Stolen Love, The Complete Collection: An Alpha Billionaire Romance (3 page)

I chuckled. “I assure you that’s not what I meant. I may have a business proposition for you.”

She looked at me curiously. I didn’t want to let her out of my sight, so I had a plan to keep her there.

“And what might that be?”

“Name?” I asked again.

“Mackenzie.”

I nodded appreciatively. “So here’s the thing, Mackenzie. You tried to rob me, and I should probably call the cops and have your tiny little bottom thrown in jail. I don’t know how many people you’ve robbed, but I’m sure your capture could help the police figure that out quickly enough.” The glare again. “So here’s what I want in exchange for you not being dragged to jail—I want you to be my assistant.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Are you blackmailing me?”

“You bet your sweet ass I am.”

“I don’t have any experience as an assistant, and I certainly don’t want to have anything to do with working for you.”

“So jail it is then?”

She sighed resignedly. “Fine, whatever. I’ll do it. Now get me out of these cuffs.”

So that was my plan. I had just replaced one thief with another.

Chapter Five

Mackenzie

He finally took off the handcuffs, and I rubbed my wrist. He was standing pretty close to me, so I hauled off and slapped him across the face. Shocked, he stepped back and gingerly touched his cheek.

“What the hell was that for?”

“It was for the audacity of you and every man like you.”

“What are you talking about?”

I sat up in bed and got comfortable. “Well, for starters, I think you’re nuts. Like a real whack job.”

He chuckled, shaking his head.

“Instead of calling the police, you’re going to make me your assistant? That’s typical male behavior right there. Why not just let me go and keep your stupid art? No, instead you have to entrap me, make me a prisoner, and expect me to do your bidding. You need your head checked.”

“Wow, all this coming from a thief?”

“Yeah, I’m a thief. I admit it. But I’m a damn good one. I don’t work as an assistant, and if you think I’m going to be fetching coffee for you when I’m used to a much more challenging and exciting lifestyle, then you’re kidding yourself.”

I was outraged to be in the position that I was in. Slapping him across the face felt good, too good. In fact, I wanted to do it all over again. He was a bastard, and asking me to be his assistant—no,
telling
me and giving me no choice—was a slap in
my
face. I had skills—real badass skills—and to think that I would have to wait hand and foot on this guy was enough to make my blood pressure rise uncontrollably.

But it was more than just anger. My pride was hurt as well. It stung my heart. I despised the rich—loathed them, in fact—and to think that I had to either work for one of them or go to jail was enough to make me sick. The audacity of this Kensington boy was just beyond me. I was a strong, intelligent, and capable woman. I worked for myself, and I was damn good at it. But I had made some mistakes this time, mistakes I was sure to regret for a while to come. For all my outrage, the reality was I had gotten myself into one hell of a mess, and it looked like working for him was the only way out of it.

“I assure you, Mackenzie, I’m not looking for a slave. I have no intention of asking you to get me coffee. Your assignments will be bigger than that.”

“I’m not sleeping with you, either.”

He laughed, and that irritated me more than anything.

“Mackenzie, please…that’s not what this is about. My butler tried to steal from me, and he no longer works for me anymore. I need an assistant desperately, or my life will slow to a halt rather quickly. I just see an opportunity here, that’s all. I’m not asking for a sex slave.”

“Just know that I am only doing this because I have no other choice. But no man is going to dictate to me when, how, where, or why I should have to do this, got it? If you disrespect me because I’m being forced to work for you, I’ll dump your ass in a second and take my chances with the law.”

I could tell by the look on his face that I shocked him. I know I’m a handful, and I wanted to give him a taste of what he was in for by hiring me. I wasn’t about to make this little arrangement easy for him. If he wanted an assistant, he was going to get one—and a whole lot more.

Looking at him, though, I had to admit that while he might enrage me to the hilt, he was undeniably hot as hell to look at. At least that would be one benefit of this denatured servitude. I could happily spend a whole day just looking at his ass, and it made me wonder what else he was packing in his trousers.

Come on, Mackenzie girl, get a hold of yourself. You don’t really want anything to do with this arrogant prick. Let’s not give him the benefit of knowing that you find him ridiculously handsome.

