Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 133321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 667(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 667(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
“It’s against your employment contract to hunt for a job without offering notice first,” he replies, no denial of the incident or his treatment of me since. “That bonus I gave you when you signed on. I could strip it.”
I glance at Grayson who smirks, because obviously money isn’t exactly a good threat to use against me right about now. I assume I’ll move in with him again. I assume I’ll have a job with him should I so choose. I assume we’ll get married, but—what if those things don’t apply? Grayson must see the questions in my eyes because he steps in front of me, his legs caging me. His eyes hold mine and there is pure possessive heat in his stare, and with it, a promise that I am his and he is mine.
“Mia?” Ri snaps.
I force myself to focus on the call and Ri’s threat, which may or may not mean he knows I’m back with Grayson. Ri is sneaky. He’d test me. He’d trick me. “I’m just trying to digest what you just said to me. Come on, Ri. You know how awkward it’s been and that’s personal, not professional. Only it’s become professional because I now fear for my job.”
He inhales sharply. “I gave you a job. I gave you a sign-on bonus. I waited for you to get over him. Why the fuck can’t you just forget him like he has you? He’s all over the papers with that model.”
That cuts and I look down, afraid I won’t control my reaction to Ri as well if I look into Grayson’s eyes right now. I left him. He thought I was with Ri. He hasn’t lied to me about being with other women. “I have won every case I’ve taken since joining the firm, two of which went to trial, the rest I settled otherwise. I’ve done a good job for you and if that’s not enough, I need to find another job, and you need to consider this my official notice, which I’ll follow up in writing.”
He’s silent a beat. “We should meet. Now. Tonight.”
“I’m not meeting you, Ri. Not unless it’s at the office Monday morning.”
“Jesus, woman. You’re still so fucking hung up on Grayson that you can’t see how good I could be for you. He’s gone. Leave him in the grave where he belongs.”
In the grave. I don’t like those words and my gaze jerks to Grayson’s, anger burning in the depth of his stare. “Did you hire me for my skills or because I was Grayson’s scorned woman?”
“I wouldn’t have hired you if you didn’t have skills, and it’s not my fault that Grayson was stupid enough to fuck around and lose you, personally and professionally. We need to meet.”
“Monday morning,” I say. “If that’s not good enough, fire me.”
“You have another job offer,” he assumes. “That’s why you’re pushing back.”
“I don’t have another job, but I can’t take the way you’re treating me. It’s been an eyeopener. I finally woke up and saw the writing on the wall. I’m not a token in a game you and Grayson are playing. I want to do my job and do it well.”
He’s silent several beats. “Monday morning. Seven a.m. in my office.” He hangs up.
Grayson takes the phone from me and sets it on the dresser behind me. His hands shackle my waist. “I have never wanted to cause someone harm until Ri. He’s using that model, who I didn’t fuck, by the way, to push your buttons. To push mine.”
“I know,” I whisper.
“But it still upset you.”
“The idea of you with someone else—yeah. That’s what even got me to the point of that date with Ri that resulted in a knee.”
“Just like Becky sent you to his doorstep,” he says as if that’s a fact before he pushes off the dresser, withdrawing.
“No,” I say quickly. “That’s not what happened. That’s not even close to what happened.”
His jaw clenches. “Do you intend to meet with him Monday morning?”
“I think, under the circumstances, with him going after you, that’s a decision we should make together.”
“You going anywhere near Ri again is not a smart decision for us, Mia.” He turns and walks out of the closet, leaving me trying to catch my breath.
There it is and it didn’t take long. Already, we’re there, peeling back the layers that reveal his resentment over my stupid actions and he’s justified. I quickly follow him, ready to fight for the man I love. I find him in the bedroom, sitting in an oversized black leather chair in the corner of the room, a chair where we have fucked many times. A chair where I’ve fallen asleep in his arms while we talked afterward. I cross and sink down next to him, but he doesn’t turn to look at me.