Playboy Boss Read online

  EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2018 Roe Valentine

  ISBN: 978-1-77339-551-7

  Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

  Editor: Audrey Bobak

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Thank you to my awesome friend and critique partner, Molly Mirren, for helping me smooth out this story. I appreciate your sharp grammatical eye and insights. I am so lucky to have you! Also, thank you to my beyond amazing friend Teri Wilson for giving me a great idea for this story. You are both rock stars to me. Huge thanks to Stacey and Audrey for helping me get this story to publication. The Evernight Publishing family is a delight to work with. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

  PLAYBOY BOSS

  Society Playboys, 2

  Roe Valentine

  Copyright © 2018

  Chapter One

  “A-Plus Temporaries sent someone to fill in for Marisol while she’s on maternity leave. The girl is waiting in the lobby.” Susan, the receptionist, placed a résumé on his desk.

  Fucking brilliant.

  “Is she absolutely atrocious?” Konrad glanced at the bright white sheet of paper, noting only the education section. Bachelor’s in Business Administration. There was no real work experience listed. Fantastic.

  Why did his assistant have to go into labor just when he was working on an important property sale? Konrad was married to his work. No question there. But he knew life happened, and not everyone felt the same way about employment. He pushed the résumé back to Susan, who didn’t take it.

  With a nervous laugh, Susan said, “God, I hope not for her sake. And yours.”

  Konrad grunted. Incompetence was not tolerated at Korr Corporation, or in any other aspect of his life. This temp had better be immaculate.

  He waved his hand. “All right then. Send her back.”

  Susan nodded and moved toward the door, and then closed it behind her. Konrad watched her hips sway from side to side through the glass wall. Not to check her out, because Susan was like a sweet aunt to him, but to count his heartbeats. He didn’t necessarily hate change. He simply hated losing something that worked for him. Obviously, he’d already deemed the temp a failure before she even stepped foot in his office. He also knew that wasn’t fair.

  Breathing in deeply, he decided to chill out. What was three months? Barely ninety days. Just twelve weeks. Hell.

  An email notification chimed through his laptop, taking his attention. He scanned the sender’s name. Tamsin. He sighed. For fuck’s sake. He’d cut her loose the night before. It would have gone smoothly if she hadn’t disagreed with his decision. Of course, he had to remind her they’d never been exclusive. The night they met, he’d told her point blank he only wanted a bit of fun. With an expiration date. He’d had two other women on rotation, not including the hookups he indulged in as he saw fit. With his work demands, Tamsin had become too much to handle.

  Easy. Fun. Hot. Fleeting. That was how he liked his women. That was all he knew and felt comfortable with. Exclusivity and commitment weren’t his game. Never had been. Pilar, his date for that evening, knew how to be easy, fun, hot, and fleeting. Plus, he was on her rotation of men as well. So, all was fair between them.

  Konrad opened Tamsin’s email, dread passing through him.

  To: Konrad Korr ([email protected])

  From: Tamsin White ([email protected])

  Date: Monday, September 4

  RE: Meeting at L’Atelier at 8:00 PM

  Konrad— After last night’s discussion, I would like to meet to discuss the situation further. I’ve made us reservations at L’Atelier tonight at 8:00 PM. I expect you to be there.

  Kind regards,

  Tamsin White

  Junior Attorney

  Law offices of Hunter, Greene, and White

  Situation? What fucking situation? Tamsin did not know how to get rejected. Konrad blamed himself, though. She was a lawyer, after all. Every attorney he’d ever dated couldn’t just let it go when their dalliance expired. Always an argument to be had. Always a headache he didn’t need. He sighed. Some flings just couldn’t leave as quietly as they arrived. Thank God there hadn’t been many of those. He’d have to blackball lawyers going forward. Unless they approached him with an arrangement…

  Just as he set his fingertips on the keyboard to type a polite kiss-off response, his office door opened. Susan and a mousy petite woman stood under the doorjamb, peering at him. At first, he was disappointed the agency didn’t send over a bombshell. He wasn’t a monk, after all. But he was feeling much more jerkish than usual that morning.

  “Well, don’t just stand in the doorway. Come in.” He waved them in, a bit annoyed at the way they cowered. If this was any indication of how the temp worked, he’d need a new temp for tomorrow.

  Susan led the parade of two deeper into his vast office. “Konrad, this is Scottine Roberts from A-Plus Temporaries.” She practically shoved Scottine toward the desk.

  Scottine? An unusual name he’d heard only once when he was in boarding school in the UK. She was a French teacher. And very hot. He glanced at the résumé again to verify the name. Scottine Roberts.

  “Scottine, is it?” He lifted his eyebrows for emphasis.

  She avoided his eyes. “I go by Scottie.” Her voice wasn’t as bland as he’d assumed it would be. At least there was that. She looked uncomfortable, her hands behind her back.

  He considered her, taking in her face. On further inspection, he’d decided she was rather cute in a librarian sort of way. And a touch exotic. Hazel eyes, wavy, dark hair, smooth olive skin, full pink lips. All things he normally liked in a woman. Sadly, her loose black trousers and button-up blouse didn’t do much for her shape.

