Vanessa forced herself to look at him, facing him eye to eye. She wondered if apologizing or begging him to let her keep her job would do her any good at this point. Unlike his uncle, Quinn wasn’t easily swayed by theatrics. If a madman pointed a gun at his head and forced him to admit the color of his blood was blue, Quinn would still say red, even if it cost him his dear life.
Quinn was a man of principle.
A filtered stream of light from the window panes bounced on his chiseled features. Vanessa resented the fact that some people were blessed with everything. He was smart, wealthy, and great looking. Maybe great looking was an understatement. He was drop-dead gorgeous.
Rumor had it that Quinn had some Latino blood in his Anglo line, making him rather exotic. Quinn’s skin was caramel but his eyes were vivid green. His hair was the color of deep amber. The girls in the office often fawned over his emerald eyes or the lustrous shade of his hair. A few confessed they were dying to lick him, to see if he tasted as good as he looked.
Vanessa never understood such dumb obsessions. But then again, she wasn’t like other girls. She didn’t like to waste her time on things that could be explained with simple logic.
Quinn cut his gaze from the laptop. He cleared his throat and straightened his posture. “How are you this morning?” He sounded almost nice.
Too friendly, in fact.
Vanessa cringed inwardly. Was he trying to soften the blow before royally sacking her? “This is it then. Are you going to fire me?”
Surprisingly, Quinn looked amused. “Sometimes I forget you’re not like the others. You never beat around the bush. That’s a quality I like in you, Vanessa. So I’ll be frank. I called you in today regarding the incident at the New Year’s Eve party.”
Vanessa swallowed hard. Here we go. The invisible knot in her throat made her almost choke. “I… I only can say that I’m deeply sorry. There’s no excuse for what I did. I’m deeply ashamed for my bad judgment.”
Quinn stilled. He tapped his fingers on the glossy surface of his desk. “You’re ashamed of kissing me? Hmm. Somehow my pride is wounded. Here I thought I was a prize catch.”
“I’m sure you are, but that’s hardly relevant in this case, isn’t it?” Vanessa thought hard for a moment. “Can I, at least, be allowed to resign instead? My past performance has been exemplary. If I resign …” Her words trailed away. She was hoping to keep her resume squeaky clean.
Quinn stared straight into her eyes. “This job is important to you, isn’t it?”
“This job is my everything.”
Her boss relaxed. His ghostly smile lingered. He waved her off. “I’m not going to fire you for our little… ahem… indiscretion. The company rewards or punishes employees based on his or her work performance. You have been a great asset to us, especially during development of The Northmen Saga. I would never dream of letting you go over something so trivial.”
Vanessa could not believe what she heard. “So, you’re not going to fire me? I get to keep my job?”
“Yes, Vanessa, you get to keep your job.”
The weight on her shoulders suddenly lifted. She couldn’t believe this turn of events. She kept her job. Kept her pet project. She was having a hard time containing her grin. She’d jump around and dance if she weren’t in Quinn’s office right now. She couldn’t wait to tell Stephen.
“Thank you. I’m so relieved. I better get back to my work.” Vanessa started to rise from her seat.
“Sit down. We haven’t finished.”
She paused. “We haven’t?”
“Not in the slightest.”
“Oh.” She sank her butt back in the chair.
“The reason I called you is that we have a problem that needs to be addressed quickly.”
“What kind of problem?”
Quinn took his phone and swiped his finger across the screen. After a few scrolls, he showed her. Vanessa craned her neck over Quinn’s desk, watching what appeared to be a YouTube video.
She widened her eyes, and couldn’t believe what she saw.
Someone had secretly taped Quinn kissing her at the New Year’s Eve party. She was giggling merrily in it, draping herself over Quinn’s arm as he led her from the restroom. She said something to him and Quinn suddenly pushed her against the wall and kissed the life out her.