Read Online Going Down Easy (Billionaire Bad Boys) by Carly Phillips - Free Book Online

printed as soon as he’d arrived this morning, having come up with the solution on the way to work.
    “What is it?” she asked warily.
    “A nondisclosure agreement.” He handed her the one-page document. “It guarantees you won’t speak of or repeat what you learn in the context of our … business relationship. That includes whatever you learn here or while in my apartment.”
    She sucked in a startled breath, a slight gasp coming out too. “You don’t trust me not to repeat what you told me last night. After I brought you home, fed you, took care of you, and made sure you weren’t alone and in pain, you’re going to repay me by asking me to sign an NDA,” she said, her voice cracking as she spoke.
    His hand began to throb, and he realized he’d been letting it hang down, the blood flowing into his injured knuckles and fingers. Damned if he didn’t deserve it.
    “It’s standard procedure in business,” he said.
    “Then you should have included it in the packet Derek gave me when I signed on after he hired me.” She stormed over to the desk, pulled out a pen, and scrawled her name on the page. “Here.” She turned and slapped the paper against his chest.
    Damned if he didn’t admire her spunk and the way she stood up to him, acting as if they were still in his apartment last night and not here at work. True, he was her boss, but he’d mixed business and pleasure, and she’d more than earned the right to speak her mind. Just this once, he told himself, he’d let her get away with talking to him this way.
    “Thank you.” He placed the paper on his desk.
    She started for the door, then turned back to face him. “You know, if you’d come to me and asked me nicely to sign, I wouldn’t have had a problem. If you’d accepted the fact that we both wanted that kiss but it couldn’t happen again, I wouldn’t be angry. Instead you came up with a bunch of excuses, insulted me personally, and questioned my integrity. Very nice, Mr. Barnes.”
    His stomach churned with every word she spoke, and he hated himself for how he’d handled things. Just because he couldn’t deal with getting close to a woman didn’t mean she had to pay the price.
    At his unexpected line of thinking, he furrowed his brow. Since when did he think twice about doing what needed to be done in business or in his personal life? Why was he so bothered by the hurt in her eyes, the pained expression on her face? She was just an employee, he reminded himself, and he’d fired and yelled at plenty before her. He just didn’t like doing it to Lexie. Which was all the more reason for him to cut things off now, before he allowed his guard down further, began to believe in her, trust her … and ended up gutted again.
    “You know what else?” she asked.
    He knew exactly what was coming next. He’d been in this position before. “You’re quitting,” he said before she could.
    His stomach twisted, and the coffee he’d been drinking threatened to come back up. Fuck. Too late, he realized her departure wasn’t what he wanted. Hell, when it came to Lexie, he didn’t know what he wanted.
    She let out a harsh laugh. “No, I’m not quitting. You don’t get to be that lucky. I said I could handle you and I will. My error was thinking there was a caring human being behind the jerk façade. I won’t make that mistake again. Unless…”
    She trailed off, her eyes widening. “Are you firing me?” she asked, suddenly sounding worried, and he remembered Derek mentioning she needed the job.
    He just hadn’t asked him why. God, Kade thought, he really was a jerk.
    “Are you?” she asked, voice rising when he didn’t answer immediately.
    He couldn’t. He’d been too busy processing the fact that he hadn’t driven her away.
    “No,” he finally said. “I’m not firing you.” He didn’t want her gone.
    But he damned well better figure out what exactly he did want from Lexie Parker before they drove each other