Chapter 33
CHAPTER 33
R ayna opened the door of Stark Entertainment and stepped inside. The reception desk was empty, and she stood awkwardly next to it as a burst of laughter came from somewhere inside the bullpen.
Rayna, just go! You’re so pathetic right now. You know that, right?
Her insides squirmed as her gaze landed on Stark’s open office door. She wasn’t here in the hopes of catching a glimpse of him. The fact that she hadn’t seen Stark once in the last six days didn’t bother her in the least. It was what she wanted.
She definitely hadn’t spent the last six days obsessing over their last conversation or the hurt on his face or how, despite her new compulsive habit of checking out her windows every hour to see if she could catch a glimpse of him coming or going, even a single sighting of him had eluded her.
As the minutes passed with no sign of Aditi, she looked for a bell or something to ring. More laughter drifted down from upstairs, and she chewed indecisively at her lip as her gaze turned to Stark’s office again.
Leave before you embarrass yourself.
Shit. What was she doing? Her inner voice was right. She was being ridiculous. She turned to leave, grimacing when a voice said, “Rayna?”
She turned back, smiling at Hollis. “Hi, Hollis. How are you?”
“Fine, thank you.” Hollis glanced at the empty reception desk.
“Um, I’m not sure where Aditi is,” Rayna said.
“She had to leave early for a doctor’s appointment,” Hollis said. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“Um, yeah, uh, I just wanted to check in to see if it was all right if I used the gym right now,” Rayna said.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Hollis asked.
“Well, I normally come by later at night when there aren’t any employees using it, but it’s, um, only four thirty, so I imagine employees will be using it now, and I didn’t know if that would be a problem.”
She sounded incredibly lame, even to herself, and she forced a smile at Hollis as her cheeks flushed.
“It isn’t a problem,” Hollis said. “You’re welcome to use the gym at whatever time you’d like.”
“Right, okay. Well, thank you for confirming that,” Rayna said.
“Sure,” Hollis said.
Her gaze slipping to Stark’s office door again, Rayna said, “So, I’m gonna go and… work out now.”
“Enjoy,” Hollis said, one perfect eyebrow raising slightly.
“Thanks.” Feeling absolutely ridiculous, Rayna turned to leave as the front door opened, and a blast of cold air washed over her. Her cheeks went hot and then ice cold as she stared at the two people standing behind her.
Her hand tucked securely around Stark’s arm, Phoebe Edward’s smile turned condescending. “Hello, Rayna. This is a surprise.”
As pointless and inappropriate betrayal pumped through her body, Rayna stared at Stark. His look of indifference morphed into concern, and his brow creased. Before he could speak, Rayna said to Phoebe, “What are you doing here?”
Phoebe’s patronizing smile turned sickly sweet. “Isaac and I had coffee, and now he’s giving me an office tour. I think the better question is, what are you doing here? Is there a toilet backed up somewhere?”
Hot jealousy poured over Rayna, and that feeling of betrayal intensified until she thought her head might pop right off. Phoebe’s use of Stark’s first name kept clanging in Rayna’s head. Were they fucking? Is that why she was so comfortable with calling him Isaac? Had he spent the last week in Phoebe’s bed instead of Rayna’s?
Anger swallowed the jealousy and betrayal. Anger over her pointless emotional response and that Stark could so easily go from fucking her to fucking Phoebe - a shallow, spiteful woman who had spent the last decade taking every opportunity to belittle and mock Rayna.
Her stomach a tight knot, Rayna gave Phoebe a brittle smile. “Always nice to see you, Phoebe.”
She pushed past them and out into the cold air, walking briskly toward her vehicle. She grabbed her gym bag from the front seat, slammed the door shut so hard that rust from the door drifted to the snow, and stalked toward the gym. She would work off her rage in the gym and not think once about Isaac fucking Stark.
* * *
Hollis knocked on Stark’s open door. “Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Stark, but your five o’clock call is on the line.”
“Thank you, Hollis.” Stark stood and walked around his desk, staring pointedly at Phoebe, who stood reluctantly. “Have a good evening, Ms. Edwards.”
