Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 251(@200wpm)___ 201(@250wpm)___ 168(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 251(@200wpm)___ 201(@250wpm)___ 168(@300wpm)
My voice is harder when I state, “I don’t believe in failure. Even mistakes are lessons.” The quote I’ve heard her say a dozen times in the last month rewards me with her icy blue gaze. That’s better.
I hold her there, pinning her down as I let a second pass and then another. I can practically feel the temperature rise in the room as she struggles not to squirm. The fucking table should have been replaced already.
“Unless you have anything you’d like to say, Mr. Holt,” I say and gesture toward the man. He shakes his head, his thin lips pressed in a straight line. “I don’t have anything to add,” he states and glances across the room.
I don’t miss Ms. Parks’s hardened expression toward him as well. Good. I’m not the only one she blames.
“Meeting adjourned.” I remain where I am, standing tall and watching them disperse while what I was supposed to say comes back to me. I have every name memorized and anger rises inside of me that I didn’t make it clear to them I know every detail and statistic that matters. My jaw clenches and with that, they move faster, nodding and giving short waves as they leave.
The annoyance morphs into something else as I peer back at Ms. Parks, the pen tapping harder. She hasn’t budged.
“Did you want to say something?” I question her lowly. The last two men in the room pause where they are beside Mr. Holt. Jeffries and Woods. Both were seated farthest away, both paused to my left. Woods knows what he’s doing but he’s far too casual with clients. I’ll be surprised if the threat of a severance package turns his performance around.
In her silence, I add, “You look like you have something to say.”
“Adrian Bradford,” she states, looking me in the eyes and giving me a tight smile, “we all know why you’re here.”
For the first time today, I let my emotion come through, simply raising a brow in curiosity. “Is that so?” I ask her.
“You want the company,” she says matter-of-factly and then sits back. It’s a confident move on her part as if she knows my cards.
“You’re very astute,” I say clearly condescendingly, and I love how she raises a brow back.
“To rip apart,” she adds and then pushes her chair back, standing up and letting me finally see her curves in person. The short red dress rides up just a bit too high on her left thigh, exposing more of her skin and teasing me. I’m usually able to keep my focus, but for her, I let my gaze slip.
She yanks it down.
“Leave my department alone. I won’t let anyone ruin it,” she warns. Warns me. Like this is a tit for tat. Like she has any authority at all in this game we’re playing.
“If I want to ruin something …” I pause to adjust my stance slightly as I take another long look at this woman.
“You can try all you’d like, Adrian.” The faint smile on her face when my expression hardens upon hearing her use my first name only adds to the insult.
“Suzette Parks, correct?”
Suzette. I taste her name on my tongue. I love everything about it, from the way it rolls off my lips to the manner in which it lingers there, tempting and taunting me.
She offers a nod and that’s all, swallowing down her spite and leaving the room.
“Is she typically so … combative?” I ask Mr. Holt as the glass door slams shut so hard that I wouldn’t have been surprised if it had shattered. I haven’t been on the receiving end of her wrath, but damn if it doesn’t make me harder than steel for her.
Jonathan clears his throat, obviously uncomfortable as he shifts his weight where he stands, gripping the back of the chair. “I apologize, sir,” he tells me, but that’s not the answer to the question I asked.
“Not a worry at all,” I comment, not bothering to look back at him as he rambles on. Instead I watch her go, loving that she can’t get away from me. Loving that I’ll be seeing more of her any damn time I please.
Suzette
How fucking dare he.
How dare this man who doesn’t know a single thing about me get to me the way he did? The way his piercing gaze seemed to see through me made my entire body heat. He pinned me where I stood. I felt the intensity of his hunger ignite through every nerve ending in my body, rendering me paralyzed.
I couldn’t even speak, let alone look at him. It was embarrassing. Every little thing I did in that room was horribly embarrassing. I’ll apologize, only because it’s the professional thing to do, but I’m not backing down. My team is worth saving, worth keeping. If he dares to fuck with me … I swallow thickly, knowing there’s not much I can do to stop him, but he’s going to hear every reason why he needs to back down before he ruins what I’ve spent a decade building.