, but I grab her, blocking her way with my body and taking hold of her upper arms, restraining her easily.
“Sit down,” I command.
“Let go of me!” she screams, fighting against my grip. I tighten it. “Get your hands off me!”
She kicks out at me, probably aiming for my balls but narrowly missing my shin instead. I don’t even have to dodge her, her foot misses its mark all by itself, and this serves to infuriate her further. She glares at me ferociously, like it’s my fault she can’t aim, and tries again to wrench her body out of my grasp. I don’t let her go. Not now that I have her so nicely contained. It seems that she might be learning who holds the balance of power here.
“Richard!” she yells, tears brimming in her eyes and her voice high-pitched in fury. “Make this brute let go of me!”
Richard sighs. “Sit down, Jade.” He sounds tired. Tired and sad.
Not surprisingly, she doesn’t sit down. I get the impression that obedience is not one of her personal qualities. If I had to guess, I’d say she’s been using her status and beauty to get what she wants for years. Unfortunately for her, I’m swayed by neither looks nor money. I bend down so my mouth is close to her ear. “Do as you’re told,” I growl.
“No! You’re not the boss of me!”
She increases her struggles, twisting and writhing and tugging, but I’m not letting her go. Instead, I get right up close to her face, tugging on her arm to pull her closer. Our faces are mere inches apart, and I fix her with my steeliest glare. Looks like I was wrong; she hasn’t quite learned yet. But she will.
“On the contrary, little girl. Richard has hired me to oversee all aspects of your life. That includes curbing your atrocious behaviour. Now sit down and listen to him. Unless you’d like to find out what happens to naughty little girls?” I use my sternest voice and raise one eyebrow, hoping this will be enough to warn her that I mean business.
It’s not.
“Fuck off.”
As quick as a flash, I transfer my grip from her upper arm to the back of her neck and press her down over the big desk, her cheek smooshed into the newspapers, giving her a very close-up view of her very unflattering images. Photographic proof of just how far she’s fallen. Evidence that she truly does need a handler. The newspaper her face is buried in muffles her scream, but her frantic struggling lets me know in no uncertain terms that she’s very unhappy with being in this position.
