Page 25 of One Midnight Kiss

There was a moment of charged silence. His mouth twitched at one corner, but his eyes remained cool. I refused to back down. I had encountered men like Fox before, men that presumed their money and influence could bully others into submission. They always assumed everything should go their way simply because they asked for it.

“I’m a client,” he stated again.

“And I don’t budge. Goodbye, Fox.”

Instead of leaving, he tilted his head, studying me like I was an unsolved puzzle. He didn’t look angry or irritated. He looked curious. “Tonight. Dinner.”

I blinked, caught off guard. “What?”

“You and I are having dinner tonight.”

“No, we are not,” I argued. I was the one irritated now. How dare he try and dictate my schedule? Or just assume he could order me to eat dinner.

“If you can’t be bothered to meet with your own client during working hours, then meet me tonight, for dinner.”

“I don’t do dinners,” I said firmly. “I do not mix my business and my personal life.”

“This isn’t that,” he said.

“I’m not doing it.”

“Then what do you do?” He leaned against the edge of my desk, looking far too comfortable for my liking.

I felt a flutter of something dangerous in my chest. Was it excitement? Maybe it was a challenge. I shouldn’t have been enjoying this. I shouldn’t like the way he was trying to get under my skin. But I did.

“One drink,” I said before I could stop myself.

“Fine. Where?”

I rattled off the name of a wine bar downtown, one I knew would be packed and noisy enough to drown out any tension between us. “Eight o’clock,” I added, meeting his eyes.

He nodded once, then pushed off my desk and headed for the door without another word. When he opened it, Penelope was right there, looking frazzled. Fox looked at her and then walked away. He left as quickly as he came in.

Kind of like a tornado.

“I’m sorry, Natalia,” Penelope stammered, glaring daggers at Fox’s retreating figure. “He just barged in.”

“It’s fine, Penelope,” I said, waving her off. “It wasn’t your fault. Men like Fox always try to get their way. He wouldn’t have stopped if you threw your body in front of him. He’s like a steam roller. That’s the kind of man that takes what he wants.”

Penelope leaned against the doorway, watching as he disappeared down the hall. “He’s pretty cute, though,” she mused.

I gave her a look. “One, he’s too old for you. And two, stay away from rich men. It’s never good news, no matter how charming they seem. No matter how in love they make you believe they are. They’re all the same. They’re all snakes in the grass. They slither around, injecting their venom into unsuspecting victims before slinking away, leaving the victims to suffer the consequences alone.”

Penelope blinked, her lightheartedness sobering at my words. “You speak from experience,” she noted, not really asking.

I shrugged noncommittally in response, not wanting to reopen old wounds. I couldn’t hide my bitterness. I did a pretty good job hiding it most of the time, but it was still burning just below the surface.

“Just trust me,” I said.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

I bit back the rest of what I was going to say. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I am sorry. I’ll do better next time. I’ll throw a stapler at him.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said with a smile. “Go ahead and take your lunch break.”

She nodded, giving me a small smile before she headed back to her desk. I let out a breath and turned back to my salad, but the good mood I had earlier was gone, replaced by the familiar ache of memories I’d tried hard to bury.