Page 33 of His Prize

I turned around. “Oh, really? And why is that?”

“Because, Pava—well, just—I’ve worked for this family for—”

I nodded. “And now you don’t. You have fifteen minutes to vacate the premises before I have security do it for you.”

I hobbled over to the desk and sat down as the man cursed underneath his breath. A surge of excitement rushed through my veins as I began pulling out files and readying myself for a very long day at work. I had a lot to catch up on and even more to dig into.

Because my main goal today was to find the man who reamed his car into me.

I dug through my uncle’s files until I saw the files for PetShop Galore. I pulled them out and started sifting through them as footsteps fell heavily outside the office. My doors burst open, and I felt someone hovering over me. The shadow cloaked me as I slowly looked up.

And gazed into the eyes of my uncle’s head security officer. “Can I help you?” I asked.

“You’re not authorized to hire and fire.”

I stood to my feet. “Tell me, why is that?”

“Because that’s Pava’s responsibility. Not yours.”

I nodded. “Right. You mean, it’s your boss’s responsibility.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And your boss uses this office, right?”

He paused. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Does it look like my uncle’s here right now?”

“Bonnie, I get it. You're in a rough situation right now. But, Pava hasn’t—”

I slammed my cane against the desk, shutting up the man.

“You listen to me, and you listen well, Bruno. My father was the eldest of his family. And I was the only child. So, when my father died, the role of the head of this family fell to me. My uncle usurped that rule because I was but a child when he died. But, given the fact that my uncle is on trial for their murders and has been stripped of any legal rights he has in this country, that means he’s forfeited his right to lead this family. In fact, the second I turned eighteen, he was automatically pushed out because this job was never his to have. It has always been mine.”

Bruno swallowed hard. “Miss Bonnie, I just don’t think—”

I smiled. “You’re fired.”

“Wh-wh-wh—what?”

“You’re. Fired.”

He squared off his shoulders. “You can’t fire me. I’m the head of the security at this estate. You don’t even live here!”

I pointed my cane at him. “You’re the head of this family’s security, no matter where you work. And since I’m the head of this family, I get a say in what you do and what happens to you. Bruno? You’re fired. And feel lucky that it’s the only thing I’m doing to you right now.”

“But—where the hell am I going to go?”

I sat back down. “I don’t care where you go just that you don’t stay here. You’ve got fifteen minutes to vacate the premises before I have someone do it for you.”

He chuckled. “And who are you going to get to do that?”

I heard a gun cock from the doors of the study. “Me.”

I nodded at Ash. “Her.”

Bruno looked between the two of us before storming past Ash. I nodded my thanks to her before I flipped the file folders open, ready to get to work. But, as more people stormed into my office to defend the two men I let go and to prove their loyalty to my uncle, I fired more people than I ever intended to when I woke up this morning.

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