My Arrogant Boss by Kylie King
Chapter Seven
RACHEL
I had to hold on to the edge of the table to avoid falling over. How could I not have known?
Weston!
The name Weston had blindsided me completely. Even though I knew it was his name, I never actively used it in reference to him. I knew I hated it, but he was just Finn, and there were a lot of Weston’s in the world. And last I’d heard from Katie around the time of her wedding, Finn’s company was pretty mediocre. Granted, I didn’t know he owned a coffee company, but now it all made sense. He was the CEO.
Finn rolled out of his chair, his green eyes locking on mine. With a smug smile in my direction, he said, “Thank you, Audrey, I'll take it from here.” I knew that smile. I could see the mischief swirling in his eyes. He wanted this to happen, and why wouldn’t he? It was a golden opportunity to make my life a living hell. Get revenge for the champagne I’d tossed in his face.
Audrey walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, and a part of me longed to follow right after her.
“Rachel Quinn,” Finn said when she was gone. “Who would have thought I’d see you in my building.” He was staring at me, his eyes intense.
My gaze swept over the Armani-clad gentleman who had his brows cocked as if waiting for me to react or lash out.
“I had no idea you owned this company,” I said.
He grinned. “Surprise?”
“Look, Finn,” I said, raising my hands in the air. I didn’t have time for games. “If you have me here just to toy with me, then I may as well leave right now. I need a serious job, and we both hate each other, so this will never work.”
“I never said I hate you, Rachel. I may get annoyed by your presence, and perhaps there are moments when I wish I could return the favor of tossing cold champagne in your face, but I don’t hate you.”
My shoulders sagged, but not with relief. Something in my gut told me this was still a horrible, horrible position to be in. I focused on the table in front of me, waiting for what he had to say next.
“But to remain professional, I do believe I should offer you an apology. So, I’m sorry, Rachel.”
Apprehension immediately rose in me. “You’re sorry?”
“Yes. I apologize for what I said to you last time we met. It was extremely rude of me.”
“Um…okay. I suppose I accept your apology.”
“Great. Now, if you could provide the same courtesy.”
“What?” I yelped.
“An apology,” he said, smirking. “That way, we can start from square one.”
Wow. What a bastard. I should’ve known he wasn’t sincere about his apology. I wanted to hurl my purse at his face, but I controlled myself. I needed this job. Not forever, but at least for right now, until I found another Public Relations company that would hire me.
"Finn, let’s get real. I’m not going to apologize, so you can either fire me right now or take what you get. I have a great resume and I’m a hard worker. If you want to pass up the opportunity of having me, then fine. But I won’t be coerced to apologize for something that happened years ago—especially to a guy who didn’t even mean his apology in the first place.”
I kept my gaze even with his, and he walked around the large oval table until he was standing right in front of me. “I guess that’s fair.” His eyes traveled up and down the length of me. “Fine. You can stay. But only because I’m not dealing with HR on this shit. And there’s no promising I’ll make this job easy for you, assistant.”
“I don’t mind a little hard work, boss.”
He made his way to the door with a cocky smirk. “Great. I’ll keep that in mind as we move forward. Find Audrey. She’ll get you squared away.”
I watched him leave the room, and I swear I heard him laugh before disappearing out of my sight.