Total pages in book: 184
Estimated words: 188108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 941(@200wpm)___ 752(@250wpm)___ 627(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 188108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 941(@200wpm)___ 752(@250wpm)___ 627(@300wpm)
He didn’t like that either.
How had she met both Roman and Salem before? Was that really a coincidence?
“Well, first of all, you need to start taking your breaks at a reasonable time. Lunch this late is unacceptable.”
“I didn’t realize that there were such strict rules around when I eat my lunch,” she countered.
Oh, this girl had more sass than was healthy for her backside. His hand itched to spank her. He saw her gaze turn wary as she stared down at his hands.
He suddenly realized that his hands were clenched into fists. Was she worried that he’d hit her?
Fuck.
He meant to intimidate her, but he didn’t want to frighten her. So he relaxed his hands.
“Well, there are. If you don’t eat, then you won’t have the energy to clean. Which might be why my bathroom looks like it hasn’t been touched in days.”
“Oh. I did a bad job? I’m so sorry.”
And now all that bravado had fled, and she looked like she was about to start crying.
He was an ogre.
He was reaching for her when he suddenly came to his senses. She needed to hear this feedback.
And he had to keep some space between them.
“Yeah, you did.”
She winced.
“But the biggest problem is you being in here.”
“Why? Salem said I was to clean in here.”
“Clean, not use the equipment.”
“Oh. I didn’t break anything. I was just using the bench press.”
“Well, don’t,” he snapped. “You could have seriously hurt yourself and you shouldn’t be in here alone. So from now on, you’re not to come in here. Understand?”
“Yes, I understand.”
It was only the truth, and it had needed to be said.
So why did he feel so terrible?
Tamsyn leaned back against the wall by the gym door and took a few deep breaths.
That was too close.
What was she thinking? She needed to do her snooping when they weren’t here. Or, when only Roman was here since he rarely left his room.
She’d been lucky that Alexei had walked in after she’d finished looking around the gym and had been using the equipment.
If he’d come five minutes earlier . . . not that she expected anything to be hidden in the gym equipment.
But she wanted to be thorough.
However, it seemed she needed to do a better job of cleaning. She couldn’t lose her job here.
Not before she gave him something.
Could she give him something small?
She hated this. These guys . . . they weren’t her usual targets.
They were good guys.
Even grumpy, sexy Alexei.
Yeah, she was really hating having to do this.
Salem glanced up at the knock on his office door.
“Come in,” he called out.
To his surprise, he’d been spending more time at home this week. Could be because he wanted to avoid Riordan.
Could also be because Tamsyn was here. There was no reason why that would compel him to stay home, but he couldn’t deny the amount of time he spent thinking about her.
So he shouldn’t have been surprised by the surge of excitement that hit him as her face appeared around the door. And he realized that he’d been hoping she would track him down.
God. What was wrong with him?
This poor girl was years younger than him. She now worked for him.
She was completely and utterly off limits.
Yet, here he was lusting after her like a pervert.
“Tamsyn, hi, come in.” He stood. Then he sat again.
Talk about awkward.
“You don’t need to clean in here,” he told her.
He’d told her to clean the offices when no one was working. And he’d actually just cleaned it himself.
She wasn’t actually the best cleaner.
“Oh, uh, that wasn’t why I knocked.” She stood in front of his desk, fidgeting and shifting from foot to foot.
“Stay still,” he ordered without thought.
She froze and he winced.
“I’m sorry. That was wrong of me, we’re no longer in the club and you don’t have to do what I say. Not that you had to there, either. Could you tell me why you’ve come to see me?”
Talk about rambling. It was mortifying.
“I’ve just had it pointed out to me that I’m a terrible cleaner,” she blurted out. “I’m so sorry and if you want to fire me, I understand.”
And just who would have . . . as if he had to ponder that.
There was only one person who would have said that. The same person who did his best to avoid her. And when he did run into her, he did his best not to talk to her.
Salem had witnessed him completely ignoring her yesterday in the kitchen.
Alexei could be blunt and hard. He could be a bit of a dick. But he wasn’t usually this bad.
“I will have a word with him.”
She gave him a startled look. “With who?”
“Alexei, he’s the one who said that to you, right?” Because there was no way it was Roman. He’d also seen the way Roman watched her when she wasn’t looking.