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I put my phone away and straighten. The man next to me tenses. "You’re not going in there, are you?"
"I don’t see an alternative. This pitch is important to me and my team. I need to be able to add input to it."
I knock on the door to the conference room, then twist open the handle, and step in.
"—I’d love to grant the account to Kane Enterprises." Sylvie straightens JJ’s tie. "It doesn’t come down only to the ideas presented, which weren’t bad, by the way, but—"
"Not bad? Those were bloody good ideas," I exclaim.
Both of them turn to face me. JJ has an expression of boredom on his features. Sylvie looks pissed. Good. She still hasn’t let go of JJ’s tie.Bitch.
"And it wasn’t just me working on it. It was the entire team. And JJ, too."
She turns to face him. "You worked on the presentation yourself?"
He arches an eyebrow.
"Really?" She blinks rapidly. "Since when does JJ Kane, head of the Kane Company, work on presentations hands-on?"
"Since now?" He brushes off her hand and rises to his feet.Finally—fuck!"I understand why you’d want the personal touch, Sylvie, but we do also need to keep the team in the loop." He jerks his chin in my direction.
"But we haven’t concluded our discussion," the woman whines. I don’t know her well, but I’ll bet she’s a hard-ass career woman. And given how she treated her team, I’ll bet she eats men’s balls for breakfast. And she’s actually pouting? Is this the effect JJ has on the female population? Do all of them forget every single feminist lesson they’ve learned and get their panties wet around him? Do all of them find him that attractive? Do all of them stare at him with greed in their eyes like they want to lick him up all over?Is that how I’m staring at him right now?
"I believe the presentation is complete and now you do need to make a decision... over” —he looks at his expensive-as-fuck watch— “considering it’s already eleven a.m., an early lunch."
"Lunch?" she breathes.
"Lunch?" I yelp.
"Lunch." He smiles at her. Asshole gives her his trademark smirk, and her bosom wrapped in that tight shirt heaves.
"Lunch, right." I draw in a breath. "Let me grab my purse, and I’ll be right back."Give me patience. Give me patience. Won’t kill me to go to lunch with them.It’s work, a job, the job that’ll make me independent enough to get away from him and be able to rent my own place.And you’ll miss him when you do that.Eh? Of course not! Why should I miss his alphaholish ways, his domineering tendencies, his larger-than-life persona, his gorgeous profile, his beautiful throat, his reassuring presence, his—
"Oh, you’re not coming to lunch with us," JJ states flatly.
I whip my head in his direction. "Excuse me? What did you say?"
"This lunch is for me and Sylvie to catch up and seal the deal. You know how it is."
"No, I don’t know how it is." I pull myself up to my full height. "I worked on this account. You know how much effort I put in—"
"And you did well."
"—I should be there for the final negotiations."
"These are delicate discussions, things that Sylvie and I need to discuss as the heads of our companies."
"Things that an employee such as yourself doesn’t need to worry your pretty little head about." The woman sniffs. "Run along now, and make sure our cars and drivers are ready for us, will you?"
I curl my fingers into fists at my sides. "How dare you?" I narrow my gaze on JJ. "How dare you treat me like this, you son of a bitch?"
Sylvie gasps. JJ’s features harden. Yeah, so maybe that was a little out of line. Big fucking deal. He deserved it, right? And I bet no one’s every spoken to Mr. Stick-Up-His-Ass-Billionaire—who’s giving me serious whiplash with how he’s behaving—like this. One minute, he’s helping me with the presentation, the next, he’s acting like a douchebag of the first order.What the hell is wrong with him? What the hell is wrong with me that I’m still standing here when both of them insulted me in the worst possible way?
"I recommend you return to your office, Lena," JJ says, using that condescending voice I hate. The voice that makes me feel like I’m twelve. The Dad voice he likes to use to make a point about the age gap between us… When it suits him.Dick.
"I recommend the two of you call up your own chauffeurs. I’m no one’s personal assistant."
I spin around and am about to leave when— "Oh, and Lena?" His voice rumbles behind me. "Use the time to get started on your next brief, will you?"
