Chapter 5 A Game Too Dangerous

Scott narrowed his eyes. He wanted to strangle that woman with his bare hands, but he wasn't a stupid man.

"Put the documents on my desk. Tell Garrick to wait," he ordered, and a moment later, he was alone.

Scott inhaled slowly to calm himself and sat down. He picked up his favorite pen and opened the folder. He'd seen this contract before. He'd skimmed the numbers and hadn't spotted anything wrong. But the handwritten notes in neat, feminine script told a very different story.

He leaned forward, going over the data again and again. The numbers didn't lie. She had caught a small discrepancy—one that could cost him millions over the next three years.

"Shit. The witch was right," he hissed. And that also meant something else: Garrick had tried to deceive him. He buzzed him in, and the moment Garrick stepped through the door, Scott pounced.

"Why the hell did you try to hide this from me?!"

Garrick turned as pale as a sheet.

"I… I didn't… She submitted a sloppy report, sir, and I didn't want to bother you with that garbage!" Garrick stammered.

"Don't insult my intelligence!" Scott roared. "The report is perfect! I just reviewed it—and it's clearly a scam!"

He slammed the folder down on his desk.

"So explain this to me: did you not see the fraud? Or did you try to cover it up after she pointed it out?"

Garrick looked like he was about to faint.

"She's just some arrogant little upstart… a disrespectful—!"

"I don't give a damn what she is!" Scott snapped. "That doesn't change the fact that she tried to save me from a scam while you were ready to let me walk right into it! The only slightly less disgusting option is that you tried to push her out of the way so you could take the credit. And even that's pathetic. So tell me—how do I save you?"

Scott was vibrating with rage. Garrick was trembling in fear.

"I've worked for this company for years… I've always been loyal… but sometimes people get influenced, they make mistakes…"

"You're fired," Scott said coldly, cutting him off.

Garrick clutched his chest, wincing in pain. Scott buttoned his jacket, grabbed the folder, and stepped past him.

"Pack your things and get out. And if you're going to drop dead, do it outside—I don't want cops in my building."

He left his office and paused briefly at his assistant's desk.

"I need everything on the witch who brought me this report. You've got ten minutes."

And sure enough, ten minutes later, Scott had Alexia Hartley's personnel file in his hands. It wasn't long, but it was definitely interesting.

'Twenty-three years old. Single. Allergic to nuts. No criminal record… yet,' he thought, smirking.

"Graduated in Economics, master's in Risk Analysis from… Harvard. Well, no wonder she's sharp. Someone explain where the hell she learned to be so mouthy, though," he muttered to himself.

Still, the fact that she was a genius with numbers didn't erase the bigger issue: that woman liked to challenge him. She'd already done it twice. And Scott Hamilton was not a man who tolerated being challenged.

He knew himself well—he was impatient, temperamental. But if he was a bomb, she had a gift for setting him off every single time.

He took the elevator to the office they said was hers and barged in without knocking.

"Jesus Christ!" Alexia yelped—and Scott's throat went dry when he saw her half-dressed.

She looked like sin in human form, and for a second, he actually felt pain in his pants. How the hell could he want to strangle her and screw her at the same time?

Before he could spiral any further, her sharp voice yanked him back to reality.

"Ever heard of knocking before you enter your employees' offices?"

"I'm just returning the favor from earlier," he shot back, his eyes sweeping over her with zero shame. "No one told you the office isn't for stripteases?"

Alexia gave him a biting glare.

"I'm changing because my boss said I smelled like a cow-milker," she said with a mocking smile. "But a striptease? Keep dreaming, pretty boy."

In two quick strides, Scott closed the space between them. His hand clamped firmly around her cheeks, making her go silent, her pupils blown wide as he leaned dangerously close to her lips.

There it was again—that mouth. That infuriating mouth.

Scott hovered there with a low growl of satisfaction.

"This is harassment…" Alexia murmured.

"Your report was accurate," Scott whispered, feeling her body tremble against his. "And trust me, you don't even know what harassment looks like yet."

He stepped back slightly, his voice firm.

"Garrick's fired. First thing tomorrow, you report to my office… because I'm going to show you exactly how this pretty boy plays, Miss Hartley."