Page 17 of Forbidden Desires

I’m not my father, she’s off limits now that she works here, I remind myself, knowing I haven’t been able to take my eyes off her since she walked in. But thechemistry between us is still here, just like that first night in New York. “Something tells me you’re good at taking direction.” I raise a brow, trying to get a rise out of her, even though I know I shouldn’t.

She glances back up at me, her cheeks flushing pink, and I know she’s reliving our steamy night together. Makes me regret my choice of words. And my current position. But having her here in my office has me worked up. I want to push her buttons and see how she reacts, because she was supposed to be just a night of fun, an escape from my life, and now, she’s right here in the middle of this mess with me, taunting me because I can no longer have her in any of the ways I want.

“Guess I can’t be any worse than the past six, now can I?” She throws my words from earlier back at me, and I relish her feistiness.

“I guess we will see. Take today to get yourself familiar with the binder. There’s an empty office down the hall, just by Emerson’s, you can set yourself up in. If you have any questions save them for her, she will be able to point you in the right direction.” I stand to show her to her office space, but she doesn’t move. She stares up at me all doe-eyed and gorgeous, her full luscious lips forming a pout. I get a vision of her on her knees in front of me in just a hot-pink thong, like the night I met her. I run a hand through my hair, tugging at the ends. This is bad. Really fucking bad.

She blinks back at me. “So that’s it then? We’re just going to ignore the elephant in the room and pretend like we never met before?”

“Since you’re now working for my family’s hotel, I think that would be for the best,” I tell her, but I know how uncertain my words sound. A very large part of mewishes things were different and I could have another taste of her.

She rises to her feet. Keeping her eyes plastered on me, she moves toward me so we’re just a couple of inches apart. I can smell her sweet perfume; it’s the same one she had on that night. And just for a second, I let my eyes close as I inhale. Having her around is going to be trouble.

“If that’s what you want, sweet pea.” She smiles at me smugly like she just won a competition I didn’t know we were in, then walks right past me. “Did you say down the hall? I can find my own way,” she mutters, already on her way out the door.

“How did you get hired here, Gisele?” I ask the question that has been on the tip of my tongue since I first laid eyes on her today.

She turns back toward me slowly. “The normal way. Found the ad in a job search, and I thought why not, so I called the number,” she sasses.

“You didn’t send off your resume or hand in an application?” I ask, implying this wasn’t normal.

“Err, no. The girl on the other end of the call just asked me a few questions and when I could start. She said you were desperate for staff, and I didn’t have a resume made up, so she just said to show up today. She was super nice, even found me a couple of girls to move in with who both work here as well.”

That would explain why I never saw her application. We have become somewhat desperate for staff, leaving Emerson to hire people without the proper protocol. But it’s still a pretty big fucking coincidence that she is here in my hotel. I narrow my eyes on her, trying toread her body language. “Did you work out who I was and apply for this job because of me?”

The way her eyes widen and the thin line of her lips tells me I have asked one question too many. “Are you kidding me?” she snaps, furious, her hands flying to her hips. “Why would anyone do something like that? Are you trying to accuse me of stalking you or something?” Her words drip with contempt, and in less than ten minutes, I’ve been able to turn her from smiley ray of sunshine to one of the other staff with a look of disgust aimed right at me.

I meet her angry gaze. “Just checking your motives for being here,” I say, not backing down. This is too coincidental.

She glares daggers at me. “My motives for being here have nothing to do with you. I was just as shocked to see you here today.” Her hands ball into fists, and I can see how mad I’ve made her. “You know what? Stick your job up your ass, I will work something else out.” She stalks for the door, long strides moving quickly.

Shit, that was fast. I pushed her too far. “Gisele,” I call, chasing her down the hall and getting in front of her. “Don’t do anything stupid,” I warn, knowing this is my fault.

“Too late for that now, isn’t it,” she snips, likely implying what we did in New York was a mistake. “You’re an asshole.”

“What I said was out of line.” I pause, trying to find the correct words. “You have to admit it does look a bit strange, though, right?” I say quietly, trying to keep my voice down so I’m not overheard by Victor or whoever else is in his office.

“It’s an unfortunate coincidence,” she hisses back.

Lana, my late father’s wife, wanders out of Victor’s office, eyeing the two of us with a shrewd expression before carrying on down the hall.

Fucking great, just what I need. “We need to continue this in my office.” She looks reluctant but lets me guide her back inside before going on. “Alright, don’t go having a hissy fit on me, it’s a coincidence.”

“You’re a conceited jerk if you really think I would track you down after a one-night stand and take up a job working for you. Just to be close to you or something. I was just as disappointed to see you as you were me. You weren’t that good.” She stares me down.

I laugh, her comment amusing me more than it should. She knows I was. But I need her to stay, so I don’t argue the point. “You’re right, I was being a jerk,” I say through clenched teeth. I hate admitting I was wrong. “Let’s just pretend the last five minutes didn’t happen so we can get you started with your new position.”

“You really are desperate for staff, aren’t you?”

“We need someone in this role, I have two events this weekend. Why don’t you go settle into your office, and I’ll get Emerson to drop in and check on you when she’s available.”

She stares me down, and I can see her options ticking over in her head. She opens the door.

“Room labeled six,” I call back, letting her go. It’s not what I want to do. I want to drag her back in here by her neat braid and punish her for using my sweet little nickname for her against me. But I have eleven months left of this deal, and if I get through it, we get to keep this place. While it may not have been my dream initially, the more time I spend here and the moreeffort we invest, the more I understand Emerson's passion for it. I've spent a considerable sum of money on the place in the last month, and I'm looking forward to seeing a return on my investment.

Victor Morgan, our general manager, steps into the space she vacated. He’s been with the company longer than I’ve been on this earth, and you can tell in the way he carries himself—like he owns the place. Dressed to the nines in a sharp suit and tie, dark hair perfectly in place, Victor perpetually wears a smile, as if harboring a secret he’s itching to share. While I tolerate him due to his unwavering loyalty to my father and extensive knowledge of every facet of the business, his hardworking nature can’t mask the fact that he consistently crawls under my skin.

“New hire?” he inquires, his gaze curious, but I can see behind his mask. He wants details, all of them, like who she is and why I was talking quietly with her in the hall after she stormed out of here. Unlike my father, I don’t plan on letting him in on every aspect of my life. Nope. With Victor, I keep my personal life and most of the dealings of this business now close to my chest.

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