Page 1 of The Naughty Or Nice Clause
Chapter One
Fourteen days before Christmas
LYLA DIDN’T THINK her day could get worse. She had torn her tights on her bike, her curls had frizzled and doubled in size thanks to the rain, and now that she had finally reached the salvation of her office, she’d found a mandate on her desk that had caused her mood to plummet to sub-zero temperatures. Her co-CEO had reared his soulless head again.
“You’re looking… refreshed?” Sam, in his fuchsia suit, winced at Lyla’s appearance as he placed her daily schedule on the desk. She rose, scrunching the mandate up in her hand, and her personal assistant followed her closely. “Where are you headed in such a storm?”
“Do you even need to guess?” Lyla snapped, her heels clicking on the marble floor. For weeks, she had avoided the thorn in her side – but this mandate was a war cry, one she would not take lying down. Even if it meant marching into his office before her mandatory morning coffee.
“Not happy about the mandate? The office is fuming. After the cutbacksandshutting down one of the toy factories, I thought he would ease up,” Sam said. Lyla could smell the coffee in his cup. She resisted the urge to snatch it from his hand and down it.
“Mr Klaus? Keep his word? In the year since he’s joined us, when has he ever followed through on anything positive?” she hissed, and Sam cowered a little.
“I’ll leave you to the slaughter, and in case Human Resources asks about any blood stains on the carpet, I’ll be sure to be your witness,” he joked uneasily.
Lyla scowled. She would like nothing more than to sink her manicured nails into Mr Klaus’s suit-clad muscles, which he only had thanks to his obsession with controlling everything and everyone around him.
Sam turned on his heel as soon as her hand reached out to the door handle of the office that should have been hers, but was infested with a parasite she couldn’t seem to shake. She didn’t bother to knock; he would already be inside. Klaus was always the first in every morning and the last to leave. When he had first joined the company she had tried to outstay him and wake up before him, but after a full month she hadn’t been successful in either. She’d hated the satisfaction on his designer-stubbled face every time he’d raise a cup of coffee in teasing welcome after another humiliating defeat.
“Ms Smurfit, to what do I owe the pleasure of your presence on this glorious Monday morning?” Mr Klaus asked, leaning back in his chair. He looked perfect, as always, in a dark tailored suit, his ash-blonde hair pulled back away from his face and secured at the base of his neck. She’d thought men with hair on the longer side were supposed to be laid back, but he was anything but.
All charm this morning,she thought. If he wasn’t the devil in disguise, he’d be irresistible.
The office was meticulously organised, the walls a deep teal, the bookshelves such a dark shade of wood they were almost black.To match his soul. A far cry from the bright colours she would have filled it with.
“You’re happy this morning. Hit any small children with your car?” she snarked, walking towards the desk, not wanting anyone who might pass in the hallway to hear their conversation. She glanced over his shoulder, wondering how he could turn his back to the magnificent view of the skating rink and the giant Christmas tree at its centre. She would have turned her desk to observe the beautiful sight, while her new partner chose to turn his back on Christmas.
“I took the train into the city; my driver had a family emergency.”
The world threatened to slip out from under her feet.Has he actually done a good deed for someone?
“But there’s always hope for tomorrow morning,” he continued with a smug smile before returning to his computer.That smile.Though it made many in the office linger at his door, she only wished to crush it under her heel. Then again, since he was such a control freak, she figured he might enjoy such an event.
Lyla took his return to work as a dismissal, but she wasn’t leaving. She tapped her heel against the tiles, and his debonair smile quickly turned to a cold glare.
“The last I checked, our contract states that we are to workwitheach other. No one above or below; we make decisions together,” she reminded him coldly, holding up the mandate cancelling the annual Christmas party. The Christmas party was tonight, and yet she had known nothing about the cancellation. Even the clients had apparently been informed a week before she had. At least for that she was almost grateful– if they had been informed the day of, she was sure they wouldn’t have taken it lightly.
“That’s certainly a pity. I do love to be on top,” he commented, returning his attention to her.
“There is also a clause about sexual harassment in our contract,” she remarked, slamming the mandate down in front of him. She was secretly gleeful that he had used paper; much more effective to shove in his face. Replying to an email wouldn’t have had the same impact. “The Christmas party has been a tradition since my great-grandfather founded the company. We host clients and the small businesses we support. You’ve already shut down a factory and cut down our staff by half. Got rid of the company cars and the drivers who’d been working here for years. We make toys, for Christ’s sake; how can we not celebrate Christmas?!”
“Being top of this company, I’d never harass anyone. We agreed on those changes together. Let me remind you that I own fifty-one percent of the company, so the final decision rests with me,” he pointed out calmly. “You might like to play the victim in front of the staff, acting like the big bad wolf forced your hand, but we both knew those cuts would stop your precious company haemorrhaging money.”
Lyla wanted nothing more than to jump across the desk and strangle him. She might be sent to prison instead of taking her rightful place as head of the company, but at least she wouldn’t have to see him every day. She hated it when he talked down to her; there were only five years between them, but he made her feel six, not twenty-six.
“I know what I signed and what I agreed to. However, do I think it was extreme? Yes. Would I have done things differently and slower? Yes!”
“Let’s not focus on the past,” he said, his bored expression only furthering her outrage. “We’ve had a good year together. Let’s not ruin our working relationship over something as petty as a party.”
“I never wanted or agreed to my father signing over his shares,” she muttered.And our time together has been less than good.She looked at the man who’d ruined her nights – and not in a good way – for the last three hundred and sixty-five days and counting. Not a designer button or blonde hair out of place. Every bit in control, while she felt anything but.
“Since the company is in a financial crisis, I think you should be more grateful for my signing on to take the mess off your hands,” he said, folding his arms, exposing the sleek watch on his wrist. He knew money, though he wasn’t flashy. She only knew the watch was designer because she’d Googled it.
She had heard of him before he had turned up. Mason Klaus, financial investor and saviour to the 1%. Lyla had no idea why he had taken on their company. It was publicly listed, but they were far from the conglomerates he usually worked with.
“What do our financial issues have to do with a Christmas party? One night for our staff and clients to have fun, to socialise. I’ve invited new clients, and many are interested in the smaller businesses we’ve absolved.”
“We have enough clients with deep pockets, and we don’t have the budget to take on any more mass orders,” Mr Klaus disagreed.
