Page 120 of Icebound Hearts

“Get out,” he snaps, and my heart falters because I think he’s talking to me. I shouldn’t have barged in like this, shouldn’t even be here right now.

In a daze, I turn and start to leave.

“I said get out!” Sawyer repeats, his voice more urgent, and I freeze when I realize he wasn’t speaking to me after all.

He’s trying to clear the room so that he can talk with me.

Desiree and her associates scatter in a hurry, and when the room is empty, Sawyer slams the conference doors shut so it’s just us before he pulls me into his arms.

“What’s wrong?”

“Elijah,” I choke out, and his expression twists.

“What did he do?” he asks, his voice low but deadly serious. I don’t know where it comes from, but all the emotion I’ve been holding back since I listened to the voicemail comes flooding out of me.

“He called me, pretending like everything is fine and that he didn’t tank my career. He said he’s in Denver to work on a commercial shoot with an Aces player—yourcommercial shoot—and he wants to meet me for drinks and probably pick up right where he left off in ruining my life. All he wants to do is fuck things up for me and tear me down, and I… I don’t know what to do, Sawyer!”

I drag in a shuddering breath, and Sawyer squeezes me in his arms. He rubs my back, and I try to calm down, but I’m reeling. I thought I’d put thousands of miles between me and that lecherous creep who’s starred in way too many of my nightmares.

But somehow, he’s back.

Chapter 40

Sawyer

My jaw tightens as I listen to Violet explain. The stress and pain on her face makes me feel like a taut wire, ready to snap. I hate that anyone hurt her. Ever. But most of all, that Elijah prick.

I hold her until she finally runs out of gas and dissolves into tears in my arms. I brush them away gently with my thumbs and look her directly in the eyes. “I’ll take care of it,” I tell her as gently as I can manage, despite the fury swirling inside me like a brewing storm.

When I’m sure she’s okay, I let Violet go and step over to the doors. Unsurprisingly, the entire staff I just dismissed is milling around outside the room, so I make eye contact with Desiree, who doesn’t look very happy with me.

“I’d like to speak to the Beaumont representative and the creative team,” I tell her. “The marketing firm that Beaumont hired to handle this commercial has sent a few of their people into town for the shoot, right?”

Desiree furrows her brows at me. “Yes. You want to meet with them… right now?”

“Yes. All of them. We’ll wait. Just make it happen.”

The agency staff members all look very confused at my request, but Desiree doesn’t hesitate. She pulls her phone fromher pocket and starts making calls. After speaking to at least two different people in hushed tones for several minutes, she hangs up and nods at me.

“Robert, the Beaumont representative, is on his way with the marketing team now. Shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.”

“Perfect. Thank you.” I step back to Violet and ease her down into one of the chairs at the table. She’s chewing her nails nervously, and she looks like she might go to pieces all over again, but I’m not going to let that happen. I’m not going to let anything at all happen to her.

It’s time to put this shit to bed.

“Are you okay?” I ask her quietly with my hands on her shoulders, and she nods.

“I’m sorry to ruin your meeting like this. I didn’t know who else to talk to.”

“Don’t apologize, you didn’t ruin anything. You did the right thing,” I tell her and squeeze her shoulders affectionately. “I’m glad you came.”

I mean it too. I don’t know what I would’ve done if she’d kept the fact that Elijah called her from me. Or that he was going to be in her vicinity again. After what she told me about what this slimeball did to her and how he almost destroyed her career, he has no business ever talking to her again, let alone being anywhere near her.

And I’m going to make sure that message gets through loud and clear—to Elijah and the people who hired his firm to work on this project.

“Thank you,” Violet says and leans her head back against me. Desiree and her staff seem uncomfortable, but I don’t give a damn. If this is what my heartbreaker needs to feel safe, I’ll give it to her. I’d give her anything to make her feel okay.

Thankfully, we don’t have to wait long. Just like Desiree said, the Beaumont rep arrives a few minutes later, accompaniedby several people from Affinity Marketing, the firm that’s been hired to handle the creative side of the commercial.