AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That’s one of things I miss most about having Stevie around. Whenever I needed to talk, she was always there. Even before this whole thing really started. She was my best friend and now it feels like I have no one.
A hand grazes my thigh, and in an instant, I sober up.
What the fuck?
I snap my eyes open and glare at the server with gritted teeth. I was wrapped up in my thoughts that I forgot she was here. What part of me blatantly fucking ignoring her made her think that shit was welcomed?Fuck this. She needs to leave. Now.
I grab her by the elbow and jerk her up off the couch, readying myself to give her the verbal lashing of a lifetime, but the second I catch a glimpse of the crowd surrounding us, I shake my head and have no fucking choice but to bite my tongue.
Fuck! Atlas you stupid asshole. Look what you did.
Nearly every single person in this building is watching our interaction play out. They all suspect that our queen walked away from her throne and by stupidly letting this woman get close to me, I’ve all but confirmed it.
Now the only way I can remedy this situation is to prove to them that losing Stevie hasn’t changed us. That we’re still the same vicious bastards any of them would be suicidal to cross with or without her at our side.
She isn’t Stevie. Not by a long shot. But with everyone waiting for my reaction to her advances, that no longer fucking matters.
* * *
If I thought for one second she'd have a problem with me using her, I’d be wrong. The minute I shot up from my seat and pulled her towards the back of the club, her eyes lit up and she gave me zero resistance. I hadn't even said another word to her, but she followed along giddily, smiling from ear to ear as I drunkenly yanked her through the crowd and up the stairs to my office.
She’s malleable, so fucking malleable, and the old me, the one who existed before Stevie, would’ve enjoyed molding her to my whim.
Once we make it into my office, I take a seat behind my desk and the dizziness is nauseating. The world is fucking tilting, but I’m a glutton for fucking punishment, so I pour myself another drink, and let the space fill with uncomfortable silence.
“So…” She starts, glaring at me hungrily as she slowly catwalks towards my desk. “What should we do now?”
I flick my eyes up to her face and it's the first time I've been able to see her under normal light. She's attractive, in a conventional way, and most men would have no qualms about taking what she’s so generously offering. But then again, most men haven’t been ruined for anyone else, like I have.
“For the next 30 minutes? Nothing. Then you’re free to go back downstairs.”
She lets out a nervous laugh as her eyes dart around the room. “You’re not serious.”
“I am.” I say flatly, slipping my phone out of my pocket and pulling up my emails. I can barely make out any of the words on the screen, but I need to get my point across. I’m not fucking touching her.
“It’s a generous offer.” I add, not even bothering to look up from my phone. “But I’m not interested.”
She staggers back a little, as if my words have physically harmed her. “Why did you bring me up here?” She snaps, raising her voice in an attempt to cause a scene. The office is soundproof, so all she’s doing is wasting energy.
I waste no time placating her and cut right to the chase. “Probably for the same reason that you wanted to be brought up here. For image. For ego. To show everyone else you could. You don’t actually want to fuck me. You just want everyone to think that you did. The choice is yours. Stay and get what you really wanted or leave with nothing.”
“I’ll tell them you pussied out.” She threatens, sticking her shaking chin out at me as her brows furrow in frustration. “That this was all a trick.”
I tsk, shaking my head slowly as I slip a cigar from my pocket and methodically cut and light it. “You won’t do anything.” I deadpan, casting her a deathly glare. “Aside from the fact that disobeying me would be suicidal, you’ve signed an NDA. If so much as a whisper gets out about what really went on in here, I’ll have my legal team so far up your ass you’ll be vomiting men in blue suits. Not to mention I'll make sure that no one in the city ever hires you again. But if you're willing to throw your life away for a little ego trip, be my fucking guest.”
“You know what?” She hisses, plopping herself into one of my leather seats. “You’re a fucking asshole, Mr. Cole.”
I smirk and let my eyes linger on the crowd pulsing below the glass floor. “So I've been told.”
