"Doesn't matter," she muttered to her reflection as she brushed her wet hair and pulled it up into a simple bun. "He's just my bodyguard and nothing more."
She pulled on a matching set of blue lace panties and bra and an off-white, v-neck, capped-sleeve top, and a skirt that swirled around her legs.
After she snagged a pair of heels, Kimberly left her bedroom. Today was going to be a good day. She was going to continue with her life and try to forget the unfortunate incident that was her kidnap.
She did not expect to walk straight into a solid wall of muscle. She walked right into Asher as he was coming out of his room
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she muttered, trying to disentangle her heels from his jacket, which had snagged on his sleeve.
"No, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Asher said stiffly, gripping her arms gently to set her to the side so he could walk around her. He didn't speak again, but his hands twitched at his sides when his eyes lingered on her exposed cleavage.
Kimberly's face burned as she watched his eyes, and she turned away quickly, biting back the retort she wanted to throw at him, but it wouldn't be very ladylike behavior. If he kept it up, she would say something, but a voice in the back of the mind said the attention wasn't necessarily unwanted. She couldn't deny that a part of her took pleasure in the fact that she could have some kind of effect on him.
"Good morning," he said.
"Good morning," Kimberly said huskily. She noticed that he was already dressed. "Look" she continued. "You really don't have to come to the office with me. I'm sure I can take care of myself. And if anyone is still trying to kidnap me, I'm sure they wouldn't do it in broad daylight or in my office in the presence of everyone"
"Is that so?" Asher asked sarcastically. "You are really so ignorant, aren't you? If someone really wanted to kidnap you, princess, all they would need is a plan. A perfect plan. It doesn't matter what time during the day they do it or where you are. Trust me, I know"
Kimberly shook her head and bit her lower lip. "First of all, could you please stop calling me that?" she said angrily. "And last night you told me you didn't care, so why do you insist on coming with me? You could just sit here and you'd still get paid. I won't tell my father that you are not with me. He doesn't have to know anything about anything"
Asher stared at her. He ignored her request that he stopped calling her princess. He didn't think that he could stop. For some reason he loved getting on her nerves. He loved the way he eyes widened and the way she bit her lip.
"Yes I don't care about you" he said. "But I care about my job... And my reputation. And that reputation will be ruined if you get kidnapped again under my watch. And your Dad requested that I try as much as possible to keep an eye on you all the damn time. Which is what I'm going to do... And I'm going to do it right"
Kimberly took a deep breath. "You know what I think," she said. "I don't like you. I don't want to be around you. You are fired"
"I work for your dad. Not you" he replied calmly. "You can't fire me"
"Fine" she said as she marched past him towards the living room, handbag in hand. "Do whatever you want. I'm going to work"
Asher grinned inwardly as he followed her. He watched her go. She was hot and she walked so well in heels, like they were attached to her legs from birth.
Nip the flirting or attraction in the bud. He thought. That was the right thing to do. He couldn't get tangled up with her. Even if the vision of his arms and legs tangled with Kimberly's made his body get hotter than the heat wave they were currently in.
But that didn't stop him from watching Kimberly's departing figure one more time.
Damn. Why did she have to be so fine?
"You are not having breakfast?" he called after her and she turned around to give him a cold stare.
"Don't ask. I thought you said you didn't care" she replied coldly.
--------------------------
The boss was not a big man. Barely five foot eight with a thin build, he looked like the guy you pushed around on the beach. But Alex Tanner knew better.
He had seen the boss cut off a man's hand, fingers first, then the thumb, then finally slicing the rest off at the wrist. That man had stolen less than a hundred dollars from one of the boss gambling clubs.
So Alex knew what he was capable of doing.
The boss rarely showed his face, and even some members of the gang had never met him.
But now, the boss was walking around in his living room, picking up pieces and art, admiring pictures, and Alex felt sweat trickle down his back. He kept his attention on the small guy who accompanied the boss when he really wanted to state at the boss very large, very stoic associates.
"Very nice" the boss said finally and Alex felt the hair on his body stand. "I like your home. Very creative. You find it creative too, don't you, Alex?" he asked.
"Uh, yeah sure. It's great" Alex replied uneasily, his voice shook. "But this is mostly for guests. I don't spend a lot of time here"
The boss turned to look at him. His pale blue eyes seemed to be made of ice. "By time, You mean the one you spent stupidly while letting the Blake girl escape right?" the boss asked.
Alex swallowed, not sure what to say. "I, uh" he began.
The boss waved him to silence and Alex shut up instantly.
"You idiot" the boss began as he walked to the floor to ceiling window and stared out at the view of the city. "You are messing with me. You know that I can destroy you, don't you. You know that I could come for you anytime and crush you while you sleep, don't you?"