Hard Lesson For Marcus

Marcus Rutherford, the self-proclaimed king of Rutherford Industries and the meticulous ruler of his world, believes he's infallible. At 45, he's &quote;well-preserved,&quote; undeniably handsome, and runs his empire with an iron, immaculately manicured fist. He's the reason Riverside isn't a ghost town, and he knows it. But his perfectly ordered domain shatters when a significant financial discrepancy appears, leading him to confront and fire Wade Hunter, a project manager and ex-military man with a physique Marcus finds… distracting.The confrontation explodes. Wade, unjustly accused and infuriated, slams his fist into Marcus's pristine mahogany desk, leaving a bloody dent and a chilling threat: &quote;You'll regret this, Rutherford! I'll make sure you pay for this!&quote;. What truly shocks Marcus isn't just the defiance, but the perverse, undeniable arousal ignited by Wade's raw, untamed aggression. This visceral reaction to masculine fury appalls and thrills him, shattering his carefully constructed composure and exposing a forbidden desire he desperately tries to suppress