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“And explain how exactly that meeting went well. Was it you flirting with each client? Embarrassing yourself with that little pastry display? Or when you smiled at the piece of shit, chauvinist pig next to you?” Her mouth falls open, rendering her speechless. “Nothing to say?” The sudden spark in her eyes causes my cock to jerk.
“Well?” I taunt, taking a step closer. “You’re not allowed to attend meetings with me anymore,” I snap, not realizing what I’ve said. She looks confused and then shocked. “I don’t lock in clients because my assistant throws herself at them.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Do I look like a man who kids?”
Her hands fist at her sides. “No, you look like a man who—”
“I’m not interrupting, am I?”
My words get jammed in my throat. My body turns rigid, and I step back. I force myself to keep my eyes and attention off Fay. “No, but I wasn’t aware we had a meeting scheduled. Fay, you can go.”
Thankfully, she’s mad enough to nod and walk away before my father takes an interest in her. When she shuts the door, he turns his attention directly to me. “You missed dinner last night.”
“I got caught up with work.”
“Nothing is more important than family.”
“And like I said—”
“Nothing will come betweenorbefore family.” There he is with his constant threats. It makes the back of my neck heat and takes everything in me not to slam him against the wall.
“You’re wasting your time. Why are you here? I have a busy day.”
He adjusts his suit coat. “Charles will be in today. There’s another deal I have him overseeing. I need you to approve a land survey.”
“You approve it. I’m busy—”
“Sign off on it.”
“I won’t sign off on something I haven’t—”
“Sign off on it.” I don’t get another chance to refuse because he’s already walking toward the door. “Oh, and enjoy the opera. I’m sure Alana will look lovely.”
With that, he walks out of my office, shutting the door behind him.
Chapter eight
Theo
“You’requietthisevening.”Alana tries to snake her fingers around my hand, but I pull away. She knows better than to pry. She won’t get the sweet reaction she’s looking for. She never has. “I heard you saw Daddy today. You know he would really love for you to take him up on that golf trip. He says they get to play with celebrities like. . . what’s that one golfer’s—?”
“I’m too busy to be playing golf.” I grab my phone from my tux pocket and open my emails. I left work in a hurry. The aftermath of my father always fucks with me, and I spent the rest of the day avoiding Fay. Or maybe she’s avoiding me. She refused to pay me attention when I left for my two o’clock meeting, and she was on a call—which I’m certain was fake—when I returned. She’s upset. She should be. I acted like a complete asshole. What I can’t admit to is why. I’m playing with fire here, and I hate that I’m willing to take her down just for a sliver of her attention. I kept her at work late the other day because I refused to allow that little twat to get her attention. I didn’t hire her to spend time with someone other than me. I would have kept her there all night if she hadn’t looked so tired. Even I was drained.
I need to get my priorities in check. I didn’t spend all this time shutting down that part of me for some little minx assistant to revive the one organ I’ve ignored for years, just weeks before the merger. I’ve accepted my part. Now I have to act like it.
The door to the town car opens, snapping me from my thoughts. I climb out and lean back in, reaching for Alana’s hand to help her out. Lights flash from all directions as Alana grabs my arm as if she belongs there and smiles, knowing her face will be in tomorrow’s paper. We always are.
“Theo, you should smile more. It makes for a better picture.”
I pull her down the red carpet without much pause, avoiding her love of the spotlight. “I’ll smile when I have something to smile about.” She knows our arrangement, and I’ve never given her reason to expect anything more from me. If she thinks that will change after the merger, she can save me the trouble, do the right thing, and stop this façade.
I spend the rest of the wretched evening with Alana by my side, mingling with clients. Barely paying attention to the performance, my mind flashes with a dark memory.
“Theo, honey, have you tried these little tarts? They’re delicious. My trainer’s going to have to overwork me all next week for eating this. Hello, are you even listening to me?” My skin crawls when her fingers touch my shoulder. My hand shoots up and grabs her wrist. “Ouch, you’re hurting me.”
“Good. I prefer to do much worse. Don’t fucking touch me.” I drop her hand and walk off toward the terrace, needing a moment to calm down. If she knew better, she wouldn’t follow me. But she has the sense of a fucking rock.
