The Billionaire’s Forbidden Desire(38)
He’d underestimated the situation. It was about time he gave it the attention it deserved.
* * *
Sophia returned to the office a little before five. Helping Hilary had turned out to be much more complicated than she’d expected. But that wasn’t the bad part. The real difficulty had been the emotional strain of dealing with Vanessa, who was obviously unhappy. Sophia still wasn’t sure why the redhead was so upset, but she knew it had something to do with her.
Or to be specific, the car Salazar had lent her.
She should’ve told him it was too flashy and ostentatious. She didn’t know a thing about cars, but from the way people had stared at the Aston Martin, she knew it had to be very rare and expensive.
Sighing, she stretched her neck. She wanted to check in and make sure Dane didn’t need anything else before she went back home. No, not “home”. Salazar’s house. Dane seemed to think she enjoyed staying there, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It was a grand place, but it wasn’t her home. She could never forget that she was just a guest there, a poor relative who had nowhere else to go.
A charity case.
She knocked on Dane’s door and poked her head in. “Do you need anything else for the evening before you head out?”
“Come in and shut the door.” He waited until she followed his instructions before saying, “Where have you been all this time?”
She looked puzzled. “Helping Hilary. She needed—”
“You do not work for Hilary. I said to assist her, not spend your entire working day with her. I still need the items on this list done.” He pushed a sheet of paper across the desk.
“I’ll get to them—”
“Today,” he added.
Her jaw slackened. “But you never said—”
“It’s your job to anticipate my needs, not vice versa. If that’s too much, you’re free to quit. I won’t even ask for two weeks’ notice.”
She clicked her mouth shut as anger knotted in her belly. It wasn’t that hard to figure out what was going on—he was setting her up to fail. Well, he’d picked the wrong victim. She’d suffered much worse in the form of unfair calls and biased judging when she was competing.
She curled her hands, itching to wipe that condescending look from his handsome face. His looks were the only evidence she needed to know the world was an unfair place. If it were, he would’ve been born ugly. “Understood. I’ll get them done.”
“Excellent.” He got up from his seat and walked past her.
They didn’t touch, but even so she could feel an electric charge pass between them, an inexplicable voltaic link that made her skin tingle like he’d run his hands over her. And she didn’t seem to be the only one sensing it. She followed him to the door; Dane’s shoulders were set in a tense line as he walked down the hall and into a waiting elevator that had been held by an office worker.
Sophia went to her desk and took a deep breath.
A few moments later, the same woman who had held the elevator stuck her head around the door and knocked softly. “Sorry about all that,” she said with a sympathetic cringe. “I’m Roxie Rodriguez, by the way. Mr. Pryce’s assistant.” Her gorgeous glossy black hair framed a friendly round face. She had dramatic makeup with little glittery highlights around her eyes that made her look like she was about to jump on a stage and start belting out a Broadway tune. However, her teal blue tunic and white skirt were conservative and office-appropriate.
Sophia forced a smile. “Do I look that bad?”
“You looked a bit shell-shocked when you walked out of his office. He’s been sort of moody recently. If he doesn’t change soon, it’s not going to be fun for you here.”
“Thanks for the warning. I’m sure I can manage.”
Even if it killed her. She wasn’t going to let Dane win.
Chapter Eighteen
As Dane pulled into the driveway of the Pryce family mansion, he spotted the green Aston Martin, parked in the shadows.
The infamous 2HOT4U.
The top was up, windows closed. Guess Sophia had finished her tasks faster than he’d expected. It wouldn’t have bothered him if she had to pull an all-nighter while he implemented his plan.
He got out quietly with a small suitcase. As he started toward the house, he caught something in his peripheral vision. He turned around and looked more carefully into the convertible.
Ah there. The unforgettable golden head, shining even in the dim light. The back of her skull was round and had fit perfectly into his hand as he’d kissed her. His right palm twitched as if it too remembered.
Sophia was still in the driver’s seat. She’d draped her arms around the steering wheel and was resting her face on them.