So I decided I would be his assistant for the time being and bide my time. I’d do the things he asked of me, and I would even paste a smile on my face while doing it. Besides, it was only a matter of time before I’d be back on top, running the show. I was more than aware of his attraction to me, and I intended use it to my advantage. Plus, I had a plan of my own. If he thought he had the upper hand, he was only fooling himself.

Chapter Six

Mackenzie

I was in Jason’s office for the day, working on a few projects he had assigned me. It wasn’t exactly what I had originally planned to do with my time, but since I’d been caught thieving, there wasn’t much I could do about it. True to his word, however, Jason had not asked me to do any brainless tasks or assigned me any lowly grunt work. For that, he earned the privilege of not having his eyes scratched out.

He even allowed me to sit at his desk while I worked at the computer looking up information on some art pieces he was searching for. Although I’d never admit it to him, I actually found the work intriguing since I had stolen more than a few art pieces in my day. I was clicking through a series of links when Jason walked in with a cup of coffee in his hand. I looked up with an arched brow.

“See, I can get coffee for myself. And look, I even brought you one. Now isn’t the shoe on the other foot?”

I snorted. “Yeah, it must be thrilling trying to get a coffee for yourself for the first time in your life. Did it give you an adrenaline rush?” The most adorable surprised look appeared on his face—genuine shock. “Oh come on, don’t look at me that way,” I chided. “You said you had a butler and he lived with you. I doubt you were getting your own coffee during that time. That may have been why he stole from you.”

“Excuse me? Are you actually defending the man who betrayed me and embezzled my money?”

“No, but do you think he would have done the same thing if he hadn’t been retrieving coffee and wiping your bottom for fifteen years?”

Jason laughed. “I assure you I wipe my own ass, but thanks for that mental picture.”

“I’m just saying that it’s really easy to see how people could get sick of waiting on someone hand and foot. You’re not that special, you know.”

“Duly noted.”

Just then, a man entered Jason’s office. I recognized him as the person who had escorted the butler and his wife out the night before.

“Brett, my man, how are you doing?” Jeff greeted him warmly.

“Great, how are you? Welcome home.”

They shook hands in a way that suggested they were long-time friends.

“So no issue with last night? They left quietly?”

Brett laughed. “Well, the wifey—Susan, isn’t it?—she was so pissed off that I showed up and made sure they left without taking anything. She bitched about it the whole time. I was honestly so glad to get rid of them. How did you stand living with her?”

Jason shrugged. “They put on a good show, I guess. Thanks a lot for taking care of things for me.”

“Anytime, man. The last thing I would want is for you to get cleaned out.”

I snorted, and both men turned to me. Once Brett realized I was there, his smile widened. There was amusement written all over Jason’s face.

“Ah, yes…Brett, meet my new assistant, Mackenzie.”

Brett quickly came over and held out a hand. I stood up and shook it, noticing that his gaze never left mine. He was a strong, sturdy type and certainly very handsome.

“The pleasure’s all mine, love. I’m Brett, an old friend of Jason’s.”

And an accent. I did like that. “I wouldn’t readily admit that you’re his friend if I were you.”

Brett burst out laughing. “And the girl has wit. Wherever did you find this gorgeous and capable creature?”

“Let’s just say she fell into my lap last night, and I got lucky enough to contract her as my assistant. She’s very skilled and knows how to get a job done.”

I smiled sweetly at Jason.

“Well, aren’t you a lucky guy,” Brett said. “Not to make you uncomfortable or anything, Mackenzie, but I sure wish I had an assistant that looked like you. Mine looked like Attila the Hun.”

I laughed. The guy was funny, and that was an important trait for me in a man. I immediately liked Brett. He was a funny guy and seemed to be fairly easygoing. He wasn’t nearly as pompous and arrogant as Jason. When he joked with me, he gave me a light and happy feeling, and I could easily see myself spending the day talking to him about just about anything. I was a fairly good judge of character, and I could tell that Brett was a good and loyal man. There was a feeling of safety that came with being around Brett.

