69 Million Things I Hate About You

by Kira Archer

He leaned in a little closer and the pulse rate he stared at ratcheted up a notch. Interesting. “Something they were unhappy with maybe…” He reached over and ran his finger along one of the files and was rewarded by a quick intake of breath. “Something maybe I can do to make them come…”

  Her mouth dropped open in a little O.

  “…back to us.”

  Her chest rose and fell with every breath she took, forcing those ample, pert breasts a fraction closer to him with every inhale. This was such a mistake. He’d meant to unnerve her, invading her home space like this. Instead, she had his head spinning like a teenager in the backseat of his daddy’s car about to hit second base for the first time.

  She sat forward, and for half a second he thought she might be leaning in for a kiss, but of course she wasn’t. She dropped the file she held back in his lap.

  “I already know why they’ve turned elsewhere for their developing needs.”

  His gaze zeroed in on her lips. “Oh yeah? Why?”

  “Because their president—”

  “Chauncey Irwin. Great guy. We used to play golf together.”

  “I know. I used to make your reservations.”

  “I hit my last hole-in-one playing with him.”

  “Actually…” she said, those full, kissable lips pulling into a smile. He leaned in even closer. A few inches. That’s all that separated them. “You hit your last hole-in-one with his daughter.”

  Cole froze, his gaze shifting from her mouth to her eyes. “What?”

  “Patricia Luscheck. Twenty-five. Brunette. Pretty.”

  “She’s his daughter?” He only vaguely remembered the woman. If he recalled, she’d picked him up in the club bar one day after a rousing game of golf and they’d compared swings in one of the cabanas.

  “Yep. Uses her mother’s maiden name. Pretty sure she’s no longer allowed at the country club after what you two did to the cabana.”

  Cole rubbed his hand over his face. Well shit. “I guess that solves that little mystery.”

  “I guess so,” she said with a small smile. “Is there anything else you wanted from me?”

  He looked into those big doe eyes of hers, the fresh, clean scent of her washing over him, and jumped up.

  She blinked up at him, startled.

  “I need to use your restroom,” he said, not waiting for her response before he bolted down the hallway.

  The moment he was inside, he yanked out his phone and texted Brooks.

  I’m fucked.

  Brooks’s response came back almost immediately.

  I thought the plan was to get her to make a pass at you. I think you overplayed it.

  Very funny. I’m serious. I’ve been here 10 minutes and I’m losing what little control I had.

  You can’t tell me that the Great Cole Harrington is being beat at his own game by his timid little secretary.

  Cole snorted.

  She might be quiet, but she’s not timid. Hell, at the moment she’s damn near terrifying. She answered the door in a damn towel.

  Need a little help? You know I’m always up for a little 3-way action. Though, having you as the third isn’t really a scenario I’d ever envisioned before. But I’d be game if she is.

  Fuck off.

  Hey, you texted me. I’m just trying to help.

  Yeah, help yourself.

  Well, there’s not much I can do for you from here. You’re alone in an apartment with a hot, half-naked woman. This shouldn’t be difficult.

  You have no idea. I didn’t think she had it in her.

  She doesn’t yet. I keep offering to fix that and you keep telling me to fuck off.

  Fuck off.

  Seriously, if you want me to be serious, you’ve got to stop setting yourself up like that. I’m only human.

  Yeah, right.

  Get back out there. Or concede defeat, fire her, and then you can keep her chained to your bed guilt-free.

  Not going to happen.

  Fine. Then sack up and get back out there. Don’t text me again unless you’re inviting me over.

  Cole snorted and took a deep breath. He could do this. Fucking hell, he had women throwing themselves at him all the time. Now that he was actively trying to get one to do so, it really shouldn’t be this hard. Bad choice of words, maybe. But apt.

  He went back out to the front room. Where Kiersten was bent over the back of the couch, her pert little ass in the air as she tried to reach something she’d dropped over the side.

  “Hey,” she said, glancing back at him over her shoulder. “Could you help me? I dropped my hair band and can’t quite reach it.”

