Chapter 10 #2
She pales and nods. “Yes, it was all me. I changed the presentation when Cora wasn’t looking because I wanted to embarrass you.”
“I see.” I press my lips together. I know she’s lying, but I don’t want to push it in front of the other employees.
Not when Katherine is looking so ravishing and alluring.
“I need you to follow me, Miss Jenkins.” I step to the side and head to the elevator.
My brain ticks with ideas of what should happen next.
“What do you mean, follow you? Where are we going?” She hurries behind me.
“We’re going to go to my office, and I’m going to discuss exactly what I think should happen to your position.”
“What do you mean? I thought you were going to fire me?”
“I admire your honesty, and so I would like to discuss exactly what caused you to want to denigrate my name like that.” I look back over at the other three employees who are still just standing there.
“The three of you are dismissed. You may leave early for the day. However, I will have a conversation scheduled for you all with HR tomorrow. I want to ensure that something like this never happens again.”
“Mr. Heathcliff…” Cora says, stepping forward. “It’s really, it’s not what you think I just got…”
“It’s fine, Cora. I’m sorry.” Katherine gives her a look and then looks back at me. “Cora and the others have made me feel so welcome as a new employee, and I’m sorry that I’ve potentially gotten them into trouble. It was not my intention whatsoever.”
“What was your intention, Katherine?” I gaze at her as we wait for the elevator. “And do I really want to know?” The ding of the elevator breaks our gaze, and I reluctantly step forward. “Are you going to join me?” I usher her in and wait to see what she will do.
“Against my own volition.” She glares at me as she steps inside, and I can’t help but laugh as the doors close, and we just stare at each other.
I study her face, and not for the first time, I think that she is absolutely stunning.
I remember the first time that I met her and the way she’d made my cock twitch, but that was nothing compared to what she was doing for me now.
There was something about Katherine Jenkins that turned me on in ways I didn’t even think were possible.
“I am not sure what I’m going to do.” I stare at Katherine as she sits in the chair across my desk and says nothing.
I’m about to ask her to explain to me how she convinced her coworkers to create such a PowerPoint, but debate against it.
I know that if I’m going to interrogate her, then I need to be smart about the direction of the conversation.
“Is this your way of asking me what I think you should do?” A smile plays on her lips, and for some reason, she doesn’t look as nervous anymore. She looks confident, like she doesn’t care what happens next.
“What do you think I should do?”
“Well, you already said you’re going to fire me, so I guess I should consider myself fired.”
“Is that what you want?”
“What does what I want have to do with anything? I want to be a supermodel. I want a million dollars. I want to wear Gucci and strut my stuff down the streets of Paris, but here I am.” She shrugs nonchalantly and looks around the room. “What I want means nothing to the universe.”
“Maybe it means something to me.”
“And that means what?”
“Maybe it means that I am your universe.”
“Do you want to be the center of my universe?” She bursts out laughing. “Is that your way of getting into my pants?”
I study her face as she giggles, and a wave of light humor crashes through me, and I can’t stop myself from laughing as well. “Okay, maybe that didn’t come out as I’d intended. I meant to say that as your boss and the controller of your job, I can decide whether you keep said job.”
“You’d fire me for such a little thing?” She pouts and sits forward. “I didn’t realize you were that sensitive.”
“You just told over a thousand of my employees that I’m not the sexiest man alive.”
“I’m sorry to burst your bubble.” She cocks her head to the side and lets her eyes roam over me.
“You didn’t seriously think you were, did you?
” Her eyes widen in fake shock. “Please tell me that we didn’t just…
” Her voice trails off, and she can’t control her escalatingly loud giggles. “I’m so fired, aren’t I?”
“Actually, I think that I have another proposition.” I frown as my phone rings, and I see the name Raquel P on the screen.
I let out a deep sigh at the call. This is the fifth time she’s called me today.
And she’s already left three voicemails and sent eighteen text messages.
No one would ever believe she was a successful actress with a billion things going on in her career, given the number of times she’d contacted me.
I had zero interest in her and already regretted the one lunch date we’d gone on. The lady was proving to be stalkerish.
“Are you going to answer that?”
“No.” I press my lips together. “I’m not.”
“Okay then.” Her eyes narrow as she gazes at me perceptively. “Who’s calling? Is it a lady? Oh, it’s totally a lady.” She laughs and then continues. “Your girlfriend? Ex-lover?”
“Neither of the above. We went to lunch.” And it had been fairly boring at that.
I’d gotten a tuna tartare and side salad, and she’d gotten a bowl of clear soup and a glass of water.
The conversation had been as dull as the food, with talk about cars, money, and celebrities I’d either never heard of or cared about.
“Do you want me to answer and tell her to get a life? I’d be more than willing to do that. I’d be happy to tell her you’re gay and with your big, burly lover and can’t come to the phone.”
“Oh, Katherine, no need to call yourself big and burly.”
“Rude.” She sniffs, but she still can’t stop the smile from spreading across her face.
“I was trying to help. The best way to get a woman to stop constantly harassing you is to tell her you’re in another relationship, or you could threaten to press charges.
That works as well unless she’s an absolute psychopath. ”
“Well, I don’t need your help, thank you very much.
In fact, I…” I pause as Raquel calls me again.
I should just block her, but I know she’s going to be at a dinner that I’m attending that evening.
“Actually, I have an idea.” My heart pounds as I consider the latest thoughts cascading against my skull.
“But maybe not.” I stare at Katherine and the defiant impish expression on her face, and I know that what I’m considering is crazy.
“What?” She stares at me and taps her finger against her leg. “Don’t tell me you want to marry me?” She laughs. “Are we going to be the new Sebastian and Willow?”
“I think not.” I shudder, though, is what I’m about to suggest that much better? “But I do have an idea, if you don’t want to lose your job.”
“What’s the idea?”
“I have to go to a dinner tonight. There will be a number of people there, including Raquel…the woman who is currently trying to call me.”
“Okay, and what do you want me to do?”
“I want you to come to the dinner with me, as my date.” I pause as she pretends to throw up. “No need to act like a kid, Katherine. I’m not actually asking you on a date. Also, you weren’t pretending to throw up when I had you on the…”
“Enough, fine.” She says quickly and sharply as she cuts me off. “We do not need to talk about that again.” She blushes a deep red, and a wicked thought crosses my mind for a few moments before I dismiss it.
“So are you in?”
“I get to keep my job, and so does everyone else?”
“I suppose so.” I know Joanne won’t be happy with the update, but I don’t really care. “Though at some point I want the actual truth as to what happened.”
“You got the truth according to me…” She puts her fingers behind her back, and I raise a single eyebrow.
“Did you cross your fingers, Katherine?”
“No.” She jumps up. “So do we have a deal. I’ll be your dinner date, and I get to keep my job?”
“I suppose. Just as long as we both understand that nothing untoward happens again.”
“Yes, Sir!” She salutes me. “You have my word.”
“Why do I find that hard to believe?” I sit back and shake my head. “I’ll text you the details for tonight. Be ready around 7 pm and wear something nice. My driver and I will pick you up.”
“Sounds like a plan.” She winks at me. “I’ll wear something fitting for a dinner date with the great Jack Heathcliff.
” She winks at me. “The wanna be sexiest man alive.” She looks so goofy and beautiful standing there, teasing me, and all I want to do is jump up and pull her into my arms, but I know better than to do that.
I only hope that this wasn’t going to be my worst idea ever.
I had a feeling that Katherine was going to spend the evening hamming it up.