  Making his British-German accent thicker, he said, “Okay, Scottie. You can call me Lord Korr.” He held back a laugh. She, on the other hand, was deadpan.

  Susan laughed. She’d always appreciated his jokes. Clearly, this Scottie Roberts had no sense of humor. Square on him, her eyes narrowed. She didn’t seem impressed. A spike of unprecedented excitement worked through his body.

  “He’s just kidding. It’s his German or British humor. I think. None of us have figured it out yet.” Susan tried to lighten the mood.

  Konrad waved his hand in mock defeat, still feeling the sensation of intrigue in his body. “Fine, you can call me Konrad.”

  The steady tingles continued to surge through him as his gaze met Scottie’s, who still did not seem impressed. No indication of interest. No beaming. No blushing. No trying to please him in anyway. Scottie might very well think he was a jackass. He zeroed in on her face, trying to find some inkling of an emotion. Instead, he admired the freckles on her nose, her thick dark lashes and high cheekbones. My God. She was not cute or librarian-ish at all. In fact, she was actually quite beautiful. Aphrodite could have been standing in his office.

  She looked away first, though, which made him feel oddly triumphant. She’ll come round.

  Susan reminded them of her presence with her interjection. “Very well … I’ll show you to your cubicle, which is just outside. Mr. Korr…?”

  “Mr. Korr?” Konrad paused. Susan had never called him Mr. Korr before. He hated to be called Mr. Korr. His father demanded it, and Kon
rad was not like that man.

  A nervous laugh slipped between her lips. “Right. Sorry. I don’t know why I’m being so weird.” She glanced at Scottie, who waited intently and looked bored. “Do you want Scottie to have full access to your email?”

  Full access… That was a phrase he liked on most occasions. Yes, he very much preferred full access. But Susan was talking about something very different, and he should not be thinking about full access to anything with the temp. “Give her limited access. She can edit my calendar. Make sure she has her own email address.”

  “The [email protected] address?”

  “That’s the one.”

  When he glanced back to Scottie, she’d had her attention on him. A different look in her eyes that time. Not annoyed, not unimpressed, not bored. Curious, maybe. Still not the usual interest he’d get from women.

  “Come back to me when you’re done getting sorted out. I want to go over some minor requirements.” Konrad waved his hand at them. “Off you go.”

  The women left him in the buzzing silence of his office. He stared at the computer screen for a moment, discombobulated and not sure what the hell had just happened. Had she really not been dazzled by him? All women were dazzled by him. It was a fact, not anything he’d claim on his own. Seriously, this was a first for him.

  An email notification chimed from his computer again, interrupting his ridiculous thoughts. He’d received an email from a potential buyer for an East Downtown Houston warehouse property he’d put up for sale. The “EaDo” property was in demand. A microbrewer, Bayou Sling, wanted to set up shop in EaDo, but Konrad had hopes for Ortho-Sync, a small medical device company, who wanted to build a manufacturing plant in Houston. If they offered him the money he wanted, he could buy another EaDo property he’d had his eye on. The thought of growing his real estate empire thrilled him.

  Just then, his private direct line rang. He punched the intercom. “Konrad Korr.”

  “Mr. Korr, please hold for Mr. Fabian Pallis.”

  Konrad rolled his eyes. Fabian had only been partner at his father’s engineering firm for a month, and he’d already had some poor woman waiting on him hand and foot. Not that Marisol hadn’t waited on Konrad hand and foot, as would Scottie. The notion made him chuckle.

  “Well, hello, Mr. Korr,” Fabian said in his professional voice.

  “Are you serious with your assistant calling on your behalf?”

  He laughed. “I’m just having some fun.”

  “You better hope Antonia doesn’t find out you’re using that poor girl.”

  “She won’t find out. Besides, I think my secretary likes to be used.” He laughed.

  Scottie didn’t seem like the type to like to be used. Why did he keep thinking about her?

  “What do you want?” Konrad stared at his emails again. He’d forgotten about his kiss-off email to Tamsin. “I’m working, unlike you, I’m sure.”

  “Doubtful!” Fabian laughed again. “Toni and I are having a dinner thing tonight at her penthouse at eight. You coming?”

  “A bit last-minute, no?” He glanced at his naked wrist, sighing. He’d lost his favorite watch. A Richard Mille that cost more than a townhome in the Museum District. Now he only had the Rolex, which he didn’t care for.

  “And…?”

  “Fine. I suppose I could move things around.” He’d have to figure out what to do with Pilar. Perhaps they’d have a nightcap instead of dinner. She liked nightcaps just as much as he did.

  “Bring a date.”

  “Good God, mate! Just because you’re coupling up doesn’t mean everyone else is. You know my opinion on that.” He sat back in his chair. How many times could he tell Fabian he was not interested in a relationship? Since Fabian “fell in love,” he’d been impossible to talk to.

  “Oh right. You believe in love, for everyone else.”

  Konrad sighed. “That’s right. I’m a bachelor for life. I’m saving some poor girl from a lifetime of loneliness and depression.” The word depression settled in his stomach, making him nauseous for a second.

  “So you say.”

  The line was silent, and Konrad would not say another word about it.

