“Second ground rule—there will be no more inappropriate behavior.”
I kick my feet up on my desk and lean back in my chair. “Not sure what you’re alluding to with that ground rule.”
“The way you speak to me and the little touches need to end.”
“You act as if I’m grazing your hand when I walk by or sliding my hand to your lower back . . . or gripping your thigh while at the conference table. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that has never happened.”
“It, uh . . . it hasn’t. But you know, the things you say aren’t appropriate for a workplace, so that needs to stop.”
“The ‘cunt calling out for my cock’ thing was outside of work.”
“You’ve said more than that while at work, and don’t deny it.”
I have.
“Okay, your wish is my command, babe.”
“And none of that.” She points her finger at me again. “None of that babe stuff. I’m Kelsey, you’re JP, and that’s it. Nothing else. I’m not your babe.”
“Just a term of endearment, but sure, Kelsey. That’s how I’ll refer to you from now on, unless you wanted something more along the lines of . . . fishwife?”
Let’s pause here for a moment. I’m not a complete asshole . . . all the time. I’m really not. But Kelsey just has the best reactions, and I can’t resist. She’s so goddamned gorgeous, and it’s fun to rile her. To ruffle her feathers.
“You do realize you’re the absolute worst to have a conversation with, right? Like . . . the absolute worst,” she says, her face wincing with irritation.
“I only seem to receive that sort of feedback from you, which makes me think it’s a you thing, not a me thing.”
She pinches her brow and I swear she silently counts to ten. “And thirdly—”
“A third ground rule? Was not expecting that. Total plot twist.” I lean back in my chair again. “Please, continue to pleasure me with your commands.”
“I’m talking to Huxley and asking him if I can fall under his management because our working relationship is volatile.”
“Ooh, you see, I was with you on points one and two, but unfortunately, your line of work falls under my line of work, therefore, that makes you my employee. Huxley isn’t going to bother taking on another task when his plate is already full. He also doesn’t take too kindly to people telling him what to do, even if you’re his future sister-in-law. And if you do approach him, all he’s going to do is pull us into a conference room and ask that we work things out . . . in front of him. Now, given the restrictions that ground rule one presents us, you’re not going to be able to tell him the truth as to why you don’t want to work under me anymore, and therefore have no validity behind your case. Also, you’re only going to paint yourself as confrontational since everyone else that does work with me has given me nothing but rave reviews. So . . . if you want to embarrass yourself and shine a spotlight on your difficult disposition, by all means, approach Huxley, but if you want to remain in his good graces, I would suggest you drop ground rule number three.”
The tension in her jaw is visible from where I sit. I know this isn’t what she wanted to hear, but it’s also true. If anything, Huxley is a businessman first so he can remove emotion from business, which is why we’re so successful . . . something Kelsey needs to learn.
“Then maybe Breaker could do it.”
I chuckle. “Managing a certified organizer doesn’t fall under his scope of responsibilities. He’s the numbers guy. Organizing and managing the different properties isn’t what he does. Hate to say it, Kelsey, but you’re stuck with me.”
She crosses her arms at her chest and mutters something under her breath.
I move closer to her and say, “I didn’t quite catch that. Can you repeat it?”
She looks me dead in the eyes and says, “I despise you.”
“Now, now, now, is that something you should be saying to your employer?”
She stands from the chair, grumbling some more, and then puts her manicured finger on my desk. “From here on out, we adhere to the two ground rules. Do you hear me?”
“I do.” I smirk. “I hear you quite well.”
“And we’ll only talk to each other when we need to, and about business only. When Huxley and Lottie invite us over, I want you nowhere near me. Don’t even think about talking to me. Do you understand?”