  Cole stared, his body somehow both numb and on fire at the same time. Then he shook his head. He knew when he’d been beaten at his own game.

  “Sorry, I have to run.” He turned on his heel and marched to the door.

  “But your briefcase. The files…”

  “Bring them to the office with you when you feel up to it. Take as long as you need.” He yanked open the door and kept on going. He didn’t even care if he was conceding defeat. He was man enough to admit she’d won this round. If he stopped for even a second, the tenuous hold on his control would snap, and he’d have her bent over the couch moaning his name before she had a chance to blink twice.

  It had been a mistake meeting her on her turf. Next time, he’d make sure he had home-court advantage. And then he’d have her right where he wanted her.

  …

  Kiersten labeled another large manila envelope and got the files ready to send off. Yet another report on another meeting that probably didn’t accomplish anything. But everyone in every relevant department still needed to be notified that no changes had been made just so everyone was up to speed. There were a few more important documents in her pile. Building specs and codes that needed to be sent for approval. Financial reports and pending patents on various projects. A business plan for a new app they were developing. Leases and rental agreements on other properties.

  A wicked little idea popped in her head, and she paused, a smile growing on her lips. She grabbed the interoffice memos and pulled them from their envelopes. Opportunities to truly mess with Cole could not be passed up. Nothing would be irreparably damaged if the wrong paperwork was sent to the wrong department. She wanted to wreak a little havoc and make Cole’s life a bit more uncomfortable, not destroy his business or irreversibly ruin any projects. However, a few delays here and there wouldn’t hurt much while Accounting hunted down their paperwork, which was now on the way to…she grabbed the envelope for Marketing and shoved the papers in. Or while Legal waited for…Acquisitions to swap their files. Aggravating for everyone, yes, but it wouldn’t be fatal. Except hopefully to her employment. They’d have to start a new pool if he didn’t can her soon. The fact that he’d held out this long blew her mind.

  She grabbed another file off the stack and took a quick look. Permits for something called Piper’s House that needed to be sent to Legal for filing ASAP. And an opening-night party for the place? Not one she’d heard of, which was odd. She was familiar with all of Cole’s projects. Sounded like he was buying a house for one of his girlfriends. And having a housewarming party?

  Why hadn’t he had her plan it? He always had her take care of that kind of thing. Unless he didn’t want to involve her because of what had been happening between them lately. Had anything been happening? Or was it still silent warfare…seeing who would crack and bail first? It was getting hard to tell, which wasn’t good. It wasn’t like he was ever going to offer her a relationship. Not that she’d want one with him. She already handled all the details of his life. Being in a relationship with him would just add more to her to-do list for him. Not that he’d want to be with her anyway. As far as he knew, she was just his broke employee. Not worthy of relationship status.

  So why did the thought of this woman make Kiersten’s stomach twist, no matter how she tried to shake off the unwelcome and confusing feeling? It certainly wasn’t any of her b
usiness who he dated or what he bought them. Though she hadn’t been aware of anyone serious enough to warrant a new house.

  Maybe he was trying to buy off an old girlfriend. Or set up a new one. Or…

  “Kiersten.”

  Her head jerked up. Cole stood in her doorway, leaning against the frame in that casual way that probably took hours of practice to achieve. The pose showed off every hard and rippling line of him to perfection. His crossed arms had his biceps straining the seams of the gorgeous tailored button-down shirt that probably cost more than her rent. Her eyes traveled down the line of his well-fitted slacks, mouth nearly watering at the view she’d get when he turned to walk away. No matter how aggravating the man was, he was one seriously impressive specimen of manhood.

  Her eyes darted back to his face, and she nearly cringed at the smug smile he aimed at her. She’d been careless to have been caught ogling. Like the man’s ego needed any more inflating.

  “Busy?” he asked her, nodding at the pile of files in front of her.

