28. Chloe
28
CHLOE
B ut the text was not from Henry or Will.
Sean : I didn’t see the weekly operational reports mailed in today.
Date night or not, I won’t have you slacking off, Ms. Nichols.
I walked down the street, my cheeks flaming hot with a mix of shame and humiliation.
I’d been stood up in the most humiliating way, and instead of a shoulder to cry on, I got this.
I found a quiet street corner and sat down under a streetlight, red-hot tears rolling down my face.
This was why I didn’t go out on dates.
This was why meeting Bruce himself had felt like a chance in a million until I saw him for the asshole he was.
Another text popped up.
Sean : If I don’t hear back from you in a minute, I’m calling you.
I didn’t want him to call and hear my voice shake.
Just like I didn’t want to go back home and let Henry know that my date had left me high and dry.
Chloe : I mailed them in earlier today, just before I left at five p.m. Could you check your spam folders, please?
I got a call from him instantly.
I rejected it and looked around for a place to go.
There were no bars or cafés nearby, so unless I wanted to keep walking in my high heels, I needed to come up with a better plan fast.
My phone buzzed with another angry text from Sean, no doubt, and I didn’t give it a look.
I’d done my job, and I didn’t want to be troubled by him—especially since he thought I was having the time of my life and that he needed to ruin it for me.
That job is already done.
You don’t need to do anything here.
I looked up and down the empty street, but I didn’t have anywhere else to go, except for home.
No one else to call and complain to.
Cars sped by on the road in front of me, a blur in the scene of my life.
A black Rolls-Royce Phantom slowed down next to me.
We were on the very edge of New York, a not-very-respectable part of town.
Wondering if someone seedy wanted to approach me, I stood up and turned around, beginning to walk in the direction of my home.
I heard footsteps as someone got out of the car, and I hastily rubbed my eyes and continued walking, not looking back.
Because my sense of humiliation was long gone, now replaced by a sense of fear.
The footsteps behind me did not falter.
If anything, they sped up.
Feeling increasingly worried, I reached for my phone just as I turned around to face my presumable attacker.
“I know tae kwon—” I began, but then my words and mouth froze.
On the pavement, I could see the familiar deep blue Tom Ford jacket I’d seen earlier at work.
Sean stood in front of me, a look of anger on his face.
Damn it. Did he follow me here just for those ridiculous reports?
“I emailed the reports to you, like I said,” I began.
“Do I need to show you how to use your email as well?”
He didn’t respond, just kept walking closer and closer.
The anger on his face was evident.
He stopped when he was right in front of me, mere inches away.
“You need to tell me why you’re out here, crying, when you’re supposed to be on a date.”
I laughed a half-maniacal laugh.
“Oh, so that’s why you followed me? You wanted to ruin that part of my life too? Well, I’ll have you know that I managed to do that all by myself. Get back in your flashy car, Sean, and leave. There’s nothing left for you to ruin anymore.”
I turned away and began walking, but he stretched a hand out and grabbed my wrist, stopping me.
“I didn’t come here to ruin anything, Chloe.”
I was done listening to his lies.
“How did you know I was here anyway?” I asked, trying to wriggle my hand out of his grip.
His grip only became tighter, and he pulled me closer to him.
My body pressed against his, and I was too distraught to care anymore.
I could feel every inch of him where his body met mine.
His hard chest, his broad hips, and even his growing erection.
“I came here to check if that jerk Will was treating you right. And going by how upset you look, I was correct. Where did the bastard go?”
“Will was perfect,” I lied, no idea why I was defending him.
“Then, why did a perfect date leave you crying on the street out at night?”
“I’m not crying.”
“Your eyes are blood red.”
My hand was in his, and my body was still flush against his.
I attempted to come up with something.
Anything that would help me get away from him instead of recounting my embarrassing date.
“I had to cancel my date,” I lied.
“I wasn’t feeling great.”
He leaned in, his lips very close to my cheek.
“The idea of you out with Will makes my skin crawl, Chloe.”
My breath hitched while his lips hovered just inches above mine.
His eyes locked on to my mouth.
“Tell me you hated it too,” he said while my throat worked.
Sean’s driver sat in the car close to us, still in view.
“What if I didn’t hate the idea of it?” I asked brazenly.
After all, Sean had told me to go on this date.
I’d hated the idea of dressing up for anyone except him.
His dark brown eyes focused on me, his hands brushing up against my waist. He found a strip of bare skin above the waistband of my skirt and settled his fingers on it.
The touch sent a jolt through my body, and a small gasp spilled from my lips.
Touch me.
“I think you’re lying,” he said, teasing a finger on the exposed skin on my hip as he stepped in front of me, blocking us from the driver’s view.
My head tipped back.
“Sean,” I breathed out as his fingers explored my skin, trailing upward slowly.
“Do you know why I think you’re lying?” he asked, watching me carefully.
When his hand grazed the hem of my blouse, he froze, his eyes glazing over.
“Because everything points to you being desperate for me, Chloe. Me. Not that jerk, Will.”
I locked my gaze with his, even as my mouth became slack with desire.
“Why don’t you find out?” I asked, sounding very unlike myself.
His eyes darkened with a flash of desire.
“Get in the car, Chloe, before I lose my mind out here.”
I shook my head.
“No,” I breathed out, stepping in closer to him.
“You need to tell me where you were all day today.”
He rubbed little circles against my skin with his finger.
His touch was scorching hot in contrast to the cool air on my bare skin.
“Were you keeping a lookout for me, Chloe?” he asked, his voice rough.
One finger dipped brazenly under my blue blouse and then another.
“Yes,” I breathed out, placing a hand on his chest as cars zoomed past.
His fingers traveled higher up, pulling the blouse up slowly and revealing the bare expanse of my stomach.
He kept his gaze on my face, watching me, perhaps for a sign that he should back off.
He stopped his search when his fingers traced the underwire of my bra.
He moved to draw his fingers down, but I gripped his wrist with my other hand, holding him in place.
“Chloe,” he said, the word sounding rough.
I reached up to glide my hand over the back of his hand, pressing down on it, taking his fingers up over my bra until they fully cupped my breast.
He must have felt my hardened nipple under his fingers because his jaw clenched suddenly.
He could definitely feel that through the sheer lace bra I wore today.
“You know who I thought about when I wore this?” I asked, my voice hoarse when he began to pinch my nipple, teasing it between his fingers.
“Of course, me,” he said in that smug voice.
Ugh. The jerk.
I ran my tongue over my upper lip as he gently circled my sensitive peak.
The moan of relief I gave was confirmation enough.
“We can’t do this,” he said, suddenly withdrawing his hand from under my blouse and leaving me empty.
I balked at him, my blouse suddenly loose as cold air rushed in where his warm fingers had been.
I wanted more. I wanted to grab his hand and put it back on me, having him touch me in one of the most intimate places, but I would not beg.
So, I clenched my thighs and swallowed.
I hate him.
“Will was?—”
Sean leaned in closer, crowding me until I was backing up a few steps on the footpath.
“I don’t want his name crossing your lips,” he growled.
“Or what?” I challenged.
Suddenly, his hand was back on my wrist. “You’re coming with me,” he ordered as he stepped sideways next to me, leading the way to his car.
I glanced at the black Rolls-Royce and yanked my hand out of his.
“Or you could go back home,” he gritted out, turning around to face me.
“No,” I said instantly before I could help myself.
“I don’t want to go back home. My brother will realize what happened … and … I don’t want to tell him?—”
“The truth,” Sean finished for me.
“Just like you’re plainly hiding the truth from me.”