Page 3 of Badass Alien Boss

“She’s not a nursemaid, and her name is Michaela.”

“I don’t care. She tells me that since you hired her, I can’t fire her. So, you fire her.”

“I can’t.”

“You mean you won’t. It’s her or me. Either she leaves or I do.”

“I can’t fire her. Her GAL Friday contract guarantees her six months. She can only be fired for incompetence or malfeasance.”

“So, pick one and fire her!”

His brother’s eyes flashed with impatience. “Don’t be an ass. I’m not going to slander her with a false complaint. Give her a chance. You’ll see how much easier she’ll make your work life. She’ll organize your files, field your holograms, do whatever assistants do—”

“What if she quits of her own accord?”

“That would be up to her. Whether you like it or not, it’s for your own good. We can’t assume the attack was random: wrong place, wrong time.”

Ruyn narrowed his eyes. “What does the attack have to do with me supposedly needing administrative help?”

Korsan looked guilty as phuk. “Give her a chance.”

“Why is she really here?” he said in a low, menacing voice.

“It’s only temporary.”

“Korsan…” he growled.

“Okay. Okay. Michaela is your bodyguard! All right?”

“You’re phukking kidding me!” A bark of harsh laughter covered his humiliation. “Her? One stiff breeze would blow her away. Laid up in the hospital with my leg in traction, I could mount a better defense than her.” His older brother must consider him a lost-cause cripple to hire a diminutive humanfemaleto be his bodyguard.

“She holds two black belts in Earth martial arts, and she’s a master-level sharpshooter with handheld and long-range laser weapons. But,” he rushed on when Ruyn would haveinterrupted, “I didn’t hire her so much to provide physical protection as scoping out possible threats and conducting her own investigation to figure out who attacked you.”

“You’ve lost your effing mind.” He stood up, gritting his teeth against the sharp pain. Without another word, he stalked out of the office.

If he couldn’t fire the nursemaid, and his brotherwouldn’t, then he would motivate her to quit. He would become the biggest asshole of a boss Michaela Perine ever had.

Chapter Three

“You lied to me.” His face thunderous, the tips of his ears quivering with anger, he loomed over her desk.

She stood up, tilting her head to meet his furious golden eyes.My god, he’s tall.And mad.“About what?”

“Korsan hired you to be my bodyguard.”

He told him?She was surprised but relieved the truth had come out. On principle, she preferred honesty—but Korsan had been adamant about keeping his brother in the dark. “He would not take it well,” he’d said.

He’d been right about that. Muscles bunched, face hardened, fists clenched, Ruyn appeared ready to do battle. In the face of such aggression, an instinct to use the furniture as a protective barricade kicked in, but she stepped out from behind the desk. Michaela Perine did not cower.

“You could be fired for malfeasance—dishonesty,” he said.

They both knew that wouldn’t happen. Korsan called the shots, and she’d been following his orders.

“I’m only here for a short while.” She attempted to mollify him. “I’ll be gone before you know it.”

“Sooner, if I have anything to say about it. I don’t need a bodyguard. Least of allyou.” His lip curled.

Gee, tell me how you really feel.“Because I’m human or female?”