Page 140 of Bound Lies

Best regards,

Dominic

Department of Business Studies

Columbia University

“Oh, my god!”

The elevator opens, and Kieran steps out.

“What is it?” He drops his jacket on the floor and rushes over to the couch. “Riley, what’s wrong?”

I jump to my feet and practically shove my laptop into his face. “My professor wants me to apply for this internship with Ross Lever!”

I bounce up and down on my toes.

“As in Lever Industries?” Kieran frowns. He takes my laptop and quickly scans the email. “Holy shit, this is huge.”

“I know!”

“You’re going to accept it, right?”

“I think so. I mean, it's only one day a week, but…it would still be a lot of work. I don’t know if I can juggle it with everything else.”

Kieran sets the laptop down on the couch before wrapping his arms around me.

“If anyone can do it, you can.” He kisses my temple. “And it sounds like this could really set you up for after graduation.”

I sink my fingers into his shirt and inhale the scent of his musky cologne. “It’s scary. I’m so close to finishing my course, and I want to get out there and work, but…”

“But you don’t know what to expect yet.”

“Exactly.”

Kieran pulls back but keeps his hands firmly on my shoulders to ground me as his dark eyes search mine.

“Then take this opportunity. Think of it as a trial run to see how you’ll handle the real thing.”

“You really think I can do this?”

“I know you can. And if it doesn't work out, you could always take over Ronan’s job as head of the Sullivan empire.”

I laugh, shaking my head as Kieran’s eyes crinkle with amusement. “You’re impossible.”

“And you’re amazing.” He bends down to kiss me.

Chapter Thirty-Two

KIERAN

I’m used to torturing people, not suffering through torture. But it seems Riley Walsh is my personal brand of torture. Untangling myself from her arms when the sun hasn’t even risen is hell, and it’s safe to say I’m starting to crack.

The last few mornings, I’ve forgone my morning workout to stay in bed with my arms wrapped around her warm body, watching as the sun slowly starts to stream in through the curtains. But my work never sleeps, and now that Ronan has stepped back, I need to step up. So, I force myself to pull on a pair of workout shorts and hit the gym.

It feels good to get the blood pumping and work up a sweat, despite having done just that every night since Riley and I made up.

But I refuse to go soft just because I’ve got a girl in my life. My brothers wouldn’t let me live it down. So, to prove a point to myself, I pick up a heavier set of dumbbells for each of my exercises and push myself even harder than usual.