CHAPTER 64

MELANIE.

I DECIDED NOT TO DELIBERATE TOO MUCH ON THE SENSATIONS RUNNING RAMPANT WITHIN ME.

Maybe it was just the adrenaline rush from doing something constructive with my life for once.

Maybe it was my formerly dormant praise kink now rearing its ugly head, even though he hadn't said a word. Either way, I needed it to stop. I couldn't deny a certain level of attraction to Jordan– who could blame me?

The man was smoking– or a certain level of respect for the way he operates, but this was dangerously close to passing mere attraction. And that was bad news.

“You need to write up a formal report and have it on my desk by the end of the day. Other than that, not bad for a con artist”, Jordan said. Previous thoughts be damned; I couldn't stop a wide grin from taking over my face. I had to make a report!

Somehow that made all this seem much more real. I don't think anyone has ever been this giddy over making a report.

“Wipe that goofy grin off your face before I transfer the project to Enrico”, Jordan ordered but his words lacked force. I wiped it anyway.

Jordan looked to the right as a beep sounded then continued working on his laptop like nothing happened.

“Uh, what was that?” I asked when it seemed like he wasn't going to offer any explanation.

He gave a Jordan shrug, “Someone just tried to access my private elevator that leads directly in here. It happens many more times than you'd think, especially since trying it sends out a small electric current. Not enough to do much harm, but it would sting for a while” , he said calmly.

Like he hadn't just admitted to zapping anybody who wanted to get into his office. He was nuts. He was brilliant.

I laughed, “You made a masochist's day when you installed that,” I said, getting up and starting to walk away.

He made a face, “Trust you to think of that side of things” he replied, disgust colouring his voice. My grin widened, “You’re someone's BDSM master now. Let that sink in”, I said and closed the door behind me.

No sooner had I placed a cup on the coffee maker and crossed to my desk than the elevator pinged.

I looked up with a polite smile, ready to welcome the visitor while pulling up the appointment list on the computer.

The first thing I noticed about the woman who walked in was her hair. It was a brilliant icy blonde and bounced and shimmered with each step she took on her knee-high leather boots which had at least six inches on them.

The flimsy and sheer long-sleeved crop shirt she wore and the tight brown leather skirt that rested about three inches below her butt complemented the hair and boots. Add in the Chanel scarf wrapped around her throat, the diamond-studded glasses pushed up into her hair, the giant purse swinging from her left arm and the phone with the obnoxious pouch in her right hand, and you've got yourself an entitled little daddy's girl.

Like she was trying to prove me right, she neither looked up from her phone nor acknowledged me in any way as she made straight for Jordan's office.

“Excuse me!” I called out, walking towards her.

“Morning, Rosa. Love what you've done with your hair” she said automatically, still focused on her phone.

I came to stand in front of her and she finally looked at me, revealing baby-blue eyes and clear skin the color of a latte.

The frown on her pink, pouty lips deepened. “You’re new. I have no time to give you an autograph, though, I have urgent business with Jordie”, she said.

Oh, la-di-da. Also, Jordie?

It was an effort to keep the smile on my face. “Welcome to Sunset Corp. Kindly state your name and business”, I said in a monotone.

She stared at me for a second then laughed airily.

“Oh I get it. You're pretending to not know who I am so you don't look uncool or desperate. You don't need to do that though.”

I arched a brow. Why did the universe hate me so much that whenever I was having a good day, it sent an ordeal my way?

The other time, Cadell damaged my car.

Today, it was an entitled bitch. When does it end? “I can assure you I don't know who you are. State your name and business, and I'll check if you have an appointment. Otherwise you'll have to come back when there is an open slot”, I deadpanned.

I noticed she was rubbing the fingers of her left hand together and felt a quick fierce pleasure that she was the one who'd been zapped.

She frowned even deeper at the oh-so-distressing prospect of someone not knowing who she was, then her face quickly cleared and she flipped her hair.

“Fine, I'll play. Taylor Sloane Anderson, the third” , she declared in an imperious voice like the name was supposed to mean something to me. “You don't have an appointment, Ms. Anderson”, I replied.

She scoffed, “I don't need an appointment to see Jordie. Never have. I don't much care for your tone. Where's Rosa?”

She looked around as if expecting Rosa to have suddenly appeared out of thin air.

“She’ll tell you.”

I stood my ground, “Mr. Alonso is a very busy man who does not care to be thrust into impromptu situations. There are protocols, and my deepest apologies, but I can't let you in”, I said without a hint of apology in my voice.

She huffed and tapped furiously on her phone with expertly done nails and held it to her ear. After a few seconds, she brought it down and repeated the action. I was tired of her already.

“Miss, if you don't leave now I'll be forced to call security and have you escorted off the premises,” I said, secretly hoping she proved stubborn so I could do exactly that.

She flushed red and drew herself up to her full height.

“Clearly you don't know who I am, otherwise you wouldn't speak to me this way. I am going to see my boyfriend, and I'm going to see him now. Move.”

I was so stunned about the use of the word boyfriend in relation to Jordan– he'd never mentioned a freaking girlfriend– that she was able to brush past me and move towards the door, making sure to bump into me on her way.

Before she could open the door, however, it swung open and Jordan stood in the doorway. His tie had been slightly loosened signifying he'd sunk into work mode and he was frowning at a piece of paper.

“Melanie, there are inconsistencies in this-” he broke off as he looked up at Taylor.

I saw the recognition come into his eyes along with something else I took to mean that while he may know her, her presence here wasn't exactly welcome.

“Taylor?” he said like she wasn't right there.

I snuck my phone out of my pocket in curiosity and tried to search for her on Google as she beamed at him. While waiting for the search results to pop up, I reached for my cup of coffee and took a sip as she flung her arms around him.

“Hi Jordie bear”, she squealed.

I choked and spat my well-deserved coffee out.