Page 36 of Diamond In The Rough

“I’m not gonna tell you what happened to me. You don’t need to know.”

“Great!” I shove away from the door. “Then I think that concludes our evening. You’ve set down a boundary, I’ve set down a boundary. And as normal, functional, respectable adults, we both agree to honor those boundaries.”

I have no choice but to pass him on my way to my desk, what with his stupid chair parked in the center of the walkway. “I have dinner to get to. And it would seem you want nothing more from this interaction than a plant and a license to irritate me.”

He reaches out, his hand moving faster than I thought to give him credit for, and wraps his fingers around my wrist. Yanking me to a stop, he holds me by his side, his gaze burning into mine as my breath catches.

“I’ll take the chest,” he murmurs. “Because you think it’s romantic and worth the money. I’ll take the ivy, because it deserves better than this dump. And I’ll take you…”

My eyes widen in horror.

“To dinner. You’re hungry. I’m hungry. Your meal was ruined last night. So I’ll make it right.”

“No thank you.” I snatch my arm from his hold and press my hands to my chest to keep them out of his range. “I have other commitments tonight.”

“But if you didn’t? You’d come with me?”

“No. But the fact I do actually have other plans makes me feel like less of a jerk for telling you no. It stuns me to admit that, despite your woeful behavior last night, it’s important to me that I maintain good manners. Must be my better breeding.”

I move toward my desk and snag my phone. Spying Roscoe’s name not only in my texts, but in the missed calls log too, I swipe my screen unlocked and tap on his contact.

I hold the device to my ear, but my attention is focused solely on the son of a mafia don currently inside my workplace. “Please leave, Micah. I no longer wish to entertain this discussion.”

“Tiia?” My call connects, and Roscoe’s voice registers somewhere at the back of my consciousness. “Hello?”

“I’ll leave.” Micah slowly stands, his breath coming out on a groan that shoots odd spears to the base of my stomach. “But I’ll be back tomorrow for my chest.”

“Tiia!” Roscoe snaps. “Ipo? You there?”

“Make sure you get home safe.” Micah pushes the chair back to where it originally sat, and slowly starts toward the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I’ll take the day off.”

He chuckles, strolling along the sparkling tile flooring. But where I expect him to open the door and step out, he detours to the pothos. Picking it up, pot and all, he hugs it to his chest. “Then I’ll come to your home to complete our transaction. Be here, Ms. Hale.” Finally, he grabs the handle and drags the glass door open. “Or I’ll come find you.”

“Tiia!” Roscoe shouts. “Hey!?”

“Goodnight.” Micah crosses the threshold and moves onto the sidewalk outside.

The sun is still up, since summer is well and truly beating down over us. In fact, right now might be the hottest part of the damn day. But the man in a fine suit seems to be immune to the heat, even as I smolder where I stand.

“Ipo! I’m coming to you.”

“Calm down.” I fist the phone in my hand and lean to the left to watch as the shop door slowly swings closed, jingling the bell above, and a sleek black sedan pulls up to the curb outside.

Drawing a deep breath, I collapse until my backside hits my desk and my thighs bruise from the edges digging in. Then I exhale and look up at the ceiling, blinking to rid myself of the itch tormenting the backs of my eyes. “Micah Malone was just here.”

“What?” On Roscoe’s end of the call, a door slams and heavy boots hit concrete, clueing me in to the fact he’s coming this way. To save the day, of course. To be my hero. “Are you okay, Ipo? Did he hurt you?”

“No, I’m okay.” I swallow, lubricating my painfully dry throat. Then I look to the now-empty pot stand that is only, actually, an old iron chair. The dirt sprinkled on the white surface, and underneath that, the rust-stains scattered across.

“Jesus.” I press a hand over my pounding heart. “Why does it always feel like I’m gonna die when he’s around?”

“Because he’s the fuckin’ mob! Lock the doors, Ipo. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

9

MICAH

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