Page 17 of Boss

With Tarek.

Headed to Alaska.

Things have gotten weird.

Good news. I got the job.

Chck bck in soon.

“Mam,” the driver said. He stood at the passenger door with it open. She couldn’t see his eyes from the dark lens of his sunglasses. He may be a driver but from his height, build, and demeanor she imagined at one point in his life he was something more.She put her phone back in her purse and slipped inside the car. Tarek waited for her. He didn’t look her way. Was he ashamed of his actions? She was ashamed of hers. The car pulled away from her drive and headed out of her neighborhood.

Tarek tapped a folder that lay on the seat between them.

“Homework. You’ll be quizzed in four hours. There’s a laptop in the trunk that will be given to you when we board the plane. Your title is Solution Architect. The drilling in Deadhorse has encountered a few snags for a prospective business partner of mine. We arrive to offer him other options through MGS.”

“About what happened earlier, I didn’t mean to cut you. But—”

“It won’t happen again. I’ll keep my hands to myself.” He glanced at her. “I didn’t hire you for sex. I’m in need of a consultant. Someone I can trust. Read the file and be ready to give me some ideas.”

He reached in his pocket and withdrew his phone. He placed a call. She picked up the file and began to read over the contracts. There were some interesting tidbits about LuxeOil. When she was only seven the Garcias had her tested. Her adoptive parents were told she had an IQ of 157. It would later explain the sophisticated ways she slipped into and out of trouble. She could read a 400-hundred-page book in an hour. She could put an entire contract to memory in less time than that.

Kassidy felt Tarek’s sideways glances. He lost control with her in his kitchen and she didn’t flinch or shy away from her actions. There was a chip in his armor. That was more valuable to her than the job he hired her for. She was getting to him. And she would use that to her advantage.

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