Waiting impatiently until the steel doors of the elevator slid shut on a devastated and tearful Carolyn Miller, Molly wheeled on her sensible heels and stormed toward her employer’s office.

He’d made her make yet another woman cry, for God’s sake.  One that she really liked!  Okay, maybe that was exaggerating their relationship a bit.  Perhaps it was more accurate to say that she hadn’t hated this one.  Either way, this was a new low even for the taciturn man behind the closed doors, and Molly was at the end of her limited patience with his antics.

Carolyn had been nice, damn it!  Okay…again, maybe she was overstating.  She’d been nice-ish.

Shoving the barrier standing between them open with the force of a bullet, the door bounced against the wall as her eyes narrowed on the intended target of her righteous rage.

“You!” she snarled, pointing an accusatory finger at the elegantly dressed businessman lounging behind his desk. Sweeping her eyes over him, she found his dark hair to be slightly mussed as if he’d been running his fingers through it, but conversely, his tie was still in a perfect Windsor knot against his starched white shirt.  Convenient, she noted to herself darkly.  She wouldn’t have to look for anything to strangle him with later.

“Yes?” Devil queried calmly from behind his desk without looking up from his computer screen.  

Ugh, the clueless jerk appeared to be unfazed by her enraged entrance to his lair, Molly noted unhappily.  She’d definitely have to do something to change that.. 

“You have got to have the iciest heart this side of the Mississippi, William Delancy, and I know for a fact that you were raised better than that!  Between your Nana and my own mother, you are well aware that a Southern gentleman does not treat women in the manner to which you appear to have grown accustomed,” Molly addressed him heatedly, launching into her standard sermon as he merely sat there in front of her, unmoving and presumably unmoved.  Not exactly shocking.  Her lectures had never been particularly effective before, but maybe today would be her lucky day.

Offering his youthful assistant a long look, Devil’s lips twitched.  He’d known Molly since she was born.  Hell, he’d been there when the Ramsey family had brought her home from the hospital.  She’d been as cranky then as she was now.  Arching one brow, he schooled his handsome face into resigned boredom, then said, “That might be an issue if I’d ever promoted myself to be a gentleman, Molly Brown.  I do believe, however, I have painstakingly cultivated a reputation quite the opposite of that.  Besides, I hardly think scolding me on my love life is part of your job description.”

Flushing, Molly’s pink lips pressed together as he purposefully used his infuriating nickname for her.  “First, don’t call me that.  You know how much I hate it!”

“I do.  I just don’t care,” he replied carelessly just to needle her, unperturbed by her ire.  He was used to it.  Honestly, he kind of enjoyed having someone around that wasn’t afraid to yell at him.  Most people tiptoed around him and spoke only in whispers. 

Not Molly, though.

With him, she said whatever the hell she thought whenever the hell it crossed her mind – regardless of all consequence.  She simply didn’t give a single damn if she pissed him off.

Ignoring his patronizing look, she barreled forward in her diatribe.  “Second, I’ll feel free to climb up your butt and reprimand you any time I feel like your love life is having a direct impact on my psychological wellbeing, you narcissistic ass!”

“Pretty words,” he mocked, amused.  “I do believe your mother would frown upon this little display of unladylike behavior, little one,” Devil criticized with a cluck of his tongue.  He grinned when her cheeks went that faint scarlet color that he enjoyed so much.  Obviously the old adage about redheads and their tempers was indeed accurate!

“Oh, shut up!” Molly snapped, turning to slam his door closed with a flick of her wrist.  It was a huge office building with hundreds of employees, but no one would dare cross that threshold of his personal office if the door was shut.  She was certain that she didn’t want any witnesses when she committed coldblooded murder on his person.  There was that whole reasonable doubt thing to think about, after all. Turning to stalk toward his desk, she glowered at the man solely responsible for her current bad mood..  “My mother wouldn’t have time to be mad at me if she knew just how much of a Don Juan you’ve become.  Honest to God, you’re going to drive me to drink, Devil!”

“Do tell,” he invited silkily, just a hint of his southern accent escaping as he spoke.

