Page 118 of Twisted Knight

“Hmm. There are possibilities there,” I murmur, each word like acid on my tongue.

“We should brainstorm it all out—”

“What’s going on here?” Chad walks in without asking. Of course the fucking prick does.

It’s going to take everything I fucking have to rein in my anger. To control my disgust. To not show my fucking cards when all I want to do is grab their throats and pin them to the fucking wall with my hands until they know what it feels like to be gasping for their last breath of air.

You’ve practiced for this moment, Holden.

Keep your shit together. You can rage later.

I meet Chad’s inquisitive eyes and then look over at Rhett.

Breathe.

Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

Smile.

Pretend.

“What’s going on here? Is that what you asked? Saw me in here and had to run in to play the protector?” I ask.

Chad’s eyes narrow. “Why would I have to play protector?”

“Because I was just telling Rhett that I’ve hired back the people he erroneously fired today. And that the signing bonuses I’ve offered them and increase in salaries we’ll be giving them to compensate for their distress—and so they don’t sue our asses for wrongful termination—will be coming out of your two salaries.”

“What?” Rhett barks out as I rise from my seat.

“Only seems fair to me.” I shrug and have so much joy in pissing them off.

“You can’t do that,” Chad says. “That’s absolute bullshit.”

I whip around and show them a fucking tenth of the rage I have inside of me. “Fucking watch me.”

THIRTY-SIX

Holden

I stew over the conversation for the next few hours. Over Rhett’s arrogance. Over the fact that every time I think of Rowan’s employees, I see my mom struggling to make ends meet and remember the cruelty some of her employers showed her. Over his plan to fuck over the invisible members of society—the kind of person I used to be—just so he can turn a quicker buck.

The fucking prick.

But as employees shout out their good nights one by one, as the elevator dings time and again, my mind steers back to Rowan.

To her text earlier.

To how goddamn sexy she was as she stood there and negotiated with me in that tight fucking sweater.

To the handshake we shared that’s going to complicate matters more than I’d like but now might take so much more pleasure in—because fuck Rhett.

To the goddamn things I’ve been craving to do to that body of hers.

My phone vibrates and when I see Rowan’s name I groan. She better not be blowing me off. Unless of course the blowing me off has to do with her being on her knees with her lips wrapped around my cock.

“Rowan.”

“The office is empty. The lock on the elevator doors has been activated with the master key. The cameras have been turned off.”