Page 27 of The Butterfly Effect
I gave Roger a curt nod before turning and walking towards the door. William quickly stepped in line with me, putting his hand on my back and escorting me towards the door. He looked back at Roger a couple of times, and I was sure he was watching us walk out.
In the parking lot, William walked me to my car, watching me get in but not saying anything. I hesitated to close the door, his silence making my stomach flood with anxiety. “William…” I wasn’t sure what I was going to say once I started.
“Julianna, go home. We’ll discuss this tomorrow.” He checked to make sure I was in the car completely before closing my door. His stare was menacing, and my stomach sank at the thought of the next day.
I nodded and started my car. Pulling out of the parking lot and onto the road, I was aware of William’s Aston Martin behind me. Even as I took turns that wouldn’t lead towards his house, he followed me.
Thinking about the way he was trailing me made my center throb. Either he was being protective, or he was going to take advantage of me when I got home. I could hurry home in the hopes he would, since I unabashedly wanted him inside of me again. Shaking my head, I took the last turn onto my street and pulled up in front of my apartment. I parked the car and climbed out.
William’s car idled against the curb. His eyes were on me, watching intensely, but he didn’t make any move to turn his car off or say anything. I walked up to my apartment. Flicking the light switch on, I went to the window to see if William was still outside. I pulled back the curtain just as he pulled away from the curb, releasing a mixed sense of comfort and disappointment in me.
I waitedfor Julianna to get settled at her desk before I called her to my office. She was holding her coffee mug to her lips when I messaged her, and her shoulders stiffened when it popped up on her screen.
Me:I need to see you in my office.
Julianna:Good morning to you too.
Me:Julianna. Now.
Julianna:Yes, sir.
Her being upset with me didn’t stop her from getting up from her desk and walking in my direction, and a satisfied smirk pulled at my lips. Her eyes darkened in the most seductive way when she was angry, and paired with her sarcastic response, it was going to be an interesting conversation with the spitfire woman who had stolen my attention.
She didn’t knock before opening the door and walking in, and I silently pointed to the chair across from me. The door clicked shut behind her, her heels clicking on the floor as she made her way towards me. The pants she wore were tight on her legs and hugged her ass, and I didn’t try to hide the fact I was staring at her while she moved. She raised her eyebrow, letting me know she noticed.
As she sat down across from me, she crossed her legs and arms but didn’t speak. Her eyes bore into me, and I couldn’t hold back a throaty chuckle.
“Do you want to explain why the hell you were out on a date with Roger fucking Hepburn last night?”
“I told you, it wasn’t a date,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Bullshit, Julianna. What else could it have been? After you already almost lost the account in the first place.” I slammed my fist against the surface of my desk, letting the pain pulse through my hand briefly.
She closed her hands into fists before flexing them again. “I wasfixing it.” The way she mocked my tone from when I’d said those same words to her wasn’t missed on me, and I growled.
“By going on a date with the piece of shit who attacked you.” Judging by the way she shot her eyes to me and her mouth dropped open, she was surprised at my claim. More so, she was surprised I found out. She shouldn’t be.
Julianna looked down, a blush growing on her cheeks. “How did you know?”
“Because I’m not fucking stupid. I saw the way you acted around him after that day and in every meeting since then. You should’ve told me.”
She sighed. “Why was it any of your business?”
I hit my hands against my desk again, and she jumped. “Hehurt you. That makes it my business.” She flicked her eyes up to meet mine, an intense mix of shock and need burning in her blue-gray orbs.
“I can’t keep up with you. You act like you couldn’t care less about me, but you tease me and get jealous if anyone else talks to me. You put me on your most important account and then criticize my work the entire time, but last night you acted like we all knew my work was good. I told you he blackmailed me, but you yelled at me to fix it, so I try to and now you’re mad at me for that too. I can’t keep up!” She was yelling by the time she finished. Her chest was heaving, and the blush on her face had become a deep red.
I struggled not to show my amusement at her outrage. “It was stupid of you to go out with him last night.”
Her jaw dropped slightly when I spoke. “Are you serious? I was doing what you told me to!”
“I never told you to date him.” I scowled at her.
“Then how was I expected tofix it?”
“You were supposed to tell me the truth! I could have defended you.”
She chewed the inside of her lip to stop herself from saying something, and I wanted to know what she was biting back. “I can’t fucking win with you,” she said with a sigh, standing up and walking to the door, which she ripped open.
