Page 12 of Rock Hard
Chapter Five
Rex growled in warningas the so-calledstylistworked on his hair, glad he had upped the insurance on his mane to two million. The way the female’s hands were shaking, he would be lucky to come out of the session without looking like a common zoo animal.
“Give me that!” he roared, snatching the boar bristle brush out of her hands. “You’re completely useless! Get out and go groom a poodle or something.”
Her bungling was the latest in a series of fuck-ups. The last few months had been plagued with one disaster after another. On this stop alone, he’d had to endure terrible hardships. His bedsheets were less than an eighteen hundred thread count, and he had barely slept more thantenhours a night. Instead of rare prime rib, his performance day breakfast had been some kind of budget cutsirloin. And, to add insult to injury, the en suite Jacuzzi only fit four, and the essential oils provided wereover the counter.
It wasn’t rocket science, yet not one of the six personal assistants he had hired since Alice had left him high and dry seemed capable of carrying out the simplest of tasks.
As the stylist ran away in tears, Rex glared at his latest personal assistant, who was growing paler by the second. “Are youtryingto test the limits of my patience?”
“N-no.”
“Then fix this.Now. Get Stef in here to fix this travesty. Order me some decent food. I want prime rib, not dog food. And for God’s sake, I wantpureargan oil. Got it?”
She swallowed and bobbed her head in a jerky nod.
“GO!”
Rex shook his head in disgust as she bolted out the door. This was all Alice’s fault. If she hadn’t gotten her panties in a twist over—well, he still wasn’t sure exactly what she had been so pissed about—he wouldn’t be forced to deal with these idiots.
For the thousandth time, he wondered what Alice was doing now. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be as good as working for him.
Every day he rolled out of bed and wondered if it would be the day she would come to his doorstep, begging for her job back. No doubt she had realized her mistake early on, but swallowing her pride might take some time. For a human female, she was incredibly stubborn and strong-willed. But shewouldbe back. And when she did come around, he might consider taking her back. Maybe.
He must have voiced his thoughts out loud, because Carly appeared and challenged his logic. “Don’t count on it,” she said, picking her way through the mess toward the room service cart, or what was left of it. She scowled at the mess then salvaged a few items and put them on a plate.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means, Alice is not coming back. She got a better job.”
He laughed at his daughter’s juvenile attempt to trick him into thinking such a ridiculous thing. “Not likely.”
She shrugged as if she couldn’t care less what he thought.
She was about to disappear into her room again when he blocked her path. He narrowed his eyes and pinned her with his alpha gaze.
“How do you know what she’s doing now?”
“Duh. She told me.”
“You are in contact with her?”
“Yeah. We talk every day.”
Well, this was news. Alice hadn’t contactedhimonce. Not that he knew of anyway. It was entirely possible one of the fidiots around him had failed to deliver any such messages. If he found out that was the case, he was going to forget room service and gnaw on one of them for his pre-show meal.
Rex briefly considered asking how Alice was. Then he reminded himself that he didn’t care.Shewas the one who had lefthim.
“What could possibly be a better job than being my personal assistant?”
“Being Johnny Prowler’s personal assistant.”
“Johnny Prowler?She left me to go work for Johnny Fucking Prowler?”
“Yep.”
Carly slipped back into her room and left him standing there in stunned shock, at least until the rage started to take over. Then hereallyroared, making the walls shake and sending artwork crashing to the floor. He toppled furniture and scored whatever was within reach of his sharp, deadly claws.