I got the opposite feeling when it came to Jason, whether that was because I almost just burgled his home, I wasn’t sure. But he made me feel constantly on edge and very self-conscious, not exactly the way I enjoyed feeling around a man. I wasn’t at all impressed that I was stuck working for the man, but I hoped it would be short-term. I had a plan, after all, and I hoped to execute it soon.

“So what brings you here?” Jason asked his friend.

“Well, you ditched me for drinks, and I came to see why. I guess the reason is obvious.”

Jason laughed. “No, no…in fact, Mackenzie hates me.”

“It’s true,” I added.

Brett laughed with us. “You should cut the guy some slack. It’s not every day that you find out that your Man Friday has ripped you off for a million dollars.”

Jason smirked. “You’d be surprised Brett.”

I laughed and went back to work looking through art pieces.

I watched the two of them razz each other and Jason laughing without a care in the world. Since I’d met him, I hadn’t seen him laughing much, for obvious reasons. But with his best friend, he opened up and completely relaxed. It was nice to see him that way, and it revealed a new side of him to me. A side I rather liked.

Chapter Seven

Jason

It was good seeing Brett after a few weeks away, but I was starting to dislike the attention he was giving to Mackenzie. And I wasn’t sure why. Just twenty-four hours ago, she had been trying to steal from me, and there wasn’t any reason why she wouldn’t do it again. And yet I felt undeniably attracted to her. She was sexy and had a unique look about her. I couldn’t quite tell if she was Asian or Caucasian—or maybe a bit of both—but it resulted in an exotic look that blew my mind. She was hot, no doubt, but her brain was so much sexier than her exterior.

When you met a hot woman and realized she had ideas and opinions of her own, it always made her that much more appealing. I had grown so weary of socialites who just wanted to go shopping and attend balls. There was only so much of that I could take. They wanted to hook a man who was even richer than their fathers so they could be rich forever. It turned my stomach. Those types were pretty quick to figure out—they always agreed with everything you said out of fear that if they said something you didn’t like, you’d dump them instantly. It was so unattractive that it bordered on inane, but that was the type of woman I was subjected to on a regular basis. I was sick of it.

Now I had to watch my best friend move in on a girl I was insanely attracted to. I shouldn’t be because I was pretty sure she despised me, but I couldn’t help myself. I didn’t want to lose her to Brett, but they seemed to have a natural rapport that Mackenzie and I just didn’t share. I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of jealousy when I watched him flirting with her.

She appeared to be eating it up, giggling every time he joked with her. She was so open and carefree with him, and I found it irritating she wasn’t that way with me. Why hadn’t she opened up to me at all? Well, I guess it might have to do with the fact that I had handcuffed her to a bedside table and then blackmailed her into working for me.

Yeah, that may have something to do with it
,
genius
.

“So Mackenzie, what do you do with yourself when you’re not working for this guy?” Brett asked.

I couldn’t help but chuckle, and she gave me that all-too-familiar glare. Brett looked back and forth between the two of us. “Okay, what am I missing?”

“Nothing, trust me,” Mackenzie said. “Actually, I’m a voracious reader, and I like to box.”

Brett raised an eyebrow. “
Box?
As in boxing?”

She nodded. “I train regularly. I love it, and you never know when you might need to punch a guy in the face.”

She glanced at me pointedly, and I remembered a threat from her along that line last night. She was definitely a force to be reckoned with. Like I said, the girl was fearless.

“Wow,” Brett said, “I’m pretty impressed. Good for you.”

“Well, thank you.”

“Maybe I should hit up your gym sometime and let you use me as a punching bag.”

There was that giggle again, and she smiled warmly at him. “Sure, any time.”

I was finding out all kinds of stuff about Mackenzie, and the more I heard, the more I liked. She was truly one of a kind, and yet she wasn’t divulging all that information for my benefit. With Brett, the information just flowed from her. She really liked him, and it bothered me to no end.

It wasn’t just Mackenzie acting interested, Brett was leaning in close to her, touching her lightly on the arm and giving her his undivided attention. It was obvious he was really into her. I needed to kill his interest soon before it was too late. The more they talked, the more interested Brett seemed to get, and I really couldn’t blame him. I was into her, too. She was amazing, even if she had almost robbed me blind.