Page 3 of Tempting Eden

“Let me go.” Why was my voice breathy?

“All right.” He slid his hand from my waist, skirting the top of my ass with his fingers before letting his arm fall to his side.

His touch was too intimate, too knowing. I didn’t want to, but I glanced into his crystalline eyes. He didn’t turn away, just kept me in his gaze as Sasha prattled on about the grate.

I hopped a step away from him. “My office manager will come get me. You can go.”

“I didn’t catch your name.” He gave me an easy smile, too easy. He was toying with me.

“I’m Ms. Rochester.” I straightened my back despite the pain in my ankle.

“Jack England.” His voice was deep and smooth, not a scratch in the rumble.

I noticed Sasha staring him up and down like she was taking his measurements. I couldn’t blame her. Though obviously an asshole, he was beautiful in all the ways a man should be.

“Well.” The pain burned in my ankle as I reached for the binder and my ruined shoe. “Hand me my things and you can go about your day.”

I sounded dismissive. I knew it. Mason called my demeanor haughty, among the many other things he called me these days. But now wasn’t the time to think about those moments, those words.

Jack England didn’t seem to take offense at my tone, but he didn’t move either.

Allen Fairfax, king of all things in the Thornfield office, came around the corner. He smiled, warmth beaming out of him in a way I envied. Fairfax was a genuinely nice person, the kind that are hard to find. He was rounded in the belly and graying on his head, but he had a jaunty walk, as if he were still a teenager with the world laid out before him. As a distant cousin, I’d known him long before I began working at Thornfield, but we’d grown closer over the past few years.

“Ms. Rochester, what have you done to yourself?” He narrowed his eyes at my naked foot and then looked at Jack. “Hurt your boss on the first day? That must be some sort of record.”

I looked up sharply as my heart sank. “Boss?”

Fairfax smiled, the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes showing his age. “Yes, Ms. Rochester, Jack here is your new assistant.”

“Wha-what happened to Jenny or whatever her name was? You know, the one with the hair.” Jenny, darling redheaded Jenny, had decided that her best look was dreads. It wasn’t.

“Once she realized you were clear of the building last week, she took her leave.” Fairfax kept smiling, laughing at my chronic problem of vanishing staff.

“Why?”

He raised his eyebrows with a “you know why” look.

Truth be told, I wasn’t too well-liked as a boss. Jenny had tried my patience on several occasions over the course of her weeks-long employment. Her time was up, anyway. They never stayed for more than a month. I ran them off in short order.

They all had the same complaints in their exit interview—Ms. Rochester was too demanding, too high strung, too much of a brooder, too brash, and the list could go onad finitum. Of course, all those things were true. So what?

I was sure that somewhere out there was an assistant who could appreciate me.Surely. I gave Jack a look, wondering if he’d be the one. Doubtful. He was a cocky asshole. He’d be out the door in no time.

The clock started ticking in my mind, counting down the days until he says he’s found greener pastures elsewhere. Maybe I could run him off even quicker. What was Fairfax thinking, hiring a man?

“There weren’t any more qualified candidates?” I glanced at Jack.

“I think you’ll find me perfectly capable.” He wasn’t flustered in the least, his steady confidence like a calm body of water.

No one had ever been so unflappable in my presence. I didn’t like it.

“Just try him out.” Fairfax’s smile and the amused twinkle in his eye grated on me.

But my ankle hurt too much to continue arguing. Besides, I had plenty of tactics to get rid of assistants posthaste. Jack wouldn’t last. “Somebody help me to my office.”

Jack took my elbow again before Fairfax could get close enough to offer aid.

Fucking hell. His touch was firm and sent a tingle down my spine. I sighed at my body’s reaction. “Just do that thing you did before. It helped.”

---