Page 23 of The Way I Hate Him
I turn toward her and lean one hand against the counter. Looking her in the eyes, I say, “Like I said . . . I know what I like”—I pause to drag my eyes down her body and back up—“and I know what I don’t like. Don’t change that.”
Her eyes narrow. “You don’t have to be rude.”
“Not being rude, just telling you how it is. If you want me to be rude, I can be fucking rude.” I turn back to the pods and pick one up. “Drop this in the coffee maker, make sure there’s a mug underneath, and then—”
“Oh my God, I’m not an idiot. I know how to make a cup of Keurig coffee.”
“Are you sure? Because you did date Matt for a long fucking time. Anyone who lets that man stick around for that long seems to have a screw loose.”
“Yeah, so what does that say about you for hiring him?”
“The man was good at masking himself professionally, but he was inside you, so you knew him more intimately.”
“Ew, don’t say inside me.” She grimaces.
“Would you rather me say you let him come inside you?”
Her eyes shoot open as her jaw drops. Stunned, she says, “First of all, that is completely out of line when it comes to a professional atmosphere. I very well might sue you for sexual harassment.”
“Go ahead. Bring it up with HR . . . oh wait, you’re being paid under the table.”
That makes her lips twist together in annoyance. “Second,” she says slowly, “he never came inside me. I wouldn’t let him. He was always covered.”
Interesting.
“Not that you need to know that,” she continues and then turns back to the coffee machine. “We’re off topic. Anything else you want to show me about your coffee, my prince?”
“King,” I say.
“Huh?” she asks.
“I’m anything but a prince. If you want to address me, you can address me as king . . . or daddy. Never prince.”
A snort pops out of her mouth. “Oh, okay, let me just go around calling you daddy. Sure, that’s going to happen. You’re delusional.”
I knew she was going to be mouthy, challenging . . . defiant, but hell, I didn’t know I was going to get so much joy out of her attitude, at least not this quickly. It’s tempting to fuck with her every chance I get.
I move past her and grab my almond milk from the fridge. I hand it to her and say, “Two splashes and then stir.”
“You know, if you put the almond milk in first, there’s no need to stir.”
Is this how this is going to go? Is she going to argue every goddamn thing?
Of course it is. She’s a Rowley, and just because she’s here doesn’t mean she’ll make it easy on me.
“Two splashes, and then stir,” I repeat to let her know I’m not interested in her doing it any other way. I then pull down the recipe for my protein smoothie. “This is for my protein drink in the morning. I want both served at the same time.”
“Served?” Her brows shoot up. “Wasn’t aware I’d be serving you.”
“In my bedroom.”
“You can’t be serious.” Her shoulders sag in disbelief.
“One thing you can count on when it comes to me is that I’m always serious.”
“Clearly.” She rolls her eyes. “Your house is the no-fun zone. Got it. Now, will you want me to serve this in a maid’s outfit since that’s how you see me?”
“What you wear is up to you. If you want to be sarcastic about it, by all means, wear a maid’s outfit. Just keep your tits out of my drink.”