She slipped her hand around his arm again, giving it a warm squeeze. “Isaac, I’ve asked you to call me Phoebe. Why don’t we have dinner tonight? I’m happy to stick around until your call is over. Have you tried the carbonara at the Whiskey Grill? It’s the best you’ll ever taste, I promise.”
“Thank you, but I have plans for this evening,” Stark said.
“This weekend, then,” Phoebe said. “I’m free Saturday night.”
“No, thank you,” Stark said.
Her lips thinned, and her smile turned stiff. “Right then. Good night, Isaac.”
“Good night, Ms. Edwards.”
She followed Hollis out of his office, and he returned to his chair, sinking into the soft leather before rubbing his forehead and closing his eyes. When he sensed Hollis’s presence a few minutes later, he said, “I’m giving you a goddamn raise, Hollis.”
He opened his eyes just in time to see a rare smile cross Hollis’s face.
“All these years of working together, and I didn’t realize mind reading was one of your talents,” he said. “Or could you just feel my ‘get her out of my office’ vibes through your office wall?”
Another smile flitted across her face. “Something like that. Faking a five pm phone appointment is barely worthy of a raise, but I’ll notify the payroll department of my increase in pay.”
He laughed despite the tension headache that lurked at the base of his skull. “You’re worth every penny.”
“I know,” she said before glancing at her watch. “Are you heading out for the day?”
“I am. Have a good night, Hollis.”
“You as well, Mr. Stark.”
She returned to her office, and Stark stared at his laptop for a few seconds before closing it abruptly. Throughout the entire torturous half hour that Phoebe had been in his office, his mind kept returning to the look on Rayna’s face when he’d walked in with Phoebe.
His stomach clenched, and he stared moodily out the window. What did he care if Rayna was upset? He wasn’t dating Phoebe and had no intention of dating her, but he didn’t have to share that with Rayna. She’d made it clear last week that he was nothing more than a dick for her to use.
Is that why you’ve spent the last week avoiding her like she’s a rabid mongoose?
He stood, grabbed his jacket and gym bag, and then headed outside to the parking lot. He wasn’t avoiding her. It had been a busy week at work, and maybe he’d spent every evening alone at home, but that wasn’t anything new for him. It was what introverts did.
They sat alone in their bedroom, working or playing video games with nothing but a cat and her three kittens for company. Just because he’d had a surprisingly good time with Rayna, Gideon, and Grace didn’t mean anything. He liked his privacy and his space, and that weird aching loneliness he felt more and more often was just a bizarre blip.
He unlocked his car, pausing with his hand on the door handle, when he saw Rayna’s SUV in the parking lot. He locked his car and walked toward the gym. He’d worked out that morning and absolutely didn’t need another workout tonight, but that didn’t stop him from opening the door and stepping inside.
“Hey, boss!” Rupert was running on a treadmill, and he gave Stark a brief wave.
Stark nodded to him before staring at Rayna, who was using the rowing machine. She stared resolutely at the wall, even though he was in her line of sight. Ear buds in her ears, her cheeks red, and her forehead gleaming with perspiration, she kept a steady rhythm on the machine. He headed toward the men’s locker room and changed into his workout clothes.
He returned to the central area of the gym and was immediately smacked in the face with a healthy dose of jealousy. His movements jerky, he stalked to the closest treadmill and started a brisk warm-up walk.
Rayna and Rupert were both standing by the free weights on the other side of the gym. Stark was too far away to hear what Rupert was saying, but he couldn’t miss the appreciative looks Rupert kept giving Rayna’s body.
Stark gave Rayna a stiff nod when she glanced at him. With an inscrutable look on her face, she turned back to Rupert. Stark’s jealousy skyrocketed when Rayna smiled warmly at Rupert before laughing at something he said. When she touched him, just a brief brush of her hand against his chest, Stark’s hot jealousy turned into a fiery inferno.
His stomach was a flaming ball of lead, and he told himself to go the fuck home instead of torturing himself watching Rayna flirt with Rupert. Instead, he upped the speed and the incline on the treadmill and stared grimly ahead.