Strict (Part One) by Hannah Ford

Author:Hannah Ford [Ford, Hannah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-08-23T16:00:00+00:00

They file out the door, the three of them – Alanna, Poppy, and Willow. Alanna gives me a curious look over her shoulder, probably wondering why the hell Gage Stratford is making me stay, like I’m a student being kept after class for her bad behavior.

“Shut the door.” Gage’s voice cuts through the silence that’s descended over the room, so strong and commanding that it makes me jump.

Literally jump.

Which makes no sense.

I’ve heard his voice before. I know what it sounds like. And yet every time he speaks, it’s like I’m hearing it for the first time, causing a shiver to skitter up my spine and a warmth to spread over my skin.

I get up and shut the conference room door, leaving me alone with Gage Stratford.

I start to head back to my seat, but instead, Gage stands up and closes the binder in front of him, then places it in his briefcase.

“I won’t waste your time or mine, Ms. Cavanaugh,” he says, but his tone somehow makes it clear that he’s really only worried about wasting his own time. “Obviously after what happened last night, it will be impossible for you to work for me. I will inform your university that you are no longer interning here. I wish you the best.”

My mouth drops open. “What?” I say before I can stop myself. Then I push my shoulders back and head back to my chair. “Mr. Stratford…” I trail off as he looks up at me, those golden eyes like lasers on my soul. I’m not sure exactly what my argument should be. “I understand that our … encounter last night might make things slightly awkward moving forward, but I assure you that I am extremely professional. I will work very hard for you, Mr. Stratford, and what happened last night will in no way affect the work I do here.”

“I find that very hard to believe, Ms. Cavanaugh.”

He’s locking his briefcase now, ready to dismiss me, and panic shoots through me.

“Why?”

“Well, for one, because you were very antagonistic toward me last night. You had a smart mouth and a bad attitude. That’s not exactly the kind of energy I want at my company.”

It takes me a second to internalize his words, because wow, could this guy me any more of an arrogant jerk?

“What about your attitude, Mr. Stratford?”

He stills, glances up at me. “Excuse me?”

“Your attitude,” I say. “Last night. You broke my phone and didn’t apologize, you touched me inappropriately, and you were an all around asshole. Does that kind of attitude get appreciated here?”

His eyes blaze, that same look he had earlier when I called him sir, the look that reminds me of how he looked at me last night, like he’s a hunter and I’m his prey.

“Do you think it’s a good idea to counter my assertions that you have a smart mouth and a bad attitude with a smart mouth and a bad attitude?” he asks.

“No.” I shake my head. “Probably not. But you don’t seem like a man who listens to logic.

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