Page 14 of The Butterfly Effect
“Ididn’task you, though, did I?” I said, turning my chair in her direction. The light-pink blush that formed under the collar of her shirt was satisfying, and I considered saying something that would bring that blush higher and up to her cheeks.
She pointed her well-manicured finger in my direction and raised her voice. “Listen, you don’t get to just take over a comp—”
“No,youlisten,” I interrupted with a stern voice that caused her to instantly snap her mouth shut. “You work forme. You all do. When I tell you the work you’ve done isn’t good enough, I expect you to say “yes, sir” and make it better. This is not up for discussion or debate. If this is the standard of work you are proud of, then you won’t last long. Are we understood on your role here, Ms. Thomas?”
She narrowed her eyes and sucked her lip into mouth, biting down to stifle the urge to argue further. I smirked briefly before returning the folder to Grant. “You are all dismissed.” I waved my hand towards the door, excusing the team. “Except for you, Julianna. Sit.”
She had just started standing up to leave, and her friend, Katie, shot her a sympathetic look before closing the door behind her. When I was sure Sandra and the rest of Julianna’s team were out of earshot, I reached out and quickly turned her chair to face me, eliciting a sharp gasp from her.
“I don’t appreciate you talking back to me.” I gripped the armrests of her chair, but she didn’t divert her steel gaze from mine.
“I don’t appreciate the way you spoke to any of us.”
The stubbornness in her eyes turned to defiance, and my breathing quickened. “Julianna, I’m warning you.”
“Warning me against what, hmm?” She used my own tone back at me, and at her taunt, fury filled my veins. She gnawed at the inside of her bottom lip, and I glanced between it and her narrowed eyes as she watched me.
I lifted my hands and slammed them down onto the armrests again, and the smirk fell from her face. “You’re walking a dangerous line, and I don’t think you’re going to like it when I break.”
She shrugged, leaning comfortably back in her seat. This woman was going to be the death of my self-control. “I think you just don’t like it when someone disagrees with you.”
“That’s ludicrous. I guess I didn’t make this clear the other day, Julianna, but I don’t play games.” I leaned closer to her, grateful for the lack of windows in the room. “This attitude of yours and your littlerelationshipwith your client end now.”
A wide grin appeared on her face, and I narrowed my eyes at her. She was cocky, not a trait the Carlisle men tended to admire. My mother had always been mostly quiet, rarely raising her voice.
Julianna took a satisfied breath, her throat moving when she swallowed. “I’ve already told you there is no relationship. You need to trust that I’m a professional. And frankly, my personal life is none of your damn business.” She crossed her arms over her chest, which further lifted her perky breasts. I stopped myself from looking for too long, determined not to give her the satisfaction of knowing her pull on me.
I stood up from my seat and walked behind her, placing my hands back on the armrests of her chair and leaning over her. “See, that’s where you’re wrong. Everything about you is my business.”
Her breath caught in her throat, and I could almost feel her pulse racing in her neck. When she cleared her throat lightly, my dick hardened.
“You see, I’d say you sound a little…jealousof this nonexistent relationship you seem convinced exists.” She leaned her head to the side, tilting it enough to look up at me from the corner of her eye.
The control she had over the situation was dizzying. Determined to regain my position of power, I stepped back. “That’s enough. I don’t do jealous. I’ll expect you to have your work ready for my review before Monday. In the meantime, you’re dismissed.” I opened the door and gestured for her to leave. She sat dumbfounded in her seat for a short minute before rising and walking with purpose to her desk.
From my office window, I saw her talking with her team. She was the type of woman who talked with her hands, waving them around and clapping them to emphasize her point. I was still aware of the blush on her neck and satisfied that I had a lasting effect on her. My phone ringing brought me out of my stare, and I glanced down at the screen.Dad.I dragged the green button across the screen.
I leaned back in my chair and kicked my feet up in front of me. “Yes?”
After a long week,I was thankful to find myself half buried under a tequila-induced haze. It had been Andy’s idea for us to go to Anthony’s for the night. Katie and I had told her about the meeting with William, and she insisted the best cure for irritation was chased with lime. As usual, she was right—or at the very least, convincing.
The sweet burn of the tequila was comforting; it had always been our celebration drink of choice. We weren’t celebrating anything tonight, unless you counted that we had survived the first week under William Carlisle. I had expected the new CEO to be intense, but I hadn’t expected him to be intense because of our clear sexual chemistry.
“Everything about you is my business,” I said in my best impression of William’s low voice, followed by a giggle.
“Well, after you shut him up in his own meeting, I’m surprised you didn’t get more than that!” Katie said through her gasping laugh. “You opened your mouth, but I don’t know who the fuck came out!”
I had told both of my friends about the interaction after the meeting, leaving out the way my core had fluttered when he blocked me in the chair with his arms on the armrest and the fact my panties were wet when I got back to my desk. His presence alone was enough to throw me off my game, and now I was on the account he was most invested in.
“Someone had to say it. He can’t just talk to people like that.”No matter how badly I want him.
My friends tapped their glasses against mine, letting out little hums of approval. I sipped my drink, my stomach churning with nerves. How far would he let me push it before it was too far? At what point does he fire me? My mind flashed back to the way his brown eyes had pierced mine in the conference room, and I figured I could probably push him pretty far. He was battling me for control, and something told me it wasn’t anything he was used to fighting for. I doubted he would even be willing to entertain it most times, but I’d be damned if I was going to let some man walk in and act like he owns me.
Andy started telling us about a trip she was booking at work. She was a travel agent, so she always came well prepared with stories of anyone’s dream adventure. I have always told myself that one day I’d have her plan my honeymoon. Somewhere amazing, tropical, and really fucking far from Michigan. Until then, I’d live vicariously through her clients.
This couple she was working with was going on a three-week getaway to the Dominican Republic and staying in an all-inclusive resort on the beach. She told us about the waterfall hikes they’d be taking and the scuba diving, and when she described the sunrise yoga on the beach, I was jealous of a couple of strangers. There were a lot of things I’d be willing to give to do yoga on the beach in an all-inclusive resort.
I let my tequila-fogged mind wander while she talked, considering sneaking over to William’s house. I tried to think of how he drove me there just a week ago, but I couldn’t remember past the third right turn. We’d exchanged numbers after he assigned me the Great Lakes account. He said he would need to be able to contact me, and part of me doubted he meant just about the client. I let my hand hover over his name for a moment before clicking on it and typing out a quick text, hitting send before I could convince myself not to.
