“No.”
“Give it to him. He needs reminders of you and how you feel about him everywhere.”
“Clashes with your decor, huh?” Amery said lightly.
“Raunchy is more my style. I’ll show you my Hello Kitty whip collection sometime.” Shiori smiled, slipped on her Versace shades, and stepped out the back door.
Yes, she was really starting to like Ronin’s sister—even when she suspected Shiori hadn’t been kidding about the anime whip thing.
• • •
“I don’t think it’s necessary. In fact, if you looked at my proposal, you’d see . . .” Blah, blah, blahdedy, blah.
Ronin stared at Katie, imagining four or five different ways he could choke her out to get that damn mouth of hers to stop moving.
TP had neglected to mention his daughter was a know-it-all pain in the rear who came to work dressed like a hooker, flirted with any male that crossed her path, smacked her gum like a clichéd teenager, and wasn’t nearly the dim bulb her father portrayed her to be.
Katie Pettigrew Gardiner was the antithesis of what he wanted in a promotional lackey for their upstart company. The girl needed humility in a bad way, and since he was her boss, it was up to him to dish it out.
He hated this shit. Hated it.
TP, you bastard, we are more than even after this.
“Ronin, are you even listening to me?” Katie demanded with a pout.
“How many times do I have to tell you not to call me by my first name? I am your boss. Which means you call me Mr. Black, or sir, understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Second, you do what I tell you. Nothing more and definitely nothing less. While I appreciate your initiative, I don’t need it. I need you to put on the ring-girl outfit.”
“But—”
He held up his hand. “No buts. Ever. Meet Sophia down in the dojo locker room. Handing out free tickets for the upcoming event is your job. A job which you are still on probation for.”
Katie pushed herself out of the chair. “I will prove to you that I’m more valuable than being a bimbo ring girl.”
Two raps sounded on the door, and Amery walked in. “Hey, Ronin. I just . . .” She froze, and her gaze flicked over Katie.
A sneaky smile curled Katie’s mouth. “Okay, boss man. Do you want me to come back up and model the outfit? I know how much it means having your approval.”
“No. Get moving. You’re already late.”
“It was hard to tear myself away from such fascinating conversation with you, even when we’ve spent most of the day together,” she practically cooed. “Until tomorrow.” She whirled around and strutted out of his office.
“Who the f**k is she?” Amery demanded. “Is she lost?”
He did not need this today on top of every f**king thing else. “No. She works for Black and Blue Promotions.”
“So she came with Blue’s crew?”
“No. I hired her.”
With the way her eyes turned into lethal arrows? He’d given the wrong answer. “Just how closely will you be working with her in this new promotion company?”
“Why are you acting like this?”
Amery seemed to take a deep breath to try to compose herself, then stalked over and slapped her hands on the desk. “A six-foot-tall Amazon with perfect tits, a perfect ass, perfect blond hair, and a predatory smile just sauntered out of your office, after making it perfectly clear to me that she planned to be around you all the damn time.”
“You’re reading too much into this. Katie is a kid.”
“You’re kidding yourself if you don’t think that kid has designs on you. And she’s not a kid. I’ll bet I’m not that much older than her.”
Ronin counted to ten. “You’ve misread the situation.”
“Then explain it to me.”
“We agreed to stay out of each other’s business. This is business, plain and simple.”
She looked ready to argue, but changed her mind and stepped back. “You’re right. I forgot my place for a moment.”
“Jesus, Amery. Stop with this.”
“You betcha. Wouldn’t wanna speak up when something bothers me. I’ll just let the big, strong man handle it and put it out of my empty little head.” She granted him a fake smile, along with two cheesy thumbs-up, and stomped off.
He would not chase her down.
Would. Not.
Right. Who the f**k was he kidding? He always chased her down.
Ronin smacked his sore knee on the side of the desk and bit back a curse when it slowed him down. When he reached the hallway, Amery was nowhere to be found.
Blue came around the corner. “Hey, do you—”
“Did you pass Amery?”
“Yeah. She was not looking too happy.”
“Where’d she go?”
“I don’t know. So do you have time—”
“Not now. I have to deal with this first.”
Blue clapped Ronin on the shoulder. “Hope you have a cup on, man.”
He heard the elevator ping, so he reversed course and opened the door to the stairwell. In Amery’s present mood, she wouldn’t head for the penthouse, so he started downstairs. She’d have to get off at the second floor since classes were in session in the dojo.
So when the elevator door opened, Ronin was leaning against the wall waiting for her. When she saw him, she frantically poked buttons, trying to close the door in his face, but he was too fast. He snagged her wrist and hauled her out.