Out of the corner of his eye, Grant saw Charli put a hand to Kade’s chest in that oh-stop-it thing women did. He ground his teeth together. Well, Charli had certainly honed her flirting confidence in the last few days. With a quick good-bye to his friend, he freed himself from his conversation with Lane and headed toward the back of the room, forcing himself to be calm. This wasn’t a playroom at The Ranch; the same rules didn’t apply.
But Charli’s eyes widened when she caught sight of him coming her way, so his expression must have been more charging bull than he’d intended. Grant laid a hand on Kade’s shoulder, squeezed firmly enough to make a point. “Vandergriff, glad to see you could make it out here today.”
Kade turned around, wearing an easy smile, and shook Grant’s hand. “Of course. Your wines always do well in our locations, so I wanted to see what the new products were going to be.”
“And I see you’ve already met Charlotte,” Grant added.
Kade gave Charli a too-friendly look. “Yes, she was telling me her position with you is temporary, so I was letting her know that I’m in the market for a permanent…assistant if she was interested.”
The words and the unspoken meaning behind them were like a fist to the jaw. Grant’s fingers flexed, the urge to pull Charli to his side almost impossible to deny. But Vandergriff wasn’t saying anything that wasn’t true. Grant’s agreement with Charli was a short one. If she discovered she liked the submissive role, she could move on to whichever dom she wanted. And Kade was a great one. Hell, if Charli had been a normal trainee, he’d already be looking for which dom to match her with at the end of training. And Kade would’ve probably hit the list.
But dammit if Grant didn’t feel like punching out every one of Kade’s perfectly straight teeth at the thought. And that feeling was one of the most dangerous ones he’d had in a while. He couldn’t feel territorial about Charli. She was going to walk away in a little over a week. Even if he offered to extend their arrangement, she’d never settle for what he was willing to give. She’d naturally gravitate to doms like Kade who were in the market for a relationship, who wouldn’t flinch at the idea of a kiss or sleeping in the same bed, who’d be capable of truly loving her.
Something tightened in his chest. Fuck. What was going on with him? He wasn’t this guy. He was possessive with his subs, but he didn’t do jealousy. The feeling was so foreign he almost hadn’t recognized it.
Whatever attachment he was forming to Charli needed to be broken now. She wasn’t really his, and he needed to stop acting like she was going to be. This was training. And fucking. And fun. In a few days they were both going back to their own lives. He needed to get that through his thick skull.
He sucked in a deep breath, bracing himself for what he was about to do. “Charlotte, it is highly inappropriate to discuss employment with someone else while you’re still working with me.”
She looked down, the fake glasses sliding down her nose a bit. “Sorry, sir. I didn’t think it was a big deal.”
“This is going to require disciplinary action,” he said, his voice sharp but low enough so that no one else in the room would hear.
Her head snapped up. “What? But—”
He raised a finger, quieting her protest. “Don’t try to backpedal now. I need to discuss a few things with Kade, then you and I are going to have a chat.”
Grant clapped Kade on the back. “You got a few minutes, Vandergriff? I’d like to iron out the details about the tastings you wanted to set up at your locations.”
Kade’s surprise was evident, but he recovered quickly, smoothing his expression. “I could probably stay for a bit.”
“Great. Come with me.” Grant nailed Charli with a hard glare. “Ms. Beaumonde, get this room back in order. Then I expect you in my office. Dawdle and you’ll regret it. It’s the door at the end of the hall.”
Fear flared in her eyes, and he could see her pulse hopping against her throat, but she nodded. “Yes, sir.”
He turned around and headed out of the conference room with Kade at his side. Grant was going to fix his little jealousy problem and make this good for Charli, but boy, was it going to take every ounce of his willpower to allow it to happen.
TWENTY
Charli stood in front of Grant’s closed office door, trying to hold herself up on shaky resolve. Voices murmured on the other side. Kade was obviously still with Grant. And she had a feeling he may not be going anywhere anytime soon.Author: Roni Loren
What the hell had she gotten herself into? She’d tried to reverse the rules on Grant, and it had completely backfired. Instead of stirring up his possessiveness, she’d managed to inspire him to bring in someone else.
Clearly, he didn’t have any feelings for her. This was simply a game. Sex. Power play. An arrangement. Her insides twisted at the realization, but she knew it’d been a long shot anyway. How could she expect him to feel anything for her when they still hardly knew each other? She’d been ridiculous to think she could drag him out of the cave he’d locked himself in when his wife had died.
She needed to accept this fact and enjoy their arrangement for what it was worth—great sex. An adventure with a man who could coax her body to heights she hadn’t known existed. She was going to have to tamp down her own misguided emotions and focus on the physical, on the way her body responded to him. Even with the emotional letdown, knowing what was on the other side of this door had her woefully turned on—albeit slightly terrified. She could do this. Keep it on the surface.
Men did it all the time. And if she knew anything about herself, it was that she could go toe-to-toe with any man on just about anything.
After one deep, cleansing breath, she knocked on the door.
“Come in.” Grant’s baritone cut through the door like the thing was made of rice paper instead of solid oak.
She turned the knob and slowly opened it, the creak of the hinges echoing through the now-empty building. When she stepped inside, she had to catch her breath. Sitting behind a massive wooden desk, Grant looked every bit the angry boss. He’d taken off his suit coat and hat, and his shirtsleeves were rolled to the elbows, a move she was starting to recognize as a harbinger. A hot shiver raced right down to her toes.
Kade sat in a chair on the other side of the desk, relaxed, his ankle resting on the opposite knee. He had his ever-present legal pad on his lap, notes scrawled across it. He gave her a quick glance, the deep blue of his eyes unreadable, then went back to his notes. She cleared her throat, feeling like she’d intruded on their business meeting. “You wanted to see me, sir?”
“I hired you to pour coffee and answer phones. I did not hire you to make a scene, curse in front of my colleagues, or flirt shamelessly with my clients,” Grant said, his voice sterner than she’d ever heard it. “You put Mr. Vandergriff in quite an awkward position.”