Well, if that wasn’t just like waving a red flag in front of an angry bull, she thought grumpily as she slapped one palm against his solid desk.  “Listen up, Romeo!  I strongly suspect that one of these days in the not-so-distant future, one of your beautiful Juliets is gonna stab me in the heart with my letter opener because you are too much of a wuss to face them once you break their hearts!  And you know what I want?  I want a nice, fat life insurance policy added to my employee benefit package!  It’s the least you could do, Devil.”

“Is that so?” Devil drawled slowly, a faint smile playing at the edges of his lips. 

“Darn skippy, it’s so!” Molly affirmed, tossing her hair over one shoulder as she cocked one hip against his desk.  “While you hide in here in your safe little haven, I’m out there on the frontlines under enemy fire in this modern day Shakespearean tragedy!” she yelled, jerking her thumb toward the door.

Choking on his coffee as her metaphor bounced off the walls of his office, Devil quickly dropped his mug back on his desk.  “Glad to see you’re as colorful as always, Mols.  I hardly think the lobby qualifies as a war zone, however, or that my life is some kind of tragedy.”

“Says you,” Molly yelped indignantly.  “I’m not kidding, Devil.”  She tapped her toe against the thick piled carpet under her feet.  “This time it was only tears and tantrums that the opposing ground forces unleashed.  But that Cleopatra wannabe from last month came uncomfortably close to clawing my eyes out.”

“No woman I’ve ever been involved with would dare touch you,” Devil dismissed her with a shrug, his wide shoulders easily shifting beneath his designer suit jacket.  “They all know there’d be hell to pay.”  Every woman he dated was aware of how special Molly was to him.  Not only was she a valued assistant that worked long hours to ensure that his business and personal life ran smoothly, but she and her family were also longtime friends of his.   He’d watched her grow up, for God’s sake.  And as he watched her silk blouse pull against the ample mounds of her breasts as she bent toward him, he had to studiously try to remind himself to ignore exactly how grown up she’d become over the last couple of years..  Bracing her hands against the edge of his desk as she glared down at him, Devil fought to keep his mind on track.

  The point was...Molly was off limits.   To everyone. 

  And everyone definitely included him.

“Oh, yes, sir!  All your conquests know that the quiet little wallflower that guards the entrance to your lair isn’t to be touched,” Molly snorted, ignoring the thunderclouds gathering in Devil’s darkened gaze.  “And they resent me for it!  Not that I blame them.  Calling me from Cleo’s bed at one in the morning last month wasn’t exactly conducive to building a lasting and trusting relationship.”

Barely sparing her a look, Devil shrugged. “So I called you,” he stated indifferently.  “It’s to be expected.  We work closely together.  Besides, I promised your brother that I’d keep an eye on you while he and Karen were on vacation in Hawaii. As I recall, you had a date that night; I was merely making sure that you’d made it home safely.”  He didn’t bother adding that he hadn’t been in bed with Cleo, but rather dumping the sleek brunette’s drunk passed-out ass on the mattress.  That had been one woman that had been a valuable waste of his energy.  She’d been more interested in his power and position than in actually getting to know him.  It wasn’t really all that unusual since all the woman he dated were interested in what he could give them, but that one had been entirely too obvious about it.  There was such a thing as tact, after all.

Bending her neck, Molly shook her head.  There was really no reasoning with him.  Maybe it was time to shock him into sensibility.  Pulling herself up to her full height, all five feet and three inches of it, she said, “Well, at least Carolyn didn’t cast aspersions on my character when you gave her the boot.  Did you know that Cleopatra assumed that you cut her loose because I sucked your swinging dick like a Hoover?” Molly asked conversationally, tilting her head to the side as she blinked at Devil innocently.

Jerking his gaze up to Molly, Devil’s mouth fell open.  Had his Molly just used the word dick and swinging?  Together? In a sentence?

“There it is!” Molly chortled, pointing at him with no small amount of satisfaction.  “That’s the reaction I was looking for!”  Take that, Mr. Misogynistic!

