Page 40 of By His Rule

She studies my space with intrigue, but she doesn’t react until I pick up the small remote on my desk and darken the glass wall that would allow anyone passing to see inside.

A sharp gasp fills the room, and I swear it sucks all the air from the vast space.

“What is going on here, Kian?” she demands, walking toward the floor-to-ceiling windows that showcase the city outside.

I chuckle at her confusion. I can’t help it; riling her up is just too much fun.

“Why are you finding this so fucking funny?” she snaps, finally losing her patience. “Is all of this one big joke? Was the job offer bullshit? Are you just doing this to get revenge because I turned you down? I’ve got to say, if that’s true then?—”

“There is a job, Lorelei,” I say, interrupting her rant.

“Then why am I up here and not down with Martin?” Her hands land on her hips as she glares nothing but pure hatred at me.

“Another candidate was chosen to be Martin’s assistant,” I explain as I undo my jacket and lower my ass to my chair. “Someone a little more suited to the role.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that it went to someone with a little more experience with the kind of tasks that role demands.”

“And what? I wasn’t good enough?" she spits.

I stare at her while she fumes. I’m pretty sure if I wait long enough, steam is going to begin billowing from her ears.

“Something like that,” I muse.

Her eyes widen and her mouth opens and closes like a fish as she fights to come up with a suitable retort.

“You are unbelievable. I need this job, Kian. And to think, I actually believed that something good was happening in my life. What a fucking idiot I am,” she storms toward the door, ready to flee.

“You weren’t given the job as Martin’s assistant because you’re too good for it, Lorelei. That role is beneath you.”

She pauses with her hand on the door handle as my confession lingers between us.

“We didn’t need a reference from your previous employer. We already know what you are capable of and where your skills lie.”

Her shoulders rise and fall with every deep breath she sucks in.

“What are you saying, exactly?” she asks, her voice weak and vulnerable.

I push my chair back and stand before stalking closer to her.

“I’m saying that I have a better offer for you.”

I don’t stop until I’m close enough to her that there is no chance she can’t feel my warmth against her back.

“You’re not going to be Martin’s assistant, Lorelei.” I swear she trembles before me as she waits for the words she fears that are about to fall from my lips. “You’re going to be mine.”

10

LORELEI

Oh, fuck no.

He has got to me fucking with me.

I suck in a deep, steeling breath, hoping it gives me enough strength to deal with this delusional asshole.

I had no issue being Martin’s assistant. It’s a job I’d do willingly and happily.

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