Page 33 of Heated Takeover

“First of all,” he says. “I’m testing you.”

“For what? Submission?” I snap and he is definitely glaring now. Maybe I should be worried or intimidated, but actually, I am kind of just turned on.

“Competency. I promoted you because of my belief in you, nothing else,” he says. As if I assumed he hired me for any other reason. Asshole.

“And?” I ask. “Did I pass your test?”

“It’s not a pass or fail,” he says. “Not yet anyways. And for the record, I did not come in here to tear apart what your father built. I wouldn’t have invested in this company if it was anything less than the best. I am here to make it better. And that will require you learning how to work under me without mouthing off so much. It will also require you learning how indispensable you are.”

“To the company or to you?” I snap back. Marcus stares at me without answering. I probably shouldn’t have asked that question, but he’s got me so heated that I don’t really care. He downs his whiskey and gives me one last look that falls somewhere between hostile and turned on. Then, he sets my headset down in front of me and walks away.

Chapter 14

Marcus

“Well, boss, I think it’s safe to say that this event is running about as smoothly as the routine of a well-seasoned pole dancer,” Tuck says before chuckling at his own metaphor.

But I don’t smile. In fact, I don’t respond at all. I’m still reeling over the conversation I just had with Natalie at the bar.

Tuck goes on. “Seriously, man, the food, the drinks, the music. Not to mention all the fat wallets and silicone tits in this room. You’ve outdone yourself, Ash, you really have. Everything looks amazing.”

“Yeah,” I agree. “It does.”

But I’m not looking at the food, the music, or the boob jobs. I am looking at Natalie who, since our talk, has been at the forefront of everything. She’s moving around the room making suggestions and talking to the staff with authority. Though she is still very polite, and I expect nothing less. She’s even checking in with guests, which isn’t even part of her job. People are responding well to her regardless of her office attire.

It’s transformative and impressive. Honestly, I’m bewitched.

“I was talking about the event,” Tuck says. “Not the director of events.”

“I know that,” I nod, my eyes still on her. I fold my arms over my chest and hyper-focus on her as she talks to someone in security. I don’t even know what they’re talking about, but she’s pointing, and he’s nodding. I can’t believe I am admitting this, but those pants are actually working for her. They’re loose, but every time she moves, they float around her hips like a halo, barely touching her yet silhouetting her perfect ass.

“Do you?” he asks cocking his head. His narrowed eyes tell me he doesn’t believe me in the slightest, which inherently pisses me off.

“Yes. The event. It’s going great…she’s doing great.”

“Jesus,” he scoffs, and I snap my attention back over to him again. “I feel like the building could be on fire with people running around everywhere screaming, and if she was still in the room, you’d say things looked great.”

“I don’t know what you’re getting at,” I mutter.

“She’s THE woman, isn’t she?” he asks.

“What woman?” I ask.

“The woman you mentioned…before.” He knows it’s her. I had tried to be very, very vague before, and I am still kicking myself for ever mentioning that there was a woman at all. “It’s her. She’s the one from the Ferris wheel. She’s that Natalie Blythe, the underrated sister.”

“I’m not talking about this,” I say.

“Oh come on. We never talk about your love life.” Tuck might be a two-hundred-and-fifty-pound security guard with fists that could bash a hole in the wall big enough to create a new emergency exit to any given building, but he also has a nose for drama. And right now, he sounds like a teenage girl.

“That’s because I don’t have a love life,” I tell him.

“No? So you haven’t…” he wiggles his eyebrows, and I shake my head.

“Liar,” he says. “I can tell.”

“How can you tell?” I snap.

“Oh I don’t know, maybe because you’re ogling her from across the room and no woman ever makes you ogle,” he says.