3. Bribery
Bribery
Knox
I’d like to say Victoria was a little pissed as she exited the airport, but it would be a lie. She was incensed . Her eyes cut into a sharp, rabid glare, and her knuckles were stretched tight around her luggage that she dragged along like a dead body.
My dead body, I’m guessing.
Her right eye twitched in rage, and her steps were fast and violent.
I wonder what type of flowers they’ll have at my funeral. I should be more scared, especially since I know Victoria wants to strangle me, but she’s…fucking adorable.
Tired of being dragged like a corpse, the bag tipped over onto its side.
The burgeoning suitcase I knew was filled with skimpy bikinis and cut-off shorts threatened to burst open at the seams. I watched her stop dead in her tracks and glare at it.
I knew she was calling the suitcase every foul name in the book in her mind.
She prefers “bastard.” She loves calling me a bastard.
And when she’s absolutely not in the mood for my bullshit, she calls me a “dirty, old bastard.” I’m not dirty; neither am I old.
I’m only 49. A slight correction is warranted.
My thoughts regarding everything I want to do to my executive assistant are dirty — downright filthy is a more fitting description.
After a moment of fighting, Victoria snapped the suitcase upright and continued her wrathful march towards my SUV. She hoisted herself on the running boards and rapped her knuckles against the window.
“Come outside, Knox. I just wanna talk,” she said softly. Too softly if you asked me. A chuckle spilled from my lips.
I rolled the window down a fraction, but kept it high enough that she couldn’t fit her fist through.
“I’m not falling for that one.”
Victoria smiled tightly and leaned into the window. “Do you know what I want right now?”
“A donut?” I offered.
“To crush your old ass balls into dust,” she answered.
I shuddered but kept my composure. “If you wanted to touch my balls, we could arrange—”
“Go to Hell!” she spat.
Such venom…I love it.
“Victoria, there’s no point in stalling. We have a flight to catch. Get in the truck,” I demanded, nodding at the available seat beside me. I cleared my throat, trying to ignore how her intoxicating and deliriously sweet perfume seeped into the car.
“What part of ‘go to Hell’ don’t you understand?”
“All of it,” I replied.
She grinned, and her fingers clung tightly to the window. “Go to Hell with gasoline drawers on. If you think, for one minute, that I’m gonna get in this truck, then you’ve lost your ever-loving—”
“One hundred thousand,” I interjected, cutting off her well-wishes for my soul.
Victoria blinked rapidly. “Excuse me?”
“I’ll give you a $100,000.00 bonus once we return to New York. Get in,” I remarked, unlocking the door.
She hopped down and created some distance between my idling truck and herself. She paced in a circle and spoke to herself erratically. The words tumbled from her luscious lips like rapid fire. I could barely keep up. I did catch her saying, “Do it for Mom.”
Do it for Mom? Is her mother in financial straits?
Eventually, Victoria’s shoulders slumped in resignation. She opened the passenger door, slipped inside, and filled the SUV with the scent that was uniquely hers. I nodded at my driver through the rear-view mirror, and he fetched Victoria’s massive suitcase and hauled it into the trunk.
“I want you to know that I despise you with every fiber of my being.”
I rolled my eyes. “Tell me something new, Tori Montana.”
“Stop calling me that. It’s Ms. Caldwell.”
I sighed. “Ms. Caldwell is so boring,” I taunted. I was waiting for a snarky comeback, but Victoria’s buzzing phone had stolen her attention. Her nose did that twitchy thing it did when she was pissed off. “Are you messaging your friends?”
“Yep. Just telling them how my sadistic husband canceled my flight and bribed me with an obscene amount of money to accompany him on the business trip I had no plans of attending.”
I smiled softly, finding an opening to tease her more.
“I just had a thought. Mrs. Victoria Ramsey has a lovely ring to it. Don’t you think?”
“Only if you drop dead as soon as we say ‘I do.’”
I chuckled. “Now, where’s the fun in that? I’d at least like to make it through our wedding night.”
“What’s the point?” she mumbled as her fingers flew furiously across the screen. I peeked over, and she was typing in all caps and exclamation marks. I could barely contain my smile when she inserted several knife emojis. “You’d never live long enough to get the kitty.”
“Oh? Tell me more.”
“I’d imagine we’d be in some penthouse of a swanky hotel.
The guests would still be in full swing, enjoying the open bar reception downstairs.
I’d propose a toast to our new beginnings, hand you a flute of poisoned champagne, step over your twitching body, and slip into bed.
I’d sleep easily that night knowing I was a billionaire. ”
This trip will be…gratifying. Seven days on a tropical island with the most beautiful woman on Earth? My dick is getting hard just thinking about it.
“You know. That was extensively thought out for a woman who claims to hate me.”
The SUV lurched forward, and the driver pulled into the roundabout. Victoria tossed her cell phone into her purse and turned to address me.
“Mr. Ramsey.”
“Knox,” I corrected. There was no need to be so formal. She’d be mine after the trip, after all.
“Mr. Ramsey,” she asserted. “This is a business trip.”
“I’m glad you caught on.”
“That means you are to leave me alone unless it’s business-related.
That means no emails or calls before 8:00 or after 5:00.
I don’t want to hear or see you if it’s not about business.
I don’t even want you to breathe in my direction if it’s not about business,” she informed as she spoke with her graceful hands.
“I better be able to convince myself you’re dead until something business-related comes up. ”
So cruel. I can’t get enough.
I leaned a little closer.
“I want to hear you say it,” Victoria demanded. My mouth dried.
She’s sexy when she gets dominant.
“I will not breathe in your direction unless it’s about business,” I recited diligently. “I promise.”
“Good.”
We both shared a look. It was wordless, but we knew what it meant. There wasn’t a chance in hell I’d keep my word.
All of this is simply posturing from her, but I’ll let her think she’s won…for now.
“Do you have a copy of the itinerary?”
“It’s in your email.”
“Of fucking course it is,” she mumbled under her breath. “You planned on abducting me this whole time, didn’t you?”
I shot her a pointed look. “Do you really want to piss yourself off with a rhetorical question like that?”
“I’m not pissing myself off. You’re pissing me off. I’m praying for your downfall, Knox.”
“I’m sure you are. I’m just not sure it’s a good idea since we’re always together,” I mentioned, raking my eyes over her.
She glared out the window. In the reflection of the tinted glass, I could see her lips turned down into something like a pout.
“Where you go, I go. And if I go down, then we’ll go down together. ”
It’s because I can’t let her go. I don’t mind monopolizing her time and enjoy pushing her to the edge.
I can’t help myself. The further she tries to distance herself from me, the tighter my grip.
But the question remains…how can I let her know it’s not just banter? How can I close the gap between us?
“We’ll see about that,” Victoria grumbled.
Maybe a little praise will do the trick.
“You’re a good assistant, Victoria. More than good, actually. You’re very capable. I’m lucky to have you. I don’t even mind the cursing and death threats.”
Things will be different on the island. I’ll show her a different side of me. She’ll relax, and I’ll finally let her see Knox, the man, not Knox, her overbearing, boundary-crossing boss.
She glanced at me with cautious, brown eyes and nearly stole my breath. “I’m the best assistant you’ll ever have.”
“You are,” I co-signed with a nod.
“You’ll never find someone better than me.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
She’s too cute. Look at her resolve bleeding away because of a bit of praise and a pat on the back. I can praise her more. I can talk her through it. I can pound her anger out while praising her for taking me so well. And just like that, I’m hard.
I glanced away, cursing myself for underestimating my self-control around her.
This will be an exciting adventure, indeed.