  “Oh.” She glanced down, remembered the file in her hand, and hastily shoved it in the pile with the others. “No. Just getting the interoffice files ready for delivery. Was there something you needed, Mr. Harrington?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Yes, Ms. Abbott,” he said, his tone slightly mocking.

  Hey, he could mock all he wanted. Keeping it formal helped her keep her hands to herself. Because right at that moment, all she wanted to do was lightly rake her nails down his chest until he pinned her hands down and taught her a lesson for being naughty.

  She shook her head a little, trying to get a grip. She was supposed to be at war with the man, not crushing on him like he was some high school heartthrob.

  “Would you like me to come to your office?” she asked, grabbing her laptop and wondering why he hadn’t just asked her to go over there in the first place.

  “That’s not necessary. It won’t take long.” He came in and sat on a corner of her desk. “I wanted to discuss the annual retreat for my poker club.”

  Ah yes. A retreat for a group of overly rich, overgrown little boys who apparently needed to go to some exotic location to sling their cards around.

  She grabbed a pencil and her notepad. “Any special requests for this year?”

  “Yes. We can’t fly anywhere. Christopher has an ear infection from his deep-sea diving trip last week, so we need somewhere in driving distance.”

  Her eyebrows rose. In driving distance of the city? Last year, they’d gone to Monaco. The year before that it had been Rio. These men liked their annual retreat and they liked it exotic. And expensive. If they couldn’t fly, she couldn’t even set it up for Vegas.

  “Cutting out flying limits your options quite a bit. Somewhere in the city perhaps?”

  “No. We want to get out of town.”

  “The Hamptons?”

  He waved that off. “Somewhere different. These retreats are a chance for us to get out of our regular lives and just relax for a few days. Nowhere we’d normally go. And it needs to be for this weekend.”

  “What? But you usually go at the end of the summer…”

  “We have too many schedule conflicts this year. I know it’s short notice, but I’m sure you’ll come up with something.” He leaned in, close enough she could smell the subtle hint of his soap. “I have total faith in you.” He gave her a cheesy wink and then slid off her desk to swagger his way back out the door. “Oh, and I’ll need you to come along with us this year. There are some time sensitive projects that may need your immediate attention. It will be easier if you are on hand.”

  He left and headed for the elevator. Within thirty seconds, Cassie and Izzy both invaded and plopped into the chairs in front of her desk.

  “What was that about?” Cass asked.

  “The annual billionaire’s poker club retreat,” Kiersten said, clicking open a new browser window so she could start Googling locations within a few hours of New York City.

  Izzy rolled her eyes. “What in the hell do these guys need to retreat from? They need a change of scenery? Is the shine on their massive penthouses starting to fade? They need a change of pace from the regular five-star resorts they usually frequent?”

  Kiersten shook her head. “I don’t know. All I know is that they want to be wowed. Go someplace they’ve never been before, different from the places they usually visit. Oh, and it has to be this weekend and within driving distance of the city due to an ear infection. I usually have months to plan this thing.”

  Cass’s eyes widened. “Well, they don’t ask for much, do they?”

  Izzy jumped up. “Oh my God, I’ve got the best idea. Send them to Amish country.”

  Cass’s jaw dropped open and Kiersten started laughing. “They definitely wouldn’t be expecting that, though I’d probably go straight to hell for inflicting those four on the poor Amish. They’d never recover. Of course, I have to go with them this year, and if I’m going, I want electricity. But…maybe I can stay at a nearby B&B or something. And I wouldn’t be able to tell the boys where they were going or they’d bail before I got them there. It’d be hard to mess with them if I can’t get them to show up.”

  Izzy sat back. “Good point. Oh! What if you sent them on a little scavenger hunt or something? Make them think you’ve booked them in one place and then send them somewhere else.”

  “Like send them to some dodgy pit-hole? Make them think that was the joke so they’ll be happy to continue on to the ‘real’ destination without too many questions?” Kiersten smiled. “Oh, this could be fun.”

  Cass frowned. “What else is close enough they can drive to that might be remotely entertaining enough to get them to go?”

