Absolute Zero (15 page)

“You tell me,” she shot out before she could catch herself.

“What was that?”

She watched as he sat up straighter in his chair. They could have been alone in the room for all that mattered.

“I said…”

“I know what you said. I want to know
why
you said it.” The heat from his stare was absolutely unmistakable. If she could slowly slither down her chair and sink beneath the table without looking like a complete ass, she’d do it.

“To be honest. I don’t know why you hired me,” she blurted before she could stop herself.

“I didn’t,” was his immediate answer.

She opened her mouth but nothing came out.
What do you say to that?

“Everyone? This meeting is over. Thank you for your time. Ms. Bennett? Come with me,” he ordered before he stood up and walked toward the door, passing through it and continuing toward what she assumed was his office.

All eyes were focused on her, she noticed. Some offered looks of sympathy; others were still in shock from the previous exchange. She made a huge mistake.
Huge
.

She slowly stood up and pushed the chair back at the same time. Perhaps she should just walk past his office, continue on to her desk, grab her purse and walk out.

“It’ll be OK,” Carol whispered to her as Anne took a step back, her eyes never leaving the door he just walked through.
Really Carol?

“Thanks,” she stated in an absent tone instead. She could hear other voices mumbling what she assumed were words of encouragement, but the blood was thumping louder and louder in her head as she walked around the table. She had no idea what they were saying.

Maybe he wouldn’t fire her. He liked her smart mouth, he admitted that. Of course, she hadn’t smarted off
in a room full of people
.

Why can’t you just keep your mouth shut?
She berated herself with every step until she reached the office door. Apparently her feet had decided to carry her here instead of her original plan. Call it morbid curiosity. If she walked out, she would never get to hear what he had to say. She squared her shoulders, ready for the onslaught…

She slowly appeared in the doorway.

She didn’t look scared, or worried, or apologetic in any sense of the word. In fact, she looked ready to do battle. And in answer to his question earlier, she was wearing a skirt that showed off her incredible legs. Of course, that was an hour ago. Amazing how things could change in a blink of an eye. He went from fantasizing about her body to wanting to throttle her in the middle of the room, and if he hadn’t left, he probably would have.

She was infuriating with her smug replies.
Who the hell did she think she was anyway?
Her smart mouth was one thing in private, a totally different thing altogether in a full conference room. He should sack her. Right here and now.

“Close the door,” he ordered in the most controlled voice he could muster from the far side of the room.

She seemed to wage an internal debate before finally stepping in and closing the door behind her.

She took a deep, silent breath and turned toward him. Of course, he was staring, more like
glaring
at her with his pointed gaze. He was seriously not pleased.
Here it comes…

“What the hell was that?” he asked as soon as she turned toward him.

“I…don’t know.”

“Come on Ms. Bennett, you’re so articulate any other time. Let’s hear it.” He folded his arms across his chest, pulling the fabric tight over his biceps.

“Why did you ask my opinion on Don’s project?” She felt her own arms cross over her chest. To any body language expert, the scene before them would be a case study of two closed off and defensive participants. “Why did you single me out?” she asked. She was probably thirty seconds away from being tossed out, anyway…

“Because as soon as Don started presenting, you looked rather interested in the subject matter; I thought you might have something constructive you might want to add. Apparently, I was wrong,” he responded in a cool voice.

“Elevated brain temperature
is
a valid concern. It
is
being studied. I’ve done some research on it myself,” she countered in an equally cool voice.

“I don’t
care
about elevated brain temperature. My
concern
is that big mouth of yours. I want to know why you would even think that responding that way, in a room full of people, was acceptable behavior.”

“Can I be honest?”

“Oh please, Ms. Bennett, I expect nothing less from you,” he responded with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

“You provoked me,” she stated simply.

“I
provoked
you? I provoked
you.
” He took a step toward her. She fought the urge to take a step back.

“That’s fantastic. I
challenged
you. Must I tiptoe around every subject for fear of provoking Ms. Bennett? Should I choose my words and the tone of my voice carefully before speaking to you? Must I tailor every question so that it doesn’t seem offensive to you in any way? Is that what you’re looking for?” He didn’t wait for her answer. “You won’t get it. The last time I checked this was
my
company,
m
y livelihood,
m
y responsibility to keep it running and
my
fault if it goes to shit. Who are you? Some mysterious employee that shows up one day, some woman that
somebody
in this company hired and I’m not sure why. I’m sure you’re very good at what you do, but quite frankly, your personality leaves much to be desired,” he added hotly. His eyes were practically burning into hers, fueling her own anger.

“I wouldn’t worry about
my
personality. What just happened in that meeting? Kicking poor Paul out, scaring Ryan and Don shitless with your questions… Do you want to know why Emma didn’t come to the meeting?” She waited a beat before continuing, “Because she was puking her guts out, terrified to have to present to you. That’s why. Maybe you
are
a successful businessman and I am well aware that this is
your
company, but to be perfectly honest with you, I think you’re a bully,” she spewed out and internally cringed at her choice of words.

Aaaand…that should just about seal my fate.

Instead of stalking over to her and forcefully removing her from the premises, like she fully expected, he stood rooted to this spot. His arms uncrossed and he placed both hands on his hips.

