Ivan

The rest of the morning went by quickly. Between my conference calls and briefings with some heads in other departments, I’d barely had time to check in with Jada. She brought hot coffee in to my office almost every hour on the hour which was the only thing that kept me going. She fielded all my calls and emails as I had instructed which ensured that no client called me berating me for ignoring them. Between the coffee and Jada, those two things were like my life line today.

When I walked back in my office at noon, I was surprised to me my sandwich waiting for me on my desk. But when I went to check in on Jada, her office was empty.

I went back to my office and paged the main receptionist.

Rachel answered promptly. “Yes, Mr. Vetrov?”

“Did you see Jada leave?”

“Yes, Mr. Vetrov. She went downstairs to the cafe for lunch. She said she’d be back in twenty. Would you like me to have someone page her for you?”

“No, Rachel. I’m having lunch as well. When she gets back, tell her to come straight to my office.”

“Yes, Mr. Vetrov.”

I enjoyed lunch alone in my office while I worked through the mound of contracts piling up on my desk.

I almost didn’t hear the soft knock at my door

“Come in,” I called out.

“You wanted me?” Jada asked, softly, clasping a binder to her chest.

I grinned. “Yes, I do.”

She came into my office. I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep my eyes off her, so I pushed my work aside.

“Close the door.”

She closed the door and then took a seat in front of my desk.

“Did you enjoy lunch?”

“Yes, the cafe downstairs has really good sub sandwiches,” she said.

“I’m glad you liked it. Maybe I’ll join you sometime.”

“Yes, maybe you can. Oh, I almost forgot. I have that list of contractors for you.” She opened the binder and passed me a sheet of paper.

I scanned the list. “Hmmm…would you do me a favor and schedule appointments with your top three choices? They’ll need to come out to this address on Saturday morning.” I handed her a card with the Vetrov estate’s address on it.

“I’ll be happy to do that, Ivan,” she said, leaning over and taking the card. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Is it about the other part of me?”

“No. It’s about what you hope to accomplish from me being here. According to your contract, you only have me for two months. The pay you offered was quite generous. Making coffee, answering phones and setting appointments is quite fine, but I thought I’d be doing something a little more hands on with you…as it was stated in the help wanted ad.”

“Yes, but I changed my mind. You’re well qualified. You could probably run this company if I ever needed it one day. However, now I need you in a different capacity.”

“How so?”

“How do I put this? You’re uh…”

How could I tell this woman she was a much needed distraction? How could I tell her that I preferred her hands on me and not on the mundane work I’d been giving her. I didn’t tell her. I had my answer. She was an employee, not a play-thing.

I rubbed my forehead. “You know what? I’ve got an idea. If this isn’t the type of work you were expecting, maybe we could put you in another division.”

“I’m sorry. What? Put me?”

I cleared my throat. This wasn’t coming off well. I wanted Jada, but not in the way we both expected. There was no easy way to tell her that I wanted to fire her and then fuck her. There was just no way to tell her that I was infatuated with everything about her. Just the sight of her ignited the promise of a mate. My wolf seemed to think that she was mine.

I ran my fingers through my hair. “This is um…about that other side of me…?”

“Yes…?”

“Sometimes we want things when the circumstances aren’t quite right,” I told her, doing my best to explain to her how my wolf was determined to have what he thought was already his.

She frowned. “Well, do you want me here or not?”

“Yes, I want you here, but…”

“But what?”

“Jada—”

She rose suddenly from the chair. “You know what? Just forget I asked that question. If you don’t think I’m right for the job, I understand. Just tell me. I don’t want to waste time. Not yours. And not mine.”

I stood and moved from behind my desk. “I hired you because I wanted you here. I want you here with me. But this isn’t how I imagined this would go. If I told you what I imagined, I don’t think you’d understand right now.”

She swallowed visibly and frowned. “I get it. You want a maid, not a PA. You want a yes-girl, right? Someone who won’t question or suggest anything. I’m not the best fit. You don’t want me handling anything other than lunches and emails and calls because you like being in control. I understand. See? I get it.”

She turned swiftly, yanked the door open, and raced out of the room before I could stop her, leaving me with a resounding no on my lips.

I sighed, plopping down in a chair.

I thought she’d go back to her office and calm down, but when I heard the familiar buzz of the elevator, I realized that she was leaving.

I rushed out of my office and past the receptionist’s desk, but it was too late. The elevator doors closed with the only woman who had no problems telling me the cold hard truth inside of it.

I punched the buttons on the control panels repeatedly until finally an empty elevator cab pulled up. I jumped on and road it all the way to the lobby level, ignoring the greetings from my colleagues on the way. My efforts were futile. By the time I made it to the VIP level of the parking garage, she was already backing her car out of the space.