4

SCARLETT

PRESENT DAY

I sat on the terrace, the summer sun warm on my skin. I did paperwork on my laptop, the large fountain creating a beautiful backdrop of cascading water. It was a quiet day, a Tuesday, the sound of cars on the street muffled by the high walls and the fountain.

Someone dropped into the chair across from me, so I peeked over the top of my laptop, expecting to see my father or one of the men.

But it was Axel.

As with any time I was in his presence, there was painful heat between us. He always looked at me like I was his, even though he probably had a different woman in his bed every night. I could tell he had something to say, so I shut the laptop. “I’m almost done with the numbers. I’ll submit everything to my father, and then he’ll process the payment.”

It was as if he didn’t hear a word I said. “I like that dress.”

It was black and strapless, a gold necklace around my throat. I also wore a hat to keep the sun out of my face. “Did you hear what I said?”

“That boyfriend still around?”

“Do you actually want me or just want what you can’t have?”

He wore a short-sleeved black shirt, his sexy arms stressing the cotton. His jeans were black too, low on his hips, with black boots on his feet. His dirty-blond hair looked lighter in the summer sun. A pair of sunglasses blocked his eyes from view, so all I could see was the handsome grin that stretched over his lips. “I definitely want you, baby.”

I opened the laptop again and went back to work, waiting for him to go away.

He remained in the chair, his stare hard on my face.

“Yes?” I asked without looking up.

“You’d be a great card player with a poker face like that.”

I looked up again.

“But you can’t fool me.”

My eyes lifted. A staredown ensued.

He stood up and pulled his chair closer to me, getting right in my space, in complete disregard for all the people who could see us if they looked in the courtyard—including my father. When Axel sat down, his hand pushed the laptop shut. Now he was directly in front of me, and like I really did belong to him, his hand moved to my thigh.

The goose bumps were immediate. They spread across my skin from my legs to my arms.

His hard eyes were locked on mine. “You feel that?” His hand felt warm against my thigh, his callused fingertips slightly abrasive against my soft flesh. “I know I do.”

I maintained a hard stare, but erotic images flashed across my mind, his hand sliding between my legs so his fingers could hook into my panties. Slowly, he pulled them down, all the way to my ankles, and then he stuffed them into his pocket for later. My mind came back to the present, still wearing a hard poker face.

“Take the upgrade, baby.”

“I told you I don’t mix business with pleasure.” I finally grasped my control and pushed his hand away.

He didn’t reach for me again. One arm was propped on the round table, his leg directly next to mine. “Why?”

“Because it’ll bite you in the ass.”

“You think your father doesn’t fuck his assistant?”

“I prefer not to discuss my father’s sex life.”

He smirked. “Then let’s discuss our sex life.”

I propped my elbow on the armrest, my fingers resting under my chin. “You could have any woman you want. Don’t waste your time on me.”

“I can have any woman I want, huh? That sounds like a compliment.”

I rolled my eyes.

“You think I’m sexy.”

“I meant you could pay for whatever woman you want⁠—”

“We both know that’s not what you meant.” Now his hand returned to my thigh, a little higher up than it was before. The smirk was gone, and his stare was hard. “Come on, baby. Leave him and be with me.”

“You mean, leave him, sleep with you once, and then you ghost me.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Because you’re a good guy?” I asked incredulously. “I know what kind of man you are. Want what you can’t have—and then the second you get it, you’re bored. My father actually believes I have what it takes to do this, and I’m not going to piss it away on a guy who likes to stir the pot just for the hell of it…”

His smile faded, and he stared at me hard.

I pushed his hand off my thigh. “I don’t want to be with a guy who plays games. Too smart for that shit.”

He let his hand fall. “You make a lot of assumptions about me.”

My eyes hardened on his face. “Then here’s your chance to correct me. Look me in the eye and tell me they aren’t true.” I leaned forward over the table. “Go ahead.”

He held my stare, shifting his jaw slightly, looking at me like I was an enemy rather than a potential lover.

I sat back in my chair when his rebuttal didn’t come. “You want me because I’m the boss’s daughter—and I’m off-limits. It’s a challenge to see if you can get me to dump my boyfriend and hop into bed with you. And once you’ve completed that conquest, it’s off to the next thing. How stupid do you think I am?”

He continued his stare.

I turned back to the laptop. “Look, I need to finish this⁠—”

“Your father told me he doesn’t like him. Says he’s not good enough for you.”

I stilled at the statement because my father had never said anything like that to me. They’d only met a couple times, and they seemed to get along fine. My father and I had an open and honest relationship, and it stung that he hadn’t confided that to me once.

“So why is a woman so smart and gorgeous wasting her time on a worthless guy?”

I was wounded by my father’s betrayal, but I did my best not to show it.

“Yes, I’ve done that kind of shit in the past, but that’s not my agenda with you.”

“Then what is your agenda?”

He stared for several seconds, his jaw moving again. “I have none.” He rose to his feet and walked away. “I’ve never had an agenda with you.”