“Ms. Bennett, I can’t assume this is the first job you’ve ever had. Does it shock you that I expect people to come fully prepared to a meeting and to do so on time? Is that such a stretch? Am I such a mean bastard to demand that from my poor, unsuspecting employees? Maybe it upsets me that the employees in this facility are more concerned with potluck day and birthday cake than their actual jobs. What a travesty! Expecting people to work, imagine that? And here you are, defending them and for what? To get tossed out on yer arse for people that are more concerned about their next meal than they are about this company? If
am
a bully, then it’s rightly deserved.” He declared emphatically before he took a step toward her.

“I wasn’t worried about them, and I’m not defending anyone. All I’m saying is the last person that should ever be allowed to criticize anyone else’s personality or lack thereof should be
you
. Don’t worry about
me
.” She retorted in a self-assured tone that seemed to match his.

“That’s quite enough Ms. Bennett, don’t you think? I’d say your ship is pretty well sunk. Don’t make it any worse on yourself, Mouth.”

“Screw you.” The whispered response just sort of flew from her lips as soon as his last word registered. She was poised to turn on her heel and open the door.

“What did you just say?” He took another step toward her, she noticed and this time, she took a responding step back.

“Just have to have the last word, don’t you?” he asked in an irritatingly arrogant voice.

“I’m not afraid of you,” she muttered before her body jolted at the sight of him striding quickly toward her. She immediately turned and grabbed for the door handle before her body was forcefully whipped around by his hands.

“Not afraid of me, hmm?” he forced out. “Where’re you runnin’ to, Anne? Where’re you going?” he asked almost in a breathless tone before his mouth slammed against hers.

His lips were firm and his hands had gripped either side of her face as he slanted his mouth, opening hers with his tongue. Her hands immediately gripped his wrists, sliding back along his arms as the muscles contorted and flexed under her fingertips. She could feel the door against her back as initial shock morphed into something far more unsettling. Her tongue instinctively tangled with his, following his lead, and for a brief moment she lost all train of thought. The previous encounter melted away replaced by the spark of desire that erupted in her core. This wasn’t surprising. It wasn’t unpleasant – evidenced by the fact that a moan just escaped unfiltered from her throat.

His kiss relaxed some, the frenzied motion of a moment ago replaced by a languid, deep exploration that she opened herself to. His hands went from gripping to caressing; her own hands reveled in the feel of his restraint as she held on to his arms.

She wasn’t fighting him, in fact, if anything, it truly appeared as if she wanted this as much as he did. Their mouths seemed to fit perfectly; she seemed to anticipate and follow his every move. As far as kisses went, this one was pretty close to perfectly arousing, he thought as he gave a slight tug on her bottom lip with both of his. He reluctantly pulled his mouth from hers, satisfied that her eyes were still closed, as if she were a willing participant and perhaps wanted more?

“Anne?”

“Mmm? What?” Her entire body was humming before his words and the loss of the pressure on her mouth made it evident he stopped. Her eyes flew open and she pushed against his arms to no avail.

“I…ah…I’m not going to say I’m sorry for that. I’ve wanted to do that ever since I set eyes on you,” he stated in a whisper before softly kissing the side of her mouth.

“Ah…yeah, well…to avoid the dangers of management fraternization with a subordinate employee, and to help prevent even the appearance of improper conduct, favoritism, improper use of authority or sexual harassment, it is the policy of Dunmed Syntech that managers, supervisors or any other employee who has the authority to directly or indirectly affect the terms and conditions of another’s employment shall not fraternize with that employee,” she stated in monotone before taking a much needed breath. Her brain was operating on autopilot.

His hands were still firmly attached to either side her face as his thumbs swept her cheeks almost hypnotically. “What? What is that?” he asked, his face cloaked in complete confusion.

“Page 8, Fraternization Policy,” she replied, trying, but not succeeding, to pull her head back from his grasp.

“You’re reciting the Handbook to me?” An involuntary smile lit his face as he continued to study her eyes.

“Not verbatim, but close. So, yeah…The fraternization prohibited in your policy includes dating, romantic involvement or sexual relations and does not include and is not meant to discourage friendship or social activities among Dunmed Syntech employees. Where a relationship prohibited by this policy exists, Dunmed Syntech shall take whatever action it believes necessary to remove the parties from any continued contact and/or supervisory line of authority,” she continued as she watched his eyes crinkle and his lips turn into a full blown smile before a small laugh escaped from his mouth.

“Did you…did you memorize the Handbook?” he choked out between laughs.

“I didn’t have anything else to do my first two days here,” she responded in a serious tone.

“Anne? You are quite possibly the most awkwardly charming little nerd I’ve ever met,” he stated before another laugh erupted.

“You signed it. You should be well aware…” she ignored his comment on pressed on.

“I signed it, sure. I didn’t
memorize
it. Besides, it doesn’t really apply to me,” he stated before he attempted to kiss her again. The sudden turn of her head caused his lips to plant on her cheek.

“Of course it applies to you. You own the company.  I would say you fit in the category of Management…” she muttered as his lips trailed from her cheek to her ear. “Stop that. You just fired me, you shouldn’t be…ahhh,” his warm breath and gentle lips caused her stomach to flutter before she bolstered her strength and pushed against his arms once more, “kissing me,” she finished.

He allowed himself to be pushed back slightly, but his hands turned her face to look at her directly.

“I didn’t fire you,” he leveled a scorching gaze into her eyes.

“You implied it,” she countered.

“Maybe I did. I take it back. Besides, how much of a coward would I look like if I sacked someone just for sassing me in a room full of people?” he replied with grin.