“I’ll, uh, leave you two alone,” Zoey said, giving me a questionable look, before shutting the door. So much for my request to give me a heads up if Phoenix came into the office. Thanks, Zoey.
I scrambled off the floor.
“Mr. Steele.”
“Phoenix.” His tone reminded me of when he’d bribed me with sex and money.
“It’s Phoenix now? Yesterday, you asked that I call you?—”
“It’s Phoenix today.”
14
ROSE
“…Did we have an appointment, Phoenix?”
“No.” He shifted his focus to the monitors on the floor, then crossed the room and kneeled by the boxes. I watched, stunned, as he unpacked each one with quick, practiced movements—like someone who’d done this a hundred times before.
I was… speechless.
Well, almost. “Is this… all this, from you?”
He grunted. A yes, apparently. Then he carried one of the monitors to my desk.
“You sent this here?”
No answer. Just fingers moving fast—clicking buttons, unplugging cords like he owned the place.
I lunged forward. “Wait… wait… I?—”
“I saved it. Don’t worry.”
“Wait, Phoenix. Stop. What are you doing? You can’t just replace all my stuff.”
“This is a hundred times better than what you had. Trust me.”
Maybe it was. But what the heck?
I yanked the monitor from his hands. The same flash of quick temper I’d seen the day before surfaced in his eyes—hot, electric—but this time, it didn’t boil over. Instead, something shifted behind his expression. Like he caught himself.Controlledhimself. His jaw tightened. Then he clasped his hands behind his back and stepped away.
Whoa.
That… was unexpected.
I blinked. “Did you really do this?”
He dipped his chin.
“I can’t accept this, Phoenix.”
“Why not?”
“It’s… too much.”
“It’s fine.” He took the monitor from my hands and resumed working.
I stood there, awkward and off-balance, still trying to wrap my head around what was unfolding.Thisversion of Phoenix—calm, composed, almost generous—wasn’t one I recognized. He confused me. Infuriated me. Intrigued me. And underneath all of it, I was disturbingly, undeniably attracted to him.
