While the water was heating up, she scooped out a large amount of hot cocoa mix and placed it in a super-sized coffee cup. Once it looked like enough, she opened the small fridge and grabbed a small carton of coffee creamer and poured just a dab into the cup. She mixed the cocoa powder until the mixture was nice and creamy. Then she added a spoonful of fluff and mixed it until it was blended. When it was done she stood there with her hands on her h*ps as she glared at the electric kettle, urging it to hurry up.

"I hate to tell you this since you're already in a bad mood," Jacob said as he stood up and approached her.

"I'm not in a bad mood," she said tightly as she narrowed her eyes on the kettle, making all sorts of mental promises to sell it for scrap metal if it didn't hurry the hell up so that she could make her precious and much needed hot cocoa.

"Then why are you having a large hot chocolate during a work day, hmm?" he asked, stepping beside her and with an amused smirk that she could have happily bitch slapped off his face at the moment, he reached over and plugged the kettle in.

She clenched her jaw tighter as she fought against letting out a frustrated scream. Jacob smartly said nothing about the kettle as he leaned against the paneled wall.

"I have some bad news."

"Does it have to do with the life wrecking bastard?" she asked, wondering just how much more she could take before she lost it. The fact that the first day wasn't even over and she was close to a breakdown wasn't lost on her.

"No," Jacob said, shaking his head before frowning at her. "Are you ever going to tell me why you call him that?"

"No," she said evenly while she continued to direct her attention on the kettle that was just now starting to release steam.

"Alrighty then. I guess this is the part where I tell you that your father just called to let you know that he's on his way," he said, taking a healthy step back just as Rory's glare swung from the kettle to him.

"This is how you tell me?" she demanded in disgust.

Jacob shifted nervously under her murderous glare. "He just called," when she looked towards the door, wondering, heck hoping that she could make a run for it before her old man came, he added, "he was on his cell phone and less than two minutes away."

She couldn't do this. Oh god, she really couldn't do this. Not today. Not when Connor already had her contemplating manslaughter. Her eyes shot back to the kettle just as it began to whistle. Wasting no time, she picked up the kettle, filled the mug and stirred it until the creamy concoction was perfect. She picked it up, gave it the customary thirty second blow and sipped.

When she felt the hot creamy chocolate go down her throat and into her stomach some of the tension in her body disappeared. Three long sips later and she felt close to being able to face the day. By the time half the cocoa was gone she was in her special place, the place where everything was fine and she could face anything including Connor and a visit from her dad. By the time she finished the rest of the cocoa she'd be able to keep this calm going for the rest of the day, but of course she needed a second cup. She quickly made another cup and was just about to take a sip when the trailer door flew open and Connor stormed inside looking pissed.

"I told you that I had to talk to you," he said, tossing his hard hat on one of the guest chairs as he headed over to her. Her lips barely touched the rim of the cup when she found her large mug suddenly ripped out of her hands.

For a moment she could only stare in disbelief as Connor drank, more like chugged, her cocoa down. When he was done he handed the empty cup back over to her and gestured for her to go into her office, but she couldn't move. She just couldn't.

She looked down at her empty mug as her mind struggled with the knowledge that not only had he touched her hot cocoa, but he'd drained her mug, again. All those calm feelings she'd had a minute ago quickly vanished as she looked up and glared at the bastard who dared touch her much needed hot cocoa.

"You.......bastard," she bit out slowly in a harsh whisper as she took a step towards him, closing the distance between them. "Do you have any idea how much I needed that?"

"She really did," Jacob agreed, retreating back to the safety of his desk and for good reason.

"Too bad," Connor said, moving impossibly closer to her as he leaned down until they were practically nose to nose.

Her fingers flexed by her side with the need to slap that smug look off his face. Just one slap, that's all she was asking for. She really didn't think that she was asking for too much. Connor's smile became knowing and her urge to slap him shifted to the need to throttle him.

"I tell you what, Rory," he said in a seductive whisper that would probably make other women tremble with need, but only managed to set her rage off by another notch, "if you're really good I might just let you make me some hot cocoa instead of just fetching my coffee."

That was it! She was going to kill the bastard, she decided just as Jacob cleared his throat. She glared at Connor for about ten more seconds before she moved her glare to her assistant who had the balls to look amused.

"I probably should remind you that your brothers said that they wouldn't bail you out of jail again for the next three years after what happened the last time and that if you kill him then you'll probably lose this contract," Jacob reminded her, which is of course why she kept him around. He kept the business running smoothly and kept her from doing anything rash, most of the time anyway.

Fortunately, today was one of those days that he managed to stop her from doing anything particularly stupid like lose the contract for Strawberry Manor, because she killed the bastard.

"Fine," she gritted out, hating the fact that she'd have to resist the urge to throttle the man until the project was done. "Then I'm going back to work," she said, moving to step around the jerk, but he simply shook his head, grabbed her by the arm and hauled her ass towards the office.

"Let me go!" she snapped, trying to pull her arm away, but he refused to release her.

"Not until you and I go over a few things," he simply said as he opened her office door.

"Let go!"

"No."

"Don't worry. I'll hold your calls," Jacob said, sounding amused and if she didn't rely on the man so damn much she would have fired him then and there, but she did, so she couldn't.

Stupid job security, she thought as Connor hauled her ass into her office.

Chapter 6

"Let me go!" Rory snapped as he kicked the office door shut behind him.

"Sure thing," he said, releasing her just as she tried to yank her arm free. The move sent her stumbling back and muttering a few choice words about him and his ass, which he easily ignored. He walked around her desk and sat down in her surprisingly comfy chair.

"Get the hell out of my chair," Rory snapped as she walked around the desk and glared down at him. Perhaps he shouldn't have stolen her hot cocoa since the little addict seemed on edge. Then again, he did enjoy ruffling her feathers so to speak.

"I'm sorry. Did you want to sit down?" he asked innocently.

"Yes," she hissed out as her hands clenched and unclenched into fists.

With a shrug, he reached out and grabbed her hand, giving it a good yank and taking her by surprise. With an adorable little squeak, her beautiful ass landed on his lap. Before she could move he had his arms wrapped around her waist and pulled tightly against him so that her side was pressed up against his chest and her legs hung over his.

"Now, I think we should probably go over your duties, don't you?" he asked brightly, loving the murderous scowl she sent him.

"The only duty I have at the moment is to kick your ass," she bit out, practically shaking with rage that he of course ignored as he settled more comfortably in the chair.

"The most important thing that you need to remember is that I take two sugars in my coffee and just a splash of half and half," he explained as he allowed his eyes to roam.

Was it just him or did she look hotter when she was pissed? His eyes ran from her beautiful neck with a few tendrils of damp hair plastered against it, down to the beautiful tanned skin of her shoulders to the pair of large br**sts that stretched the shirt's material to perfection. She truly was magnificent.