Page 6 of Grumpy Boss of the Year

"You sing?" Disbelief drips from my tone. “They have autotune at karaoke?”

"I’m probably a better singer than you."

"I've been told I do a wicked Tom Jones impression," I say in my best Welsh accent. She stares at me blankly. I almost forgot he was a singer best appreciated by people my grandma’s age. "I also do a mean Barry Manilow."

"My great-grandma listens to Barry Manilow."

"Oh, so sorry.” I hold my hands up in forgiveness. “Who do you cool kids listen to now?" I pause and run my fingers through my hair. I can see the nerve in her neck pulsating as I take a step forward. "Would you prefer me to sing ‘Baby Shark do do do do do do do do do do...’" I pause. "However many do-dos he does. That seems up your alley."

"Oh, of course." She licks her lips. "That's exactly the music I listen to on Spotify. It's number one on my playlist."

"Do you want to know what's number one on my playlist?"

"Not really." She shakes her head, and the other women giggle. I'd almost forgotten they were there.

"‘I'll make love to you...’" I grin. "Or my other favorite is ‘Wicked Slam’ by Beenie Man."

"Who?" She frowns, and I know I've got her.

"You don't know Beenie Man? He's a Jamaican dancehall superstar." I shrug. "Wouldn't have thought I was cooler than you."

"How do you know a Jamaican dancehall superstar?" she asks curiously, and I can see her sizing me up.

"I grew up in Southeast London. I know many things." I wink at her. She doesn't have to know more than that. Even though I’m pretty sure she knows nothing about Southeast London and the diversity of people I went to Primary school with before I was shipped off to boarding school, thanks to money from anold aunt, who wanted to see me get a proper education. "I'd be willing to share with you sometime."

"No, thank you." She looks over to her friends. "Lila, isn't Max waiting for you inside? Shouldn't we be headed in?"

"Uh, yeah.” Lila nods. “Good to see you, Liam.”

“You, too. Looking as beautiful as ever." I step back toward the entrance. "Let me take you back up. I only came down to make a call, but it is done now." I hold open the door, and the women walk through in silence, and then we all walk over to the elevator. “So, who has the pleasure of working for me next week?"

"Umm, I'm afraid Remington has a project for me," Juniper says quickly and shakes her head. "So, I won't be able to take any of your projects next week."

"Pity." I like working with Juniper. She is no-nonsense and the best assistant out of the three of them. None of them are as top-notch as legal assistants with plenty of experience, but they are all honest and trustworthy, which counts for a lot in my world. I look over at Lila and Skye, who are both avoiding eye contact with me.

“I would if I could, but I can’t,” Lila says finally and shrugs, giving Skye an apologetic look. “Something came up and?—”

“So I guess it’s you and me, Skye.” I cut Lila off as I don’t really need to hear her excuses. “Do me a favor and do some research on the Epoxy project happening in Harlem. I want?—”

“She didn’t say yes.” Elisabetta’s voice is sharp as she gives me a no-nonsense look. Her brown eyes seem to be breathing fire at me, and I lazily note that there are iridescent specks of green in her irises.

“Well, it seems like she’s the only one left.” I grin. “Unless you want to take the position, Ms. Franco.”

“Me?” She raises an eyebrow.

“Oh, yes, I forgot, you don’t actually know how to work, do you?”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re excused.”

“What do you mean, I don’t know how to work?”

“You’ve never worked a day in your life, from what I’ve heard. I very much doubt you’d be suited to working for me. I need someone competent and smart and?—”

“Skye is busy. It’s me or you find yourself someone new from HR.” Elisabetta smirks like she thinks she is actually a better option than a seasoned professional that HR could give me. I want to laugh at her confidence. She has no idea what she’s getting into. I make a vow to myself to show her exactly how difficult I can be to deal with. I am quite excited by the challenge.

“I guess I can give you a try...” I let my voice trail off as I stare at her lips. She blushes the most delicious color of pink, and I am pleased she caught my innuendo.

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