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She gritted her teeth, her polite smile turning slightly feral. “I wouldn’t tell anyone how much involvement you have in my life. It’s embarrassing, to be quite honest.”

“If that’s the case, then why didn’t you talk to your family when your life started falling apart?”

“That’s none of your business.”

The fire that was in her eyes only made her more attractive. It was good to see that she had a backbone. Amalia told me her friend had a horrible history of letting people exploit her.

Too kind for her own good, most likely.

“Even though you are Amalia’s friend, I will not tolerate anything less than you doing your job to the best of your ability. I will not hesitate to fire you if you cannot do the work.”

Gina’s eyebrow arched, and she looked like she was trying to hold her tongue. A red tinge on her cheeks only made her look more beautiful.

Having her work here was going to be hell on my head.

“Wow.” Gina shook her head and got up. “You’re judging me without knowing me. I graduated valedictorian of our class, which you would know if you bothered to attend your daughter’s university graduation.”

I gritted my teeth. “I was away on a business trip that I couldn’t get away from.”

Gina rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “That’s a load of shit. She told me you were backpacking in Europe with your woman of the month.”

“I will not tolerate you talking to me that way.”

She leaned on my desk, her hands on the edge to brace herself. “I will not tolerate you pretending I’m some airhead based on your ignorance. I pursued a degree in business. I got that degree. I’m now working as a paid intern at a billion-dollar company until I can build my own.”

“And what does that prove to me?”

She smiled sweetly, standing up straight. “You can think whatever you’d like about me but don’t be surprised when I put you out of business one day. Men like you never survive long once their arrogance starts showing.”

I gritted my teeth, glaring at her as she raised an eyebrow. “Once again, you will watch how you speak to me.”

“Shove your shitty attitude up your ass,” she said, shaking her head. “I may be your employee, but I don’t have to put up with this shit.”

Gina spun on her heel and walked out of my office, shutting the door behind her.

The entire time I watched her walk away, I only thought about how she didn’t back down. There was more fire in her than I initially thought.

If she were anyone else, I would try to tame that fire, to make her mine.

I groaned and ran my hand down my face. There was no way I would ever cross that line with her. Amalia would never forgive me, and I didn’t want to risk her friendship either.

Gina would be the annoyance in my life and nothing more than that.

When five o’clock came and went, most of my office started clearing out. Some employees said goodbye before they left, but most didn’t bother. I didn’t say much to them, and they avoided me.

It was better that way.

I liked to think that I was a good boss, but I didn’t want to be overly familiar with any of my employees. They and I could talk, but we weren’t friends.

As the last person filtered out, I went to the front door and locked it. Only then did I hear soft music from one of the storage rooms.

When I opened the door, I was surprised to find Gina looking over the last file in the stacks towering toward the ceiling. This room had been a giant mess only a Mateoer of hours ago. Files were everywhere, and half of the papers that were supposed to be in the files weren’t.

Now, the room was clean and organized. Everything was away, and standing in the middle of the room was Gina, her dark hair cascading down her back instead of pulling into the ponytail it had been this morning.

She looked up from the file, her eyebrow-raising when she saw me standing in the doorway. That subtle challenge made me think about how to get her to show that fiery side again.

For a brief moment, I wondered if she was as fiery in the bedroom as she was out of it.