He knew he was affecting her just as much as she was affecting him. He could see her chest rising faster as her breathing deepened. He could even see her pulse speed up through the delicate skin of her neck. He was going to test his limits of control that day.

He scooted far closer to her than was needed. He could see she wanted to move away but her stubborn attitude refused to allow her to show any weakness. Their shoulders were brushing together as he leaned in to look at the file she currently had opened in front of her.

“So what have you been doing the last ten years?” he asked her. For once in his life he had zero interest in the business in front of him that needed to be done.

“That’s none of your business, it has nothing to do with my job,” she snapped and tried to pull his attention back to the file. “This is Anthony, he works in accounting. I have spoken to him on a few occasions and even went to my father because it looked to me like he was into some unethical business practices but my father said it was fine. I would personally not trust him,” she finished, as she pushed the folder closer to him.

Bringing up her father was as good as throwing cold water in his face. His libido was put on hold as he took the file. He looked through the exceptionally detailed folder and then added the man to the fire pile. They continued to go through the files one by one and they mostly agreed on who deserved a chance to stay but every once in a while they came to an impasse.

She would argue for some person to stay but she’d lose. Once he set his mind on something, it was difficult to change it.

She pulled forward another file and made her case for the man to stay employed. He looked through and decided to let him go. He tossed the file into the termination pile and she snatched it back out. “I really think you need to interview Henry. He’s a good man and does exceptional work. You don’t even know him, so you can give him the courtesy of at least speaking with him, before you end his employment,” she demanded.

Derek raised his eyes at her outburst. She’d argued for a few people but hadn’t been so emphatic about it. He wondered who this Henry was and if he was possibly her reason for having to leave yesterday. He moved him over to the interview pile, just because he wanted to see who the competition was.

“Thank you,” she said although it came out through clenched teeth and didn’t sound like a ‘thank you’ at all. It sounded more like she wanted to call him a few names.

“I need some lunch, let’s go out,” he said, suddenly needing to get out of the offices for a while.

“I will eat in,” she said, completely shutting him down. He didn’t like to be refused, which she was better off learning now.

“It will be a business lunch so you’ll accompany me,” he demanded. He grabbed his jacket and walked to the door, holding it open for her to exit. If looks could kill, he would’ve been melted right on the spot.

She jerkily got up and followed him out. He could practically see the steam rising from her ears. He was amused by her attitude and surprised by that amusement. He wasn’t used to being so openly disobeyed but he liked that she was unafraid to challenge him.

He drove them to a diner he enjoyed several times a week. The staff knew him well and led them to a private table in the back of the restaurant. He liked the place for its privacy when he needed to talk to a client, or take a date out. He used it for many different purposes. He was a person that didn’t mess with a good thing once he found it.

Jasmine narrowed her eyes further as she looked around at the intimate restaurant. It was the middle of the afternoon and there were candles burning on the tables. She glared some more at his back as she followed him to the table in the corner.

If he really thought he was going to try to seduce her, he had another thing coming. The hostess sat them down and then asked what they would like to drink. He ordered an iced tea. Normally Jasmine didn’t drink alcohol, especially in the middle of her work day but she had the feeling she was going to need a glass, if she was going to make it through the rest of the day without snapping at him.

“I’ll take a glass of red wine,” she said with a smile. He raised his brows at her but didn’t say anything. She was testing her limits. Let’s see if he’d fire her for having a glass of wine at a lunch he’d forced her to accompany him on.

Their appetizers came out and Jasmine found she was starving. The food was excellent and it disappeared quickly. Derek chuckled as she looked at his plate. She always had enjoyed good foods, good wine and great sex. His groin tightened once again.

The rest of their meal came out and they ate comfortably. She let her defenses down and chatted with him as the wine loosened her tongue and the food sated her stomach.

She excused herself to go to the restroom and was adjusting her hair when Amy approached her from behind. The woman didn’t look happy at all.

“I see you’re getting very cozy with the boss,” the woman snarled. Jasmine had no idea she’d been fired. She just now realized she hadn’t seen her in the offices all morning.

“It’s a business lunch, not that it’s any of your business,” Jasmine said and then made to go around her.

“It looked a lot cozier than a business lunch. I wouldn’t get too comfortable with him if I were you. He likes to add notches to his bed post but he gets bored quickly and then tosses you out even faster,” Amy said with anger.

Jasmine stared at her as she realized what the woman was saying. She was one of his cast offs. She was horrified to have her thoughts turned into reality.

“I see the light is dawning. Yes, we’ve been intimate a long time. I’m actually expecting him to propose marriage at any moment but it seems he wants to sow some more oats before settling down,” Amy said with a smug look on her face.

