Page 29 of The Yeah Baby Series: Vol 3

Chapter3

Calista

I hada reputation for being unflappable in the field. Nothing ever threw me for a loop. But when I walked through the door to the office and found Xander on the other side of it, I was stunned. In an instant, I went from excited anticipation for the position I was about to take, to crushing disappointment. There was no way in hell I could work for Xander after the night we’d spent together. There went the job that would allow me to stay in Atlanta and see what could build between us. And judging from the look on his gorgeous face, I was going to have a hell of a time convincing Xander how obvious it was that I couldn’t take thejob.

“I don’t mix business and pleasure.”

“Don’t,” he growled, his dark eyes popping open and meeting mine with a burning intensity that had me taking a step backwards.

I didn’t have anywhere to go, though, since the closed door was right behind me. “Xander,” I whispered, my sadness over the situation in which we found ourselves filling my voice.

“No,” he barked. “I’m not going to stand here and listen to you boil us down to less than what we reallyare.”

Even though my heart raced at the way his voice got raspy, I couldn’t let it sway me. “It was one night—” I started, but he didn’t let me finish my thought.

“Enough of your one-night bullshit,” he hissed, pinning me to the door with his hard body while his hands pressed against it on either side of my head. “It was the first night of many—something which we were both on the same page about when we parted ways this morning, damnit.”

I dropped my head onto his chest. “That was before I walked in here and discovered you were the guy I was interviewingwith.”

“That’s an excuse, and I’m not willing to accept it. Nothing’s really changed.”

My head snapped back up, and my spine straightened. If he was trying to go about convincing me to take the job and keep him in my bed, he was doing a shitty job of it. Pissing me off was definitely not the way to go. “It’s not an excuse,” I spat out. “It’s the reality of our situation.”

“Our reality is that you’re going to damn well learn how to mix business and pleasure because you’re going to spend your days working with me and your nights in mybed.”

“You can’t force me to take thejob!”

His eyes narrowed, and his jaw hardened with determination. “Fight me forit.”

“What?” I sputtered, my hands pushing at his chest while I tried to figure out what the hell he was gettingat.

“You heard me. You win, you don’t have to take the job. But if I win, you’re going to work here, and I don’t want to hear any more bullshit about us being a one-night stand.”

His voice rang with confidence—too fucking much of it. I was a woman in a man’s world, which meant I was used to being underestimated on a regular basis. It had irritated me in the past, but it hurt like hell to think Xander believed it would be easy to defeat me on the mat. “You might want to think twice before you challenge me. Many others have done it before you, assuming I’d be an easy target. They learned the hard way, each and every time, exactly how stupid they were. I’m just that damngood.”

He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, aiming towards his desk. “Based on the sheer volume of redacted information in your file, I’m expecting you to be incredibly skilled.”

I was uncomfortable thinking about him reading my file, even the little information they would have given him access to. After the way we met, the night we’d spent together, I didn’t see Xander as a colleague. He was the man I wanted to date, and I wanted him to look at me the same way. But at the same time, I also didn’t want him to see me as anything less than his equal. His willingness to put our potential future together on the line made me wonder if he really did, though. “Then why the challenge?”

“Because I’m that fucking good, too. And my motivation will give me theedge.”

That was a damn good answer. “Okay, you’re on,” I conceded.

“Let’s go.” He grabbed my hand and yanked me away from the door to openit.

When he led me past his receptionist, she let out a frightened squeak and almost fell off her chair. He barely paid any attention to her, except for the irritated frown he sent her way. “You make some interesting hiring choices.”

“You’re a choice. Her? Not so much,” he chuckled. “Her grandmother talked me into it. Now I’m stuck with Jessa, who’s received no training at all, while Margaret recovers from surgery.”

Based on what Evie had shared with me about Gray Security, I expected the owner to be a hardass. But knowing Xander had a soft side just made him even more attractive. Damn it, why did it have to be him behind that damndoor?

“Where are you taking me?” I asked grumpily.

“Here,” he replied as he led me into a large room that had been set up as a gym, shutting the door behind us and lockingit.

“I’m not dressed for sparring.” I gestured down at the pantsuit and stiletto heels I’d chosen to wear for my interview.

“Neither am I,” he pointed out as he kicked off his shoes and jerked his suit jacketoff.

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