  “Niagara Falls?” Izzy asked.

  Kiersten frowned. “Maybe. There are hotels there at least.”

  She kept scrolling through the options on the Google list she’d pulled up and stopped at one. She clicked on it and then on a link to hotels in the area. An idea formed in her head and her smile grew.

  “Oh. This’ll be good.”

  “What?” Cass and Izzy both said, jumping up to look over her shoulder.

  She picked up the phone and dialed the number of the hotel she’d selected, so excited at the prospect of planning this trip she was almost giddy. When the front desk answered, she quickly went through the process of reserving the rooms she needed and then hung up. Izzy and Cass stared at her for a second, and then all three broke down into laughter.

  “Oh, this is going to be perfect,” Izzy said.

  Cass shook her head, though she was laughing. “He’s going to kill you.”

  “Hell, as long as he fires me first, that’s all that matters. Now, if you’ll excuse me ladies, I have a few more arrangements to make.”

  Cass and Izzy paused at the door for a moment to compose themselves before going out on the main floor. Then they left her to her master plan.

  “You wanted strange and exotic, Mr. Harrington,” Kiersten muttered under her breath with a diabolical little smile. “You are so going to get it.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Cole slammed his hand of cards face-down on the table. “Damn.” Harrison’s flush had just beat his two pair. “You must be cheating. Your luck is never this good.”

  Harrison laughed and scooped up his winnings. “Ah, come on, sport. You can’t win them all.”

  “My track record says otherwise,” Cole said with a wink.

  “Cocky bastard.” Harrison’s soft British accent made even the insult sound charming.

  “Speaking of always winning,” Chris said, gathering the cards to reshuffle. “How are things going in the battle against your assistant? She quit yet?”

  Cole took a sip of his beer. “No. She’s held out longer than I thought she would.”

  Brooks laughed. “You’ve held out longer than I thought you would. I’d have fired her after the first time she forgot my coffee.”

  “No, you wouldn’t.” Cole took his cards an
d spread them out in his hand. Great. Another pile of shit.

  He dropped three cards and gathered up the new ones he was dealt.

  “True,” Brooks said. “But then again, I’m not you, and you definitely would have fired anyone else.”

  Cole shrugged. “It’s been entertaining.”

  Harrison dropped two cards and dealt himself two more. “She’s not still planning our retreat, is she?”

  “Of course.”

  The three other men stopped what they were doing and stared at him. Cole popped a pretzel into his mouth and shrugged. “What?”

  The other men exchanged glances. Chris said, “This woman has been actively trying to get fired for a couple of weeks now. Purposely botching her assignments. You don’t think having her plan our retreat might have been a bad idea?”

  Cole shook his head. “She hasn’t screwed with anything really important. She does stuff to me, personally, sure, but…”

  “Wouldn’t this count as something that involves you personally?” Brooks asked, tossing another thousand-dollar chip into the pot.

  “Yes,” Cole said, matching his bet. “But it involves all of you, as well. She knows how important these trips are to us. I don’t think she’ll mess with it.”

  “You don’t think?” Harrison said, laying out another winning hand.

  Cole swore and tossed his cards down. “I’ll admit, she’s been surprisingly…creative.” The blood started draining from one head to the other at just the thought of her last creative move on him. He cleared his throat and took another long pull from his beer. “But I’ve limited her options with this one, so we should be relatively safe.”

  Brooks’s eyebrow quirked up. “Oh? How so?”

  “I told her Chris had an ear infection and couldn’t fly.” He grinned at his friend who grimaced and chucked a pretzel at him.

  “So, she’ll have to pick something within driving distance. The options are limited.”

  “Not really,” Brooks said. “There are plenty of horrible places she could dump us. Like Disney World.”

  “What do you have against Disney World?” Chris asked.

  Brooks cocked an eyebrow. “I’m sure it’s fabulous if you’ve got a minivan full of kids, but not really my first choice in destinations for an exclusive poker retreat.”