Page 49 of For the Plot
She snorts. “You mean when you practically shouteddaddy issuesat top volume?”
“Yeah. That.” I wince. “He heard me.”
Her glass halts midair. “Reece?” I nod. Maya chokes on her olive. “Heheardthat?”
“Oh yes, and he even brought it up to me.”
“Oh my God.” Her mouth drops open. “What did he say?”
I shift in the booth, suddenly too warm. “He didn’t say much. Just that it was hardnotto hear. And that maybe I said it loud because Iwantedsomeone to hear, and then he went on to say all this shit about how I shouldn’t be flirting with him if I knew what kind of man he was.”
Maya drops her forehead to the table. “I cannot breathe. Are you serious?”
“That’s not even the worst of it,” I say, barely above a whisper.
She lifts her head like she knows what’s coming. “There’smore?”
I nod. “I left the break room to get air. Went out to the executive terrace just to breathe. And… he followed me.”
Maya slaps the table. “Of course he did.”
“I have never in my life had a man get me so close to coming without touching me,” I confess, after telling her all of the filthy threats he whispered against my ear.
“Jesus Christ,” she breathes. “That man is every morally gray billionaire romance rolled into one real-life fever dream.”
“It was like being tortured seductively,” I mutter.
“Did he kiss you?” she blurts.
I shake my head. “He got close. Mouth near my ear, voice all low and threatening. But no. No kiss.”
Maya downs the rest of her drink like it’s a sedative. “That’s worse. That’sso much worse.”
“I know.”
“I mean, this isReece Blackwood.Your ex’s dad.”
“Yes,” I confirm, “we know this and he knows this and he doesn’t seem to be deterred by that which is… weirdly so damn hot. Oh God,” I groan, leaning forward and resting my chin on my hands. “I’m fucked up. This is fucked up, isn't it?”
Maya softens for a second, but then her expression shifts. “Wait… has he told Archer you’re working there?”
I look away. “No.”
“Skye,” she says, warning clear in her voice.
“He said Archer works for the company but he’s traveling most of the time. He didn’t say why he hadn’t told him. Just… didn’t.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
I try to laugh. “It’s not like anything’shappened.”
She levels me with a look. “Yet.”
“He made it clear that’s not an option.”
Maya scoffs. “Girl, I would bet my firstborn that he’s going to snap. And when he does? Whew.”
I let out a groan as I drag a hand through my hair. “He doesn’t want Archer to know. That should tell me everything I need to know.”
