Insult eclipsed me.
I shut down.
And there was no coming back from it.
I’ve been a bastard ever since.
When I’ve seen her in the office, I’ve avoided her. All correspondence has been through email, and I’ve canceled two meetings with her so far, blaming some media bullshit that I made up.
“Yeah, sure, this is about Genesis,” I answer.
Huxley studies me and is about to say something when Breaker comes into the office and says, “There you are. Hux, I need your signature on a few things before the meeting.”
Eyes on me, Huxley stands and says, “This isn’t over.”
The fuck it’s not. In my eyes, this conversation is dead at this point.
I wave him away and when the door shuts, I let out a heavy breath and push back from my desk. I turn toward my window and lean back, staring out over the lines of palm trees along the streets.
I don’t think I’ve ever been in this kind of funk, one that has taken over just about every aspect of my life. Sleep evades me. Working out has become more of an escape for frustration rather than enjoyment. And my nights out with friends have turned into nights in, vibrating with anger as I pace my house, only to end up in my workout room, where I slip on a pair of boxing gloves and repeatedly punch my bag until my knuckles can’t take the abuse anymore.
Just... fuck, how could she think that all I wanted was to fuck her?
Am I really that much of an asshole that she’d confuse my intention with a bargain? My kindness, my compliments, in exchange for the spread of her legs?
I can be a dick.
A prick.
An absolute asshole.
But I’m not that man, the one who takes advantage of a woman who’s clearly not in the right headspace.
I stand from my chair, pull my suit jacket back on, and stick my phone in my pocket before heading out of my office door. On the way to the conference room, I pop into the kitchen and grab a can of water—we just started carrying water in aluminum cans, thanks to fucking Kelsey and her sustainability initiatives—and then head into the conference room. I take a seat on the left-hand side.
Just as I pop open the can, one of the chairs to the right of me swivels around and, lo and behold, Kelsey’s face comes into view.
Fuck...
“JP,” she says with a smile that barely reaches her eyes. I can tell a polite smile from a genuine one, and this screamsI’m smiling at you because I have to, not because I want to.“I wasn’t aware you were going to be in this meeting.”
“Yeah, well, Huxley sent me eleven messages saying my attendance was required.”
“Do you have any idea what it’s about?”
“Nope,” I snap.
“Oh... okay.” She fidgets next to me and heat crawls up the back of my neck.
Fuck, I can smell her sweet, flowery scent that seems to follow me everywhere I go. I don’t know if it’s my mind playing tricks on me, but I swear, I smell it everywhere I go, and it’s more prevalent than ever right now.
“Did you, uh, did you see my designs for the Anderson building?”
“Yeah,” I answer.
“Did you like them?”
“Seemed like everything else you’ve turned in. Unless I’m mistaken and you used something other than bamboo storage.”
