Erik raises a brow. “She’s upset, Warren. Are you blind?”
Leoni pulls back fast, wiping at her face with her sleeve, mortified. Seeing her cry does something to me, something sharp and direct and choking. I claw at my tie, loosening the knot away from my neck.
And then I cover it the only way I know how. “Well, she needs to get back to her desk,” I bite out. “She’s already behind after all the time she’s had off.”
The words are out before I can stop them. And the second they land, I regret them. Because her face crumples. Not dramatically, just a flicker. But it’s enough to feel her pain, which ricochets from her and hits me right back in the chest.
Erik lets out a low whistle, and I can see his delight at my fuck up, I’m playing right into his hands. “Christ. Cold-hearted even for you.”
“Stay out of this,” I growl.
“Maybe try not talking to her like she’s an inconvenience,” Erik fires back. He turns to her, voice soft,toosoft. “Ignore him, Leoni. He doesn’t know how to talk to people who have feelings.”
She sniffles, but she’s already pulling herself back together. Her shoulders straightening, her chin lifting.
Erik sees it and goes in for the kill.
“My office is open any time you need a break,” he says, still watching me. “And actually, there’s dinner Friday. It’s a family thing. You should come as my plus one. Nancy will be there too. They’re discussing theunion.” My stomach drops. He grins wider. “Maybe we’ll even settle a date for the wedding, hm?” he says to me, his voice dripping with mock-sympathy.
He thinks he’s clever. He’s loving this.
Leoni’s expression shifts to hurt, then something harder. She wipes her cheeks properly. No trembling hands this time, as she plucks a tissue from the box behind him.
“Thank you, Erik,” she says quietly. “Really. But my world does not fit in yours.”
She turns toward the door. Her shoulder brushes mine as she passes, a little nudge like she wants to shove me into the wall, and she doesn’t look at me. She just walks out.
Erik leans back against his desk, arms crossed, satisfied. “You’re losing your touch,” he murmurs.
“I’m not playing this game with you,” I warn.
He grins now, looking relaxed as he arches a brow. I’ve set him a challenge, even without meaning to. “When father suggested I take over the burden that is Leoni, I was a little disappointed. She’s not really my type, a little plain, too feisty. And she could do with a boost in the chest area,” he pauses, like he’s thinking, “But you’ve made it interesting. And when I bend her over my desk and fuck her until she’s screaming my name, I’ll be sure to send you the video, so you know without a doubt that you have, in fact, played the game, but I have won.”
I don’t answer. Because I can still feel her slipping away. And I don’t know how to stop it. I leave to the sound of him laughing.
I find her already at her desk. She’s not crying anymore. She’s furious.The diary hits the desk harder than it needs to as she slams it down and rips it open. Her pen snaps open like she’s drawing a blade.She flips files, moves things, sorts things, all with sharp, clipped movements.
All the while, ignoring me standing there watching her.
I clear my throat. “Leoni—”
She doesn’t look up. “I have work to do.”
Her voice is steady. Completely flat.
I move closer. “I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.” She keeps writing. “Leoni.”
Nothing.
My jaw clenches.
“I was—”Jealous.The word burns my tongue. “Frustrated. I didn’t mean—”
She slams the pen down. “There is nothing to explain.” Her voice trembles, but not with tears, with restraint. “You made it perfectly clear how you feel.”
“That’s not—”
“I’m your employee.” She gestures to the office around her. “A liability. An inconvenience. Someone who should be grateful just to breathe in your direction, right?”
