Page 44 of Game Change

“And what the hell did that guy want?” he asks. I finally remember where I am and who I’m with and step away. He drops his hand, and I miss his touch.

“Don’t worry about it. He’s not gonna get it. If you will excuse me, Mr. Kincaid. I have a teleconference with a client.” I try to walk past him, but he won’t move.

“Right. The apartment complex. I’ll be on that call.”

“You will not,” I insist. “Milton never micromanaged me, and he assured me that nothing would change, and in the past, I’ve been able to choose who I want to work with. I told you in the restaurant that—"

Girl, why do you still trust that old man? He screwed you over. He kept you in his back pocket and tossed you aside like you were yesterday’s news when his nephew decided he wanted the job.

“He said he wanted you to continue working here, but he said I get to run the office my way, and for now, I’m in all the meetings. I’ll also need to see the plans before the meeting.” He looks at his watch. “And for the record, Brynne, you don’t tell me anything. Got it?”

“It’s not my place to tell you anything, but it’s your place to tell me what to do?” I challenge.

He stares at me while I wait for his response. “It’s my job to run this business,” he says softly. “I’m not a dictator. I want us to work together. That’s all.”

I open my mouth to tell him off and to tell him it will be a cold day in hell before I do anything he says, but I shut it. I need something from him, and being combative won’t get me what I want. I’m only going to ask because it’s for Ernestine, not me. Hopefully, she’ll also tone down the attitude until we get this approved. As of now, he’s the only one who can approve it.

“Of course,” I say as calmly as possible. I don’t think he trusts me because his eyes narrow.

“You better not try any sneaky shit,” he warns.

“That’s your territory,” I whisper.

“Excuse me? What did you say?” he asks.

It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask him what the hell he’s going to do about it if I do try some sneaky shit, but I swallow those words. “Meet me in the large conference room in an hour, and I’ll gladly show you what I’ve done. Then we can have the meeting.”

Chapter 22

Colin

I bite hard on my bottom lip to stop groaning, but a small sound eeks out. She’s bending over the table, gesturing at and explaining her reasoning for the design she’ll present to the clients in just one short hour. The top three buttons of her blouse are undone, and I get a nice peak of the top of her brown breasts.

That last night we were together flashes through my mind. I couldn’t stop touching, kissing, and sucking those breasts. The evidence was right on her skin then, and when she noticed them, she teased me by calling me insatiable.

At the time, all I could think about was how much I would miss her and how I could not wait to see her again. It didn’t matter where she lived. I was going to do everything in my power to make things work. It was like fate handed me a gift when I found out we would be in the same city.

Unfortunately, fate is a fickle bitch.

“Everything will be eco-friendly, of course,” her soft voice says. I nod right before I take a quick glance at her ass in her perfectly tailored pants. She’s always so immaculately dressed. From her pantsuits to her hair and her nails. Everything is in place. I wonder if that’s how she tries to lead her life. I bet she’s one of those who has a place for everything. If I were a betting man, I’d bet she can’t stand having anything disrupt her life. I was a disruption that she believes blew up in her face. The so-called former stepbrother is another, and I wish she’d tell me more about him.

“There are so many doors in this project. It’s going to be a killer reviewing them all. I’ll also need to travel to this project sometime next month.” She looks down, mumbles something, and uses one of her pencils to modify the sketch. She stands straight and looks at me. After looking into her eyes, I forget what the hell we’re supposed to be talking about. All I want to do is sweep the papers off the table, put her on top of it, and have my way with her for the next ten hours. “I’ll be sure to put it on the calendar.”

My eyes narrow. She’s way too accommodating, and I almost miss her combative side. I shake my head. That was my experience with Esme, and I don’t want that again. I want this version. This is the version I met when we were on vacation.

“You’re being very accommodating. To what do I owe this sudden change of attitude?” I love this side of her, but she doesn’t know that I also have come to admire the fiery side she’s shown me since fate threw a monkey wrench in our plans.

She looks away and bites her lip. A naïve part of me thinks she will tell me she was wrong about me and wants to pick up where we left off. She looks at the door, walks, and closes it. She comes back and stands a few feet in front of me.

“I need a favor,” she says.

I raise my brows and wait for her to say more. “You’re only being nice because you need something from me?” That hurts more than it should. After all the horrible things she’s said to me, this one hurts the most because I can understand why she said the other things. She was operating from a place of hurt and anger, but her using me to get what she wants is like a punch in the gut.

“Look, I want to apologize for how I’ve been acting.” She speaks slowly. “I’m not like that. I’m sure if you were promised something and a stranger snatched it from you, you would not react well.”

I inch closer and say, “I’m hardly a stranger, and you know it.”

“Anyway,” she says, clearing her throat, “this fighting is beneath me.” She eyes me up and down. “Unlike some people.”

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