I don’t know what I’ll do. I don’t know that it’s possible to make a conscious plan. I just want my hands on her.
It’s like a rubber band stretched across the desk, at its limit, ready to snap. It’s the dawning realization that the line between propriety and violence is so incredibly thin. Paper-thin. Money-thin.
Bristol is stock-still. A statue of a gorgeous woman in fear for her life. Her hands are clutched in her lap, trembling.
“We’ll start with how you would describe your strengths,” I announce, because I’m pissed at her. At me. I want to drag this out. I want to watch her squirm. I want her to feel the way I felt all goddamn night. “Would you agree that you’re skilled in the art of distraction?”
Bristol’s cheeks flush. She has to know I’m playing with her. We both know I’m playing with her. But she steels herself and parts her lips.
“No, I—I’m organized.” Her voice shakes, but only slightly. “I’m a quick learner. And I learn from my mistakes.”
“How quickly?”
“As soon as I know I’ve done wrong.” Bristol’s face gets even redder. “I try to fix them right away. As soon as I know how to correct them. The procedures are usually a little different in every job. And I try to know what those are.”
What made her do it?
I want to know so much it hurts. I can’t even place the pain. It justhurts,like being hungry. Or like being punched in the face. The question is on the tip of my tongue.Why did you do it?
“Now tell me about your weaknesses.”
What about mine? What about the way I was up all night thinking about her? Bristol Anderson is beginning to seem very much like a weakness, which is not something I can have. Not something I would ever allow.
She swallows hard. I can’t tell if her eyes are bright with terror or tears.
Maybe it’s both.
Part of me would like it to be both. Part of me wants to pull her into my lap and hold her.
Part of me is losing my mind, because I’m not the type to be gentle and comforting. The women I fuck understand that. There’s no bullshit. No pretending. And if I were to comfort Bristol, if I were to hold her in my arms and promise her that none of these problems were insurmountable, it wouldn’t be pretending.
It would be lying. It would be a con, just like the one she tried to run on me.
I can never be that man. I was fated for violence from the moment of birth. Not softness. Not comfort for a thieving temp.
“Sometimes,” Bristol begins. “Sometimes…”
I didn’t think it was possible for her face to reach this deep shade of red, but it does. Bristol clasps her hands so tightly her knuckles go white.
She reaches again for that little button at the front of her jacket.
I’d bet anything that Bristol only has two skirt suits. I’d bet anything that she switches them out with a different top each day.
“Your weaknesses,” I snap.
And I don’t care. I don’t care what her weaknesses are. I just want to exploit them. I just want to break her down in front of me so I can pick up the pieces.
“My weaknesses.”
The next word out of her mouth should beyou.That’s what her voice sounds like. That’s what the energy in the room feels like.
Wrong. Fucking wrong. I’m her boss. Hertemporaryboss.
The way to remove weakness from my life is to banish it. Fire it. Give it a severance package and send it packing. Punch the life out of it and leave it for dead.
There’s no room for anything but the business. No room for anything but work. And I’ve fought for that space. Clawed it out of a soul that wanted fists and blood, not custom suits and stock options.
Bristol’s lip quivers, and I see it. She’s on the edge. Push any harder and I’ll have a sobbing, sweet temp in my office, and there’s no telling what I’ll do.