Chapter 4 #2
His jaw ticked as he looked down at me, his blue eyes burning into mine. I’d seen him mad before. When deals fell through. When a rival agency once stole away our client. But even then he didn’t look as completely riled up as he looked now.
And it wasn’t even about work.
It was about me.
There was still fresh chaos swirling in the air, yet this one fact managed to stun me—as did the fact that I was touching my boss’s warm, hard chest. That underneath my fingers, I could feel his heart slamming.
Holy fuck, holy fuck.
What is happening?
My stunned stare stayed fixed on Adam even as his fell with a fluttering reluctance.
Down the front of my robe.
Shit. Only then did I realize how much it had fallen open in my struggle to keep him in the room.
So he wouldn’t fight my fiancé—no.
My ex-fiancé.
“God, what is happening,” I exhaled, dropping my hands from Adam’s chest and hastily tying my robe shut.
But before I could fully get myself together, I jumped at the sensation of a buzzing at my feet. What the—? I looked down.
My phone. I didn’t even realize when I had dropped it. All I knew was that Caspar’s name and face were glowing on the screen, forcing my mind back to everything that just happened downstairs in his room.
And though I picked up the phone, I didn’t pick up his call. All I did was stand there, feeling my fury flood back as his stupid texts flooded in. One after another then another and another till out of pure irritation, I swiped to look at them.
CASPAR: Pick up the phone.
CASPAR: Let me explain.
CASPAR: AJ we’re adults let’s talk about this
CASPAR: For Christ’s sake don’t be this immature you couldn’t have gone far wearing that.
The last text sent me over, so without thinking, I fired back.
ME: You’re right I didn’t go far. I went to Adam’s room.
The text had barely delivered before he was calling again, and this time, I picked up. But I could barely open my mouth before Caspar hissed at me like the snake he was.
“What, are you going to fuck him, AJ?” he demanded, so livid I could practically hear his spittle hitting the phone.
“And what if I did?” I asked, feeling a twisted sense of satisfaction when I heard the two seconds of Caspar’s sputtering gibberish before he finally made real words.
“AJ... just get the hell back here, alright? I didn’t have sex with Vicky and I swear to God, if you do anything with Adam, it’s over between us!”
“Oh, I promise you, Caspar,” I almost laughed. “It’s already over. But if fucking Adam means you’ll never speak to me again then I’ll go ahead and start getting naked for him now.”
“Goddammit, AJ! Just tell me where the fuck you—”
I hung up.
And as soon as it was silent again, I came back to earth, processing everything I just said… along with the fact that I’d just threatened to fuck my boss in front of my boss.
Oh God.
Eyes wide, I looked back up at Adam.
He was still standing right in front of me, a solemn statue watching me closely.
“Sorry,” I said, my voice coming out breathy. “I was just trying to piss him off.”
“Do whatever you have to do,” he murmured. Silence stretched between us for another second before he said, “You know I have your back.”
I nodded, his words somehow assuring me and firing me up at the same time. I was so pissed at Caspar that I imagined something crazy. Something so screwed up I had to blink hard to get the filthy image out of my mind.
God. Okay.
Dial it back, I thought, sucking in a deep breath. You’re just crazy-brained because you’re angry and vengeful. So just breathe. Calm down, I told myself, though I couldn’t seem to do it, and my struggle was evident because Adam murmured, “Tell me what you need right now, AJ.”
“I…”
I need a drink.
I really did. But after taking a few seconds to really breathe, I realized what I needed first and foremost, which was my own fucking room.
One without Caspar in it. And I couldn’t get that without my wallet or ID, which meant I needed my purse—which I’d stuffed in the suitcase I’d left at Caspar’s.
“Fuck, I need to get my luggage from his room,” I breathed out, raking my hands through my hair.
“Hey. Easy.” Adam stepped closer, his voice a low, deep rumble. Like a blanket, it draped a calm over my body that didn’t waver even as he touched me, gently pulling my arms down to my sides.
“Tell me the room number and I’ll go get it,” he said.
“I’ll go with you,” I offered. Adam’s jaw ticked.
“You’re barely dressed, AJ,” he said. Hearing him acknowledge the fact in words brought heat to my cheeks, so I only nodded as he said, “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Despite agreeing, I stared blankly for a little longer, so dazed again by everything that Adam brought me over to the bed, sitting me down before going to the mini bar and mixing me a whiskey ginger—what I always drank when I needed to pound a lot of something hard.
I watched as he then grabbed the remote, one-handing the buttons on his shirt as he turned on the TV. His eyebrows pulled together as he quickly scrolled the channels till he found one of my guiltiest pleasures: Catfish.
“There. Now sit here, breathe, and wait for me. Okay?” Adam said, taking my hand and wrapping it around the glass of booze. I nodded.
“Just… don’t hurt him, okay?” I asked with a wince.
“Trust me, I fucking hate him and want nothing more than for him to get his ass beat into the ground, but he is absolutely the type to try and sue the shit out of you,” I said, opening the floodgates of my disgust for my ex.
“So promise me, Adam… you can say whatever you want to him. Just don’t hit him. ”
Sitting at the edge of the bed, I looked up at Adam pleadingly. His jaw noticeably ticked with irritation, but he nodded.
“Fair enough,” he said.
Then with his eyes still on me, he finished buttoning his shirt. But just as I felt a knot form in my throat, he turned around.
And off he went.