Eve is already there, standing perfectly still in front of her desk like a statue carved from pure rage.Her shoulders are rigid, two coffees in her hand.From across the room I can practically see the fury radiating off her in waves.
My desk sits there, completely normal.Steven’s desk looks exactly as he left it on Friday.Flora’s workspace is its usual organized chaos of hamster-themed accessories and project files.
But Eve’s desk?Eve’s desk looks like a party store exploded all over it in the most spectacular way possible.
I completely forgot about my Friday night’s pet project.
Seeing Eve so worked up, has me pressing my lips together. I never thought I would find an angry woman attractive.But Eve is all pissed off and huffing, the sight is both endearing and exciting.I wonder if there is something wrong with me.
While Eve seethes, I make my way to my desk and settle into my chair, setting my bagel down just as she turns around slowly, like a hurricane gathering strength before it strikes.Her dark eyes lock onto mine with laser precision, and if looks could kill, I’d be a pile of ash on the floor.
“You,” she says, the single word delivered with enough venom to kill a small elephant.
I take another bite of my bagel, fighting back a grin.“Good morning to you too, Princess.”
“Don’t you dare ‘good morning’ me.”She stalks toward me, her heels clicking against the floor like tiny bullets.She’s holding two coffee cups and wearing a deep burgundy blouse that makes her skin glow.Her scent is different today—something dark and intoxicating with notes of black cherry and vanilla—which makes my blood heat despite the fury radiating off her.
“I know it was you,” she continues, stepping close enough that I can see the fire burning in those dark eyes.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”I gesture vaguely toward her desk with my bagel.“Though I have to say, pink really suits your workspace.Very festive.”
Her nostrils flare in that way that always makes me want to push her buttons even harder.“You wrapped my entire desk in princess wrapping paper!”
“Did I?Wow, that’s weird.Maybe you have a secret admirer.”
“Cut the bullshit, Caleb.”She steps closer, close enough that I have to tilt my head back to look at her properly.
I lean back in my chair, enjoying the way her cheeks flush with anger.“You know, most people would say thank you when someone goes to all that trouble to brighten up their workspace.”
“Thank you?”Her voice rises an octave.“You want me to thank you for vandalizing my desk?”
“I prefer to think of it as interior decorating.Really brings out your personality.”
“And here I was, thinking I should be nice to you.”She lifts one of the coffee cups, and for a second I think she might actually throw it at me.“I even bought you coffee this morning.Thought maybe we could call a truce after last night.”
The fact that she bought me coffee catches me off guard.
“You bought me coffee?”
“Wasted my money is more like it.”Without breaking eye contact, she turns toward the trash bin and slowly, deliberately, tips the cup upside down.The coffee pours out in a steady stream, and I watch what looks like five dollars’ worth of caffeine disappear into the garbage.
The gesture is so perfectly Eve—dramatic, pointed, and utterly ruthless—that I can’t help but be impressed.
“That was cold,” I say, trying not to smile.
“Not as cold as what I’m going to do to you.”She sets the empty cup on my desk with a sharp click.“This is not over, Wilder.”
“Reynolds,” I correct automatically, but there’s something in her voice that makes something dangerous stir in my chest.The way she’s looking at me, like she’s calculating exactly how to make me suffer, is doing things to me that I absolutely cannot acknowledge in a professional setting.
“I’m going to make you pay for this,” she says, stepping closer and bracing her hands on both armrests of my chair, effectively caging me in.The position brings her face inches from mine, and I can feel the heat radiating off her skin.“I’m going to make you cry.”
The threat probably should worry me.Instead, my pulse quickens as I watch her lips form the words, her eyes promising to fulfill every dangerous syllable in ways I find myself craving.
“I’m so scared,” I drawl, settling back in my chair with my arms crossed.“What are you going to do, Princess?Wrap my desk in pink paper, too?”
Her smile turns deadly, sweet as poison.“Oh, I’m going to do so much worse than that.”
She straightens up slowly, deliberately, running her tongue across her lower lip in a gesture that makes my slacks uncomfortably tight.“You think you’re so clever with your little pranks?You have no idea what you’ve started.”
