Page 73 of By His Vow
“And I declined the offer. You should have left.”
“Maybe I wanted to see if my new acquisition is working to my advantage.”
“You know exactly how well Warner Group is doing. You don’t need to sit in one of my meetings to confirm that,” she grumbles.
“Well, maybe I have more interest in this department, this manager,” I emphasize, “than anywhere else in the company.”
She sighs as if she’s already exhausted by this conversation. By me.
Scanning her office, I notice how much tidier and more organized it is than her apartment. My gaze is almost back to her when I spot the empty tray her sushi would have been delivered on earlier.
“I see you enjoyed your lunch,” I muse, unable to hide my smirk.
“My team did,” she says, raising her chin in defiance.
“Sure,” I concede. She’s lying. We both know it. But I’ll let it slide—for now.
“What did you really want, Kingston?” she snaps once she’s standing behind her desk as if she’s ready to run out of the door and never look back.
“Like I said, I came to take you for dinner.”
“And I said I’m not interested. I’m busy.”
“You’re lying,” I accuse, pushing to my feet and stalking around the table toward her.
Her expression hardens and her lips press into a thin line as irritation floods through her veins.
“We have an image to portray now, Tate.” Her eyes remain locked on mine as I close the space between us. The second I come within touching distance, I reach out and tuck a stray lock of dark hair behind her ear.
She’s tied it up. When she first walked into her office this morning, it was loose and around her shoulders.
It’s pretty down, but when she has it pulled back, it accentuates her features, makes her eyes look bigger and even more mesmerizing. Her lips…
My eyes drop and her breath catches as my fingertips brush the shell of her ear.
Her tongue sneaks out, wetting her bottom lip and telling me everything she refuses to with words.
“Let’s show the world how good we could be together, baby. It’s part of the deal, after all.”
Her eyes search mine, anger and hunger dueling within them.
She wants to say no. To forget everything she agreed to and live her life how she sees fit. But she can’t. She has too much riding on this working out.
My hand brushes down her bare arm, causing goosebumps to erupt, and the second my fingers meet hers, I grasp them and tug her closer, dropping my mouth to her ear.
“Be a good girl, Tatum. Come to dinner with me. I’ll make it worth your while.”
19
TATUM
Ilie in bed and stare up at the ceiling as images from our meal last night play out in my mind.
I held firm on not going until we walked out of the building to find Lewis waiting for us. By the time Kingston pressed his hand against my lower back, directing me toward the open door, I knew it was over.
We had eyes on us. All I could do was smile and greet Lewis as I climbed in the back.
I can tell myself all I want that I thought my argument about being busy might eventually fly, but I knew the truth then, and I still know it now. It was never going to work.