“How could you want to be with a man who won’t be faithful to you?” Amy asked.

“He can have his flings now, because once he puts that ring on my finger, he will be mine and will no longer have any desire to find whores,” she said as if she really didn’t care and then looked at Jasmine, implying she was one of those whores. She walked out of the bathroom, leaving Jasmine staring after her.

Jasmine took a few more minutes, before finally walking back to the table. Derek was looking at her with curiosity. She realized she’d been gone for a while. She didn’t say anything to him, she just gathered her jacket and started heading for the door. She didn’t offer to cover her portion of lunch. He’d insisted she come with him, so he could pay for the overpriced meal.

Derek paid for their lunch and then met her out at the front curb. He couldn’t figure out what had changed from the time she’d left the table, to the time she came back from the bathroom. She’d been starting to relax around him before she’d left.

He was actually glad she was back on guard. It was too easy to forget who she was when she was being charming.

They rode silently back to the office and the elevator was filled with tension as the numbers slowly crawled up to the top floor. He heard her actually let out a sigh of relief when the doors opened. She jumped out like the hounds of hell were after her. He enjoyed the sway of her hips as he followed her along the hallway to his office.

The room was unusually warm and his mouth started watering when she slipped her jacket off, revealing a silky tank style blouse. It dipped in the front, to show a small amount of cleavage, increasing his desire to see more. It hugged her generous curves and showed her small waist off to perfection. Without the suit jacket on, he could see the curve of her hips, which the skirt enhanced. She’d grown curvier with age and now had a woman’s body, instead of the slim figure of a teenager.

His mouth went dry, as he fought not to grab ahold of her and feel how those curves fit within his hands. Her breasts used to fit perfectly in his hands. He could tell now they would spill out of his palms. His pants were once again far too tight. He quickly sat down, so she wouldn’t see his reaction to her.

She picked up another file, getting right back to work. “I need a break from looking at those folders. Let’s go ahead and do some interviews,” he told her. “Move over here to my desk and grab a notebook. I want you to jot some things down. We will start with your good friend, Henry,” he said with a grimace. He wanted to interview the man and then throw him out on his butt.

“That’s fine with me, after all, you’re the boss,” she said with a bit too much sugar dripping from her tone. He narrowed his eyes as he looked her over. He didn’t like being mocked; he was really tempted to show her a lesson or two about messing with him.

He called Henry and told him to report to the office immediately. Jasmine glared at him as he hung up. “You really don’t have to be so rude all of the time,” she mumbled. He let it go because there was a knock at the door. The man was quick, maybe because he wasn’t doing any work.

“Hello Mr. Titan, I’m Henry Andrews,” the man said, as he walked forward, with his hand out. Derek shook it and then narrowed his eyes. The man was in his late thirties and what women would consider good looking. His job was slipping through his fingers and the poor guy had no clue.

“Jasmine, I was wondering where you have been?” he said when he spotted her. He walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek. Derek was starting to see red again. He could care less what the guy had to say, he was going to be fired. It took all his strength not to physically throw the man out and tell him never to step foot on the premises again. He had to do things correctly though, or his legal department would be all over him.

“As you know Henry, we’re cutting many of the employees here. There’s always a lot of turnover when a company is taken over. You have a few minutes to tell me what it is you do here and defend your job,” Derek said in his coldest voice.

He could feel Jasmine glaring holes through him. He knew he was being even more cruel than normal but he instantly disliked the man.

“What Derek meant to say is we’re reviewing all the files of the employees and know you’re a valuable member of the team. Can you talk about your work?” she said, far nicer than he had.

Derek wanted to shout at her, that wasn’t what I meant at all but then he’d sound like a child throwing a tantrum. He sat down in his chair and pointed his cold eyes directly at Henry, who was either clueless to his aggression, or just pretending not to notice.

Henry started talking about his position in the Marketing department. He listed his projects and the various things he currently had in the works. He laid out things he had wanted to implement for months but had been ignored. Derek was getting in a worse mood, when he found that the man really knew what he was talking about and would actually make a strong asset to the company.

He placed his portfolio on the desk and Derek glanced through the organized notes. David had been holding Henry back and he figured the only reason Henry had stuck around was to be near Jasmine, because his talents were being wasted. As much as he wanted to throw the man out, he needed to have a cool head first.

He’d never once let a woman get between him and the bottom line and Henry could definitely help add to the bottom line. He never showed the man any of the thoughts going through his mind but he stood up to thank him for coming in and then sent him away. “We will let you know our decision by tomorrow,” he said, reverting to the corporation we, instead of I.