Vlad could not credit his own eyes. The hot number who had rocked his jetlagged world last night stood before him as if he’d willed it. There’d been no explanation for his unusual behavior with her; he’d never been so out of control with a woman that he hadn’t waited for the privacy of a room with a bed. Hell, he hadn’t even attempted to get her name.
Since forming his company, his personal and professional life had been organized around the PR ideal he wanted the world to see. He chose his women with a rational eye toward their pedigree and sense of
what kind of media image they would reflect upon him. He avoided actresses and models and mainly chose women who excelled in their chosen field, whether law, medicine, or physics. He’d even dated an opera singer. They were always beautiful, of course, but that was only part of the larger package. They had to exude a quality of stability and breeding such that if he ever took one to wife, there would be no unwelcome reflection by the press about her suitability and absolutely no cause for the media to seek out any hidden information about him and his past.
His life history was his fiction and his sex life, though very real, was as carefully orchestrated as the tune-ups on his garage full of sports cars and marina filled with yachts; regular attention and maintenance yielded no surprises.
And no excitement.
The unbidden realization rankled.
For some reason, likely having everything to do with stress of travel and plain chemistry, this particular woman turned him on fast and hard.
And he was about to fire her.
He didn’t invite her to sit down, and his gaze wandered over her as if compelled.
Vlad had a policy of never asking a subordinate to do something he wasn’t willing to tackle himself. He knew how to perform every function major and minor within his empire and it didn’t matter that these days he had someone to take care of all of his daily needs both personal and professional. From preparing spreadsheets to building the ships that had made him millions, he kept up with every innovation and made it a point to be the person where the buck stopped.
His company was his baby and as the only offspring he was ever going to create, he took every person’s contribution, or lack thereof, seriously and sought to replace anyone who didn’t fit the mold.
So he always took upon himself the unwelcome task of letting go of staff that could not meet his sky- high requirements. People knew this and many self- selected out of the opportunity to work at VGI for fear of never measuring up to the exacting standards of the boss.
Even though he’d made the monumental and unprecedented mistake of hooking up with this particular employee, she had to go.
“Ms. Boyd, your annual review has come back and it isn’t good. You’ve failed to meet the minimum standards for attendance and commitment to continuing education. This has been a recurrent pattern over the entire course of your employment here. As a result, your services are no longer required, effective immediately.”
“I’ve never had a complaint about the quality of my work. In fa-act…” Her voice tapered to a halt of sound.
“It’s more than work product.” He interrupted her, needing to get this messy business finished. “You are late arriving for work, late for meetings, and have failed to attend all of the continuing education seminars required in your department.”
He was glancing through a folder again as he spoke, avoiding those eyes.
Then he glanced up and watched her throat work for a second or two, and when her voice emerged, it was a low, ragged sound. “I’ve good reason. I have family obligations. I can’t spend overnight at a department retreat. I was told I would be excused.”
Vlad looked away from the obvious signs of turmoil on her face. She was biting down hard on her lower lip, her eyes were wide and glassy, and the freckles on her nose were the only color on her face. He had no time for drama where his living was concerned, and he required total commitment even from his junior staff. They were compensated handsomely for their efforts as a result.
Family obligations: the giant catchall of excuses. Hadn’t he been an obligation his mother had been all too eager to set aside? He pushed the thought down and concentrated, as always, on work.
His company, his creation, his sweat, had now grown to a multinational concern. Better than any real life baby could be. He had created a workplace that was as comfortable and accommodating as possible, but it was a work place and there were always people who pushed the envelope too far.
He closed the folder and put it aside. Her time was up. Without lifting his head he said, “You may collect your things, Ms. Boyd.”
He sensed rather than saw that she hadn’t moved.
He finally looked up into stunned green eyes.
“It’s Sabrina,” she stated baldly. My first name is Sabrina.”