I took a deep breath, gathered all my courage, and looked him in the eye. “Thank you for the ride,” I said, tilting my head toward the plane. “Good luck with everything.”
I tried to turn away, but Cal caught my chin. He turned me to face him again, and his eyes were hot as burning coals. “If you think this is it between us, Deena, you’re wrong.”
My gut clenched. “Like I said, I’ll have my lawyer review the employment contract, and we’ll go from there.”
A little puff of breath left Cal’s lips. His grip on my chin tightened ever so slightly, and I couldn’t deny that I loved the feeling of being trapped by him, even if the only parts of him keeping me in place were the tips of his fingers. His lips curled, his smile tinged with cruelty. “We’ll do this your way, then.”
I narrowed my eyes. “We slept together, Mr. Frost. That’s it. If you want me to work for you as badly as you claim, then our personal relationship is over.” And it would stay that way. It had to, or else I’d lose everything that made meme.
I couldn’t go back to that billiards room, to that place where I begged him to hold me until I shattered. If I did that again, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to put myself back together.
“Tell yourself whatever you need to tell yourself, Deena,” he murmured, lips hovering so close to mine. “But know this: Next time we sleep together, it’ll be becauseyoucome tome.”
I scoffed and tore my chin from his grasp. “Keep dreaming,” I said, and slid into the back seat of the car. He closed the door andstalked back to his own vehicle, and I slumped in the seat as the breath rushed out of my lungs.
By the time I made it back home, I felt like I needed to sleep for three days straight. But my phone dinged with a new email, and the subject line jolted me back to life.
Callum had sent me an employment contract.
SEVENTEEN
DEENA
A little over a week later,the contract was signed and I was staring into the depths of my closet on Monday morning, wondering what I should wear to the first day of a job I didn’t want, working for a man I’d slept with the previous weekend.
I’d considered rejecting the offer, but practicality won out. As long as I worked one full day, I’d get half my three-hundred-thousand-dollar salary paid up front. I just couldn’t say no.
Besides, spending time with Cal was sure to make my attraction wane. He was domineering, irritating, and overbearing. I lived for my freedom and independence. No matter how attractive he was, it couldn’t change those fundamental truths.
The best way to get over him was to get to know him.
As I gulped down my second coffee of the day, I looked at the outfits I’d laid out on my bed. I didn’t want to wear the gray pantsuit. It was great for appearing professional when I was meeting clients, but it wouldn’t be right for Cal. He’d know I was trying to wear it like armor.
I had to go in there seeming confident and in control. My outfithad to scream the message that whatever had happened before, it had no bearing on what would happen going forward. He was paying me an obscene amount of money for a non-exclusive employment contract. I was doing the smart, logical thing and taking the money. But that was all I was taking.
Still, foolish female vanity scratched her nails along the knobby bones of my spine, and I discovered that despite everything, I still wanted Cal to think I looked good.
I grabbed a favorite blouse of mine, a shade of burgundy that set off my skin tone. It wasn’t exactly a spring color, but the blouse had balloon sleeves that gathered into thick cuffs at the wrists and a big, silly bow at the neck. I laid it on the bed and grabbed a pair of wide-leg pants in a shade just a bit darker than the blouse. It would stand out against the grays and blacks and whites of his office, but no one could tell me it looked unprofessional. It was an outfit that said I had a point of view. An outfit that said I couldn’t be put in a box. An outfit that made me feel likeme. Now, more than ever, I needed to remind myself of who I was.
I stood in front of the mirror and fastened the blouse’s necktie into a big, floppy bow, then pulled on the pants and picked a pair of satin burgundy pumps to complete my monochromatic outfit.
With my hair styled in soft waves and just the right amount of makeup to highlight my features, I felt beautiful and powerful and ready to face Callum Frost. Today, he wouldn’t be the man who’d torn my body apart just over a week ago. Instead, he was the man who would finally let me achieve some stability. Nothing else.
I grabbed my things and walked out the door.
When I got to the office this time, a young woman waited behind the glossy reception desk. She smiled at me. “Deena Brand?” When I nodded, she gestured to the hallway. “Right this way. Your office is ready.”
My brows jumped. Callum and I hadn’t discussed an office. I thoughtI’d be working in the pit in a cubicle with the rest of the team.
“I’m Willa,” she said. “I just started here too. I love your outfit.”
I smiled, glad there was at least someone who appreciated my style. “Thank you.”
“Here we are,” she said, and opened an office door directly beside Callum’s. “Mr. Frost will be right with you, but let me know if you need anything in the meantime.”
“Thanks, Willa.”
She left me to explore the office on my own. I stepped inside, and I swore I could smell his cologne, sense the hint of his presence in the space from earlier. Eyes narrowing, I scanned the generous space and circled the desk to look out the floor-to-ceiling windows.