He clamped his jaw closed as he attempted to overcome his unexpected carnal thoughts while he tried to resist the urge to throttle the little troublemaker hounding him.  Inhaling deeply, he also tried to process the sudden, fierce anger he felt on Molly’s behalf.  She shouldn’t be dealing with that nonsense.  Even he could agree that went well beyond the boundaries of her job.  He only hoped she was exaggerating.  Otherwise, someone was going to pay.  “I’m so glad I could accommodate your need to get a reaction, Molly, but you’d better be kidding,” he threatened in a lethally quiet voice.

Leaning forward, Molly’s fingers tightened around the edge of his gleaming desk.  “I. Am. Not!  Cleo thought I was more paid whore than paid assistant, Devil.”

“Well,” he said tightly, redirecting his gaze back to his computer, “Won’t it be unfortunate when her company gets bought out in a very sudden takeover, and she loses her coveted position?”  Destroying that vicious woman would be his pleasure.

Sighing, Molly rolled her eyes as she straightened.  She had no doubt Devil would do exactly as he said.  He had a mean streak a mile wide when those that he cared about were threatened.  However, she felt duty bound to object.  “You can’t put a hundred innocent employees out of a job because she insulted me, Dev.”

“I could, but I won’t.  I’ll only be eliminating one position.  Hers,” he returned, unconcerned as his fingers tapped against his keyboard.  “Are we done yet?” he asked a few minutes later when he realized she hadn’t moved an inch.

“No, Devil.   We aren’t.  This has to stop.  I liked Carolyn.”

“I liked her, too,” he agreed, shooting a confused look at Molly, noting the determined look on her gamine face.  “So?”

She wanted to scream.  Loudly!  Groaning, she shook her head.  “I can’t believe I’m going to ask this, but what the hell was wrong with her?  She was beautiful.  Friendly and well connected.  Judging by the grin you had plastered across your face the first few days you dated her, I’m assuming she looked as good on her back as she did standing upright.  So, with all those glowing attributes, I’ve just gotta know.  What the hell was her problem?”

“Clingy.”

“Pardon me?” Molly sputtered, narrowing her eyes at him.

Looking up at the redheaded spitfire in front of his desk with steam rising from her ears, Devil stifled a laugh.  “She was clingy,” he informed her evenly, striving to keep his amusement out of his voice.

She wanted to scratch his eyes out.  Of all the infuriating things he could have said, that had to top the list.   “Then let me make a suggestion, you satanic slut,” Molly offered on a screech.  “If you don’t want clingy, you should stop trolling the local zoo for boa constrictors!  And in the very likely event that you can’t resist the lure of those cold-blooded reptiles, then at least stop using me as the chief officer in the Pity Party Police for these unfortunate women when you inevitably dump them!”  Pausing for a moment to gather her thoughts, Molly pursed her lips before she announced heavily, “Carolyn broke my heart!  Not that you care, but she looked shattered when she left here, and I feel like I’m the one that broke that pretty picture.  That’s your fault, Devil.”  Maybe, if all else failed, she could shame him into being something that could pass for a compassionate human being.  Maybe. 

“Carolyn will be fine.  She got flowers and a nice parting gift.  I didn’t make her any promises, Molly.”

“You never make any of them any promises, Devil,” Molly returned with a frown.  “It doesn’t stop them from hoping that they’ll be the one to reform you.”  Like that could ever happen, she thought irritably.  Pigs would probably fly before Devil Delancy considered a woman as something other than arm candy.

“I can’t control someone else’s delusion, honey,” Devil chuckled.  “I’m upfront about what I want from my lady friends from the get go.  I have nothing to be sorry about because I’m straightforward with every lady with whom I spend my time.”

“It’s hopeless,” she muttered, lifting her eyes to the ceiling.  “Absolutely hopeless.”

“Glad you’re finally recognizing the obvious.  Now, if we’re done here, I’ve got work to do.  Shut the door behind you, please.” 

Recognizing a dismissal when she heard one, Molly growled low in her throat before spinning on her heel and stomping toward the door.  “You mark my words, Devil.  One day, you’re gonna meet your match.  I just hope I’m around to enjoy the fireworks when you do!” she huffed before throwing open the door and disappearing back into her domain.

Fortunately for him, she never saw the wide grin etched across Devil’s face as he watched her stomp out of the room.