  Fabian continued when he seemed to get the hint. “Everyone else is bringing a date. Tylund and Dallas said they have dates.”

  Konrad snorted. Those guys always had dates. They weren’t too different from Konrad, though he knew they’d end up like Fabian eventually.

  Worst-case scenario, Pilar would meet his friends after he’d briefed her on the situation. He suspected she’d get the picture without much explanation. She was the daughter of a Mexican diplomat and knew how to behave appropriately. Thank God for noncommittal women like Pilar.

  “Fine. I’ll be there.” Konrad disconnected the line because he knew Fabian absolutely hated to be hung up on. After springing that couples’ dinner on Konrad, Fabian deserved worse.

  Hell. He rubbed his eyes, feeling tired. He’d been working overtime. Keeping up with his three companies, Korr Corporation, Korr Properties, and Korr Solutions, had proved to be a challenge. Nothing he couldn’t handle though. His bastard father was a workaholic. He’d learned from the best.

  With slow hands, he pulled out his cell phone from his desk drawer and dialed Pilar’s number. She answered on the fourth ring, just when he was about to end the call.

  “Hey, guapo. I missed your accent.”

  Konrad smiled. She had her own sexy Spanish accent. And yeah, he was handsome. Paired with his German-British accent, he wasn’t sure why Scottie’s knees hadn’t buckled upon meeting him. Okay, that was too much. Even for him. “Did I catch you at a bad time, love?”

  “No. I’m just walking to class.” Pilar was an international student at the University of Houston. She’d decided to complete another semester before transferring to UCLA in the spring, which Konrad was glad about. He wanted to enjoy her a little bit longer before they said goodbye. “What’s up?”

  “There is a change of plans for tonight.”

  She paused. “Okay…”

  He waited, and he tried to come up with another plan that didn’t include his friends. Why did he feel so much anxiety about the dinner? The issue wasn’t Pilar. He knew she’d go with the flow. But his friends … could they forget her as quickly as he’d ask her to forget them?

  “Kon? Are you okay?”

  He looked at his computer screen, catching his reflection when the screen went black into sleep mode. Fuck it. “My friends, Fabian and Antonia, are having a sort of dinner party thing tonight. It’s all very last-minute, but he’s expecting me to go. So … I thought you’d come along with me, since we already have a date planned for tonight.”

  The ensuing silence made him think she’d hung up, but her choppy breathing let him know she’d been walking. “Sure.”

  No enthusiasm in her response made him confident that all would be well. She didn’t seem to have an expectation that would worry him. “Fantastic. I’ll send you a text when I’m on the way to the campus. It starts at eight.”

  “See you. Ciao, ciao.” She hung up with her signature farewell sentiment, leaving him sucking in a deep breath.

  That went well. He hoped the dinner would go seamlessly as well.

  Before Konrad could decide what to focus on next, the door opened. Scottie walked in. She’d not knocked and waited for his approval to proceed. He frowned at her boldness but felt the same exhilaration from earlier. Their eyes met, hers blazing like amber fire with green flames. She had the most incredible eyes he’d ever seen.

  “Konrad, are you ready for me?” She walked reluctantly to the chair across his desk, a notepad in hand.

  “Sit,” he said, leaning back in his chair. The sturdy back stabilized him as he watched her. She sat, her knees together and both smooth, tan hands on her lap. He noticed she didn’t wear any jewelry. “We told A-Plus Temporaries that we wanted the best they had to offer. So, I expect you to be the best.”

  Her eyes widene
d. She didn’t look so bold then. “Well, sir, I will try my best.”

  Her seemingly sudden desire to please him didn’t satisfy him as he thought it would. Konrad wanted her to be cockier. He wanted her to tell him to piss off.

  “Well, that’s all any of us can do, right?” He continued at her nod. “I have the typical office requirements, such as answering my public line for Korr Properties. I also have a Korr Solutions line, which is my other company two floors down, but you won’t have to do anything for that. Side note, if you aren’t aware, Korr Corporation is comprised of Korr Properties and Korr Solutions. So, I have three companies total. But, you need only worry about Properties.”

  “Got it.” She wrote on her notepad.

  “So, to summarize, just filter calls to me, schedule meetings, help with presentation slide decks, compile reports and comps for properties as instructed, copying, and filing, just to name a few. Nothing eccentric, if that’s what you’re worried about. I will, however, need you to do … personal tasks for me.”

  Her eyebrows furrowed.

  “Does that scare you?” Why did I ask that?

  Scottie met his challenging eyes. “Should it?”

  He chuckled. There was the cockiness he wanted. “Not at all.” He’d have to think of a personal errand for her to run just to get her feet wet.

  “Can you give me an example of these personal tasks? The agency has rules.”

  And clearly, she didn’t like to break rules.

  He leaned forward, opening his drawer again to fetch out a business card. “I’ll do better than an example. I’ll give you a task straight away.” He handed her his florist’s card. Yes, he had a florist. “Send flowers on my behalf. A dozen roses to two different individuals.”

  With her mouth partly opened, she took the card, her warm fingers grazing his, shocking his system. She glanced where they’d touched. “Two?”