Page 94 of Rejected By My Shifter Billionaire
“Anyway...”
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
Grandpa Hocks used to say, “when it rains, it howls.”
And so I looked at Ada, and I just knew.
“There’s more, isn’t there?”
My PA gave me a slow, fearful nod.
“Your stepbrother was one of the recipients.”
FML.
“And he’d like to see you,” Ada whispered.
FFFFFFFFFFML.
“Now...in his office.”
Chapter Two
“You summoned me?”
I didn’t mean for it to come out like that, but apparently my mouth hadn’t gotten the memo that I was trying to play it cool. Nicolo Celestini didn’t look up right away. Just kept flipping through the pages of the printed proposal in his hands.
As in...the one that, as of approximately thirty-seven minutes ago, had been accidentally emailed to a curated list of potential sponsors...plus, apparently, my stepbrother.
And there it was, sitting on his desk like a physical manifestation of my impending humiliation. Glossy, stapled, and page corners aligned. Betrayal in twelve bullet points or less.
His office looked like him. Cold, organized, and every inch of it designed to intimidate with his subtle flex of wealth and power. Even his desk was meant to induce fear, a massive slab of black granite that he could, at any given moment, turn into an altar where living sacrifices were made.
“Sit down, Maryah.”
Ugh.
Everyone had always called me Ry, my own mother included. But to Nicolo, I was always Maryah, and the way he always said it?
Slow, quiet, and deliberate, with every syllable filled with this weight I could never shake off. He always said my name like he was one step away of announcing my death sentence, to be honest.
And it always,alwayshad me bristling.
Just like now.
Which was why I crossed my arms and lifted my chin as I answered...
“I’d rather stand.”
“Then stand.”
He didn’t even glance up, his bland tone effectively putting me in my place with just two words. Why was this man so good at making me feel childish?
For a full ten seconds, I debated launching myself over that intimidating desk and setting the proposal on fire. The silence stretched between us, thick with tension and the faint scent of his cologne.
“You’re really going to pretend you didn’t read this just to watch me squirm?”
His green eyes lifted. Calm. Amused. Deadly.
