Page 43 of The Return of Antonides

“Well, it's a big house. You must have at least three butlers, two housekeepers, and a hundred maids.”

Please let there be three butlers, two housekeepers, and a hundred maids.

She didn’t want to be alone with him under one roof.

“It's just me.” He gestured for her to take a seat, which she gratefully accepted. Her knees had been under grave duress since Hunter found her in the nightclub.

“My staff have their own homes.”

“I see.”

Oh shitballs.

He leaned against his desk. She refused to let her gaze follow the contours of the black shirt he was wearing, the way it accentuated the width of his shoulders, the hardness of his chest, and the bulge that was his biceps.

“Do you always go around not wearing any underwear, Ms. Reid?” he asked, folding his arms across his chest.

“As a matter of fact, yes, Mr. McLeod.” Said the girl, whose collection of good cotton, high quality granny panties left even Marcy impressed. Without pausing to take another breath, she continued. “Now that we have that out of the way, can you please show me to my room? I have work tomorrow.”

“That’s an extra three strikes then.”

“Extra what?” she asked, her eyebrows twisting in confusion.

“The first five are for letting another man touch what belongs to me. Consider the second set of five strikes. punishment for disobeying my rules.”

“Wait... what are you talking about?”

“It's in your contract, and we had this discussion already.”

“But we didn't discuss anything like that.”

“Yes, we did. I believe the conversation went something like this: I said you would have to abide by my rules for as long as our contract is in place. You asked if you misbehaved would I spank you and send you to your room. I said yes. You agreed.”

The conversation came tumbling back to her in a very ugly way.

Chapter Eleven