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Finally, just before I headed down to meet Alison for lunch, he crept up behind me as I studied the 3D model of the Verten building.
“Jamie, I need you to print the ground floor’s floor plan. Leave it on my desk before you head out for lunch.” Liam’s voice was cold, no hint of emotion in it. Just a blunt, barked-out order as if nothing ever happened. “Oh, and we have a meeting at the DOB tomorrow at 10 a.m. sharp. Maybe meet me there.”
My gut twisted as I turned and took him in. Damn handsome and alluring as always, and there was no remorse, no heated look, no sympathy or warmth. Stone-cold eyes and an empty expression.
Fuck, he looked like my father!
“Sure thing, Boss,” I replied shortly, my disappointment dripping onto those words even though I tried as hard as I could to hold it back.
I expected at least to see some kind of reaction, even if he quickly buried it as he usually did, but there was nothing but a blank poker face. There was a different edge to him today as if he had stepped back on that high horse he galloped in on when I first met him. The lurking danger behind those pools of green was there, too. Maybe it was his tone or the scowl he wore today like a permanent fixture.
Without another word, Liam turned on his heels and left, and I just stood there watching him march away, my eyes glued to each step he took, feeling the distance grow deep inside me.
We are surrounded by people, there’s no way he would address the issue in front of everyone.
I tried keeping my morale up, finding excuses and giving it until the end of the day before finally making up my mind. Yet, the rest of the day went by and Liam didn’t seem to care at all, so I stayed until everyone else had left, convincing myself Liam couldn’t talk to me with AD bustling with employees.
Inhaling all the courage I needed, I got up from my desk, gathering my stuff and walked towards Liam’s office. He had his head hanging over some paperwork he was dealing with, completely oblivious to my presence.
“It’s past seven, I’ll be heading home. Do you need anything else before I leave?” I tried giving him a last chance.
“No. You can go.” He replied in the same detached voice, his eyes never lifting to set on mine.
“Really? You have nothing to say to me? Nothing at all?”
Liam slowly lifted his head, a veil of what seemed like annoyance taking over his features as he looked at me.
“Nothing at all.”
“Okay, then. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” My voice had taken a turn, too. Liam didn’t reply, keeping busy with those damn papers making me feel stupid for standing there a minute too long, gathering my stupidity before leaving.
What on Earth was I thinking?
He didn’t have feelings for me. I was just an easy fuck that didn’t happen, and that suddenly wasn’t worth the struggle anymore.
What did you even think would happen? Huh? That he would fall madly in love with you? That will never happen! You’re just not good enough, and you never will be. He’s a Dornier, for Christ's sake, and you are a nobody!
I admonished myself all the way home, completely devastated, dropping onto my couch in tears as soon as I was in the safety of my apartment. Somewhere during this last month, I’d given Liam the power to make me feel small, worthless, and unwanted. Something only one other person in my life ever could. My father.
I was long past a crush. Liam had my heart in his hand, and he squeezed it into a pulp without mercy. To make it worse, he knew exactly what he was doing, and still, I hadn’t found any emotion in his eyes as he did it. That night, I cried myself to sleep, curled on the couch, feeling completely deflated.
I didn’t want to feel this way. I’d been fighting against these feelings, brushing them off as a severe case of infatuation with an overly attractive man in a position of power. It was absolutely none of that.
It wasn’t the power that held me captive. It was Liam for all he was. I’d like him just the same if he wasn’t the son of AD’s CEO.
The morning sun dragged my eyes open while the mother of all headaches pounded in my head. My body was aching from sleeping scrunched into a ball on my small couch. At least now the package matched the contents.
I grabbed my phone from the floor where it had fallen, realizing it was dead. Everything seemed to be matching my energy today. I stretched and struggled to get up, heading to the kitchen to check the time. It felt like I still had an hour or two to sleep.
“Fuck, 11:45!” I shouted, scurrying to the bathroom for a quick shower. I should have been at AD at 9. I’m never late. How the hell could I have let this happen? This was a major fuck up, especially since I should have been at the DOB for the meeting at 10.
I stepped under the water, scrubbing myself clean in record time. As soon as I turned off the water, I heard someone slamming on my door. Big, loud, practically continuous thuds.
Wrapping the towel around me, I ran to the door to see what the hell was happening, but before I could get there, it swung open, a very angered Liam barging inside, his phone attached to his ear. He stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw me, his eyes taking me and my small towel in from head to toe.
Liam looked like hell in such a glorious way that I had to clench my thighs to stop the tingling. His normally impeccable tie was loose and skewed, his hair a sexy tousled mess, his eyes dark and dangerous under a furrowed brow that wrinkled his forehead. His suit jacket was gone, along with all his decorum and serenity.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Liam closed the gap between us, practically growling to my face, pinning me between his glower and my inability to move as he stood merely an inch away.
