no control

• thirty nine •

elijah

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Zare."

"Of course," I said, shaking my client's hand. "I'll have those returns to you by the end of the week."

Guiding him out of the conference room, I led him toward the lobby.

"Sounds great. Look forward to hearing from you," he said. His eyes glanced to the side and I followed his gaze to the desk outside my office.

Gladys beamed at us from where she sat.

"Have a great day, Mr. Bloom," she said sweetly.

He smiled, his round cheeks blushing. "Thank you, Miss."

"This way, Mike," I grumbled, holding open the door for him.

He finally wrested his attention from my little blonde and exited to the lobby.

Shaking my head, I walked over to her desk. She grinned at me.

"How'd your exam go?" I asked.

"This one was better," she said, shrugging. "How's your day been?"

I planted my knuckles on her desk and towered over her.

She bit her bottom lip but didn't look away. My gaze slid down to her sweet pink mouth.

"It's a lot better now," I said.

"Oh, really?" Her lips quirked up in another smile. "What a coincidence. Mine too."

I arched a brow. "Why don't you come into my office for a second? I have some things I want to show you."

"You're devious, Mr. Zare," she whispered, glancing around.

"Devious doesn't cover half of it, angel."

Gladys rolled her office chair back at the sound of approaching footsteps.

I leaned off her desk, turning to face our visitor.

Kade rounded the corner with an armful of file folders. He flashed us both a smile.

"Good afternoon, sir," he said, nodding at me. "I have some files I was going to ask you to format in a new Excel file, Gladys."

My eyes hardened to a glare. Before she could respond, I said, "I believe I hired her as my intern, Kade."

"Of course. Just if you get some spare time in the next few days." He placed the stack on her desk.

"Thanks, Kade," she said with a strained smile.

"I should be thanking you. Let me know when they're finished and I'll swing by again."

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed the stack off her desk. "That won't be necessary. She's not doing this task."

Kade glanced between me and her.

Gladys cleared her throat and licked nervously at her lips. "It's honestly okay, El—I mean, Mr. Zare."

Her face turned a dark red of red. I could practically hear the curses going through her mind.