Page 41 of Handsome Devil
“You have a driver’s license?” I blurted out. In all my years working for Tate, I had yet to see him drive a car himself.
His eyes tapered. “Get inside.”
The honking behind him intensified. I ducked my head, about to slide into the back seat.
“Next to me.I’m not your chauffeur.”
I did as I was told, biting my tongue and waiting for the next opening to piss him off.
The opportunity presented itself not even ten seconds after the car slid forward and into busy Manhattan traffic.
“Your dress.” His cold eyes flickered over my bare legs.
“What about it?” I asked innocently.
“It’s nonexistent.”
Indeed, it was skimpy by my standards. I made sure to purchase a new wardrobe with skirts and dresses shorter than my fiancé’s fuse in order to aggravate him.
This one was a rose-gold sequin mini dress that was a far cry from my usual buttoned-up work dresses and pencil skirts.
“If you think you’re going to tell me what to wear—” I started.
“You can wear whatever you want,” he cut me off. “What will happen to men who stare at you as a result is on your conscience, though.”
“So what I’m hearing is I’ll get to piss you offandget you arrested for aggravated assault.” I crossed my legs seductivelyand sat back, knowing he was going to steal another glance at my thighs. “Say less.”
A muscle jumped in his jaw. He kept his gaze on the road. “You will have to choose an engagement ring fit for the wife of a respected billionaire.”
“I’m marrying a respected billionaire?” I lurched forward, placing a hand on my rib cage. “I thought I was marrying you.”
“Hilarious.”
“No, you are,” I said cheerfully. “For thinking I’d let you play any role in choosing my engagement ring.”
“You’re a reasonable woman.” His teeth slammed together.
My plan was working.
I was driving him bonkers.
“Start acting like one.”
“Iwasa reasonable woman,” I corrected. “Now, I’m whatever you don’t want in a wife. That is my entire personality.”
His nostrils flared. A lick of fear ran along my spine.
Tate was a dangerous man. I’d never seen him get fucked over in deals—he always did the fucking—and I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like the consequences of my own actions.
The car came to a screech in front of a white, arched building in the heart of Manhattan. The entire six-story jewelry store glowed from the inside. He threw the vehicle into park and swiveled to me with his entire imposing body.
“I’ve satisfied my part of the transaction in good faith. I have twisted a lot of arms and broken a lot of laws to get your mother into this program in record time. Yet instead of a blushing bride, I so far have had to deal with an unruly banshee. I find that the best way to work with a disorderly business partner is to either bend them to my rules or sack them altogether.”
“Sack me, then,” I whispered.
“Oh, but you wouldn’t like that.” His tone, of pure gravel, caressed every inch of my body. His cordial smile held a threat.
“Why not?”
