Page 27 of Cocky Prince
“It doesn’t matter what I’ve been through,” I tell her. “What matters is that you can’t show your emotions when your boss pisses you off. You’re like one of those books you pad your office with, Hayden. We read every emotion that plays out on your face.”
She steps forward, her chest nearly butting mine. “And that’s worse than being an iceberg?” Her eyes narrow. “Do you enjoy hiding in your icy cave, Adam? Does it keep you warm at night? Is that why they like you? Because you’re so cold, just like them?”
I breathe deeply, the muscles along my arms bunching. I grab her waist and pull her those last precious inches to my chest. She’s wrong. About everything. “I didn’t tell Jaeger to dump you because I was thinking abouthim.”
She winces and her chest rises and falls. Hayden’s eyes dart to my lips and she swallows. Before I can regain my senses and figure out what the hell I think I’m doing, she pulls away.
“Go back to your ice cave, Adam.”
Chapter Twelve
Hayden
Hands shaking, I close the door to my office and lean against it. “Holy shit.” When Adam grabbed me, my overwhelming instinct wasn’t to slap him, or run away. It was to grab his head and kiss him.
What iswrongwith me?
If the meeting this afternoon proved anything, it confirmed Adam’s complicity in Blackwell’s plans for the casino, whatever they are. Adam supports the Blue Stars. He wouldn’t have told me to keep quiet if he didn’t. Sure, he said that business about not wanting to see me get fired, but what does he care?
And if he’s involved in Blue’s background activities, why in the world would I ever let him get close to me?
He’s attractive, but I’ve always been able to distance my emotions from physical qualities. Until now. Unless it’s not just the surface I’m attracted to.
“God.” I slink across the room and drop into my chair, pressing my forehead to the desk. “What’s wrong with me?”
Adam loves to bother me, but he wouldn’t cross the line, would he? Because if he did…I’m not sure I’d refuse him. I’d like to think I would, because I need an unscrupulous jerk in my life like I need a coronary. But with Adam’s sexy mouth hovering above mine, his strong arm locked around my waist, I’m afraid I might kiss him back—at least until I came to my senses.
Mira storms in, and I jump, my knee hitting the bottom of my desk. “Shit, Mira. Stop sneaking up on me like that.”
She raises her hand. “Sorry. Didn’t know you were having a moment.”
“I’m not. I’m just—The meeting didn’t go well.”
Her eyebrows pull together in concern. “Your face is flushed.” She walks forward and sits, absently setting paperwork on my desk. “What happened? Blackwell again?”
I rub my temples. “Among other things.”
To say my brain is muddled would be an understatement. There’s Blackwell and my job, but somehow it’s taking a backseat to Adam’s lips.
How much of the tension I’ve felt these last few months at work is because of Blackwell and the way he treats me, and how much of it comes from working with Adam? I thought I hated Adam because of our shared past. But maybe I never wanted to read into my feelings.
Do I want him?
I groan in frustration and Mira cocks her eyebrow.
I can’t want Adam. He’s not as bad as I thought when he first started working at Blue, but he has no qualms about giving in to Blackwell and the Blue Stars. Which means I don’t really know Adam at all, because my suspicions about the Blue Stars aren’t good.
“What am I going to do?” I mumble. In spite of my shitty boss, I actually like my job. I might not have appreciated the way he went about stopping me, but Adam was right. I’m going to get myself fired if I can’t keep my cool around Blackwell.
Mira leans forward and crosses her arms on the desk. “We have a plan, Hayden. We’ve got dirt on Blackwell, or, at least, we will. You’re not the only person who’s suffered because of the way he runs Blue, and I’m not talking about our CEO being a prick to his employees. Gen’s near-rape, the suites we think he’s using to issue drugs and possibly conduct other illegal activities in-house—these are things that shouldn’t be going on anywhere, let alone be sanctioned by a mainstream casino. Blackwell is using the Blue as a front, and we’ll stop him.”
Mira thinks my distress is entirely because of the CEO, when it’s more complicated than that. But she’s right about one thing. I need to remain focused on what we’re doing to clean up Blue. I’m not the only person who loves their job. Mira and Nessa have found their callings at Blue too. There’s no reason we can’t make this place safe for everyone.
“You’re right. We’ve got our plan and we’ll push forward.” I give her a weak smile and scan the documents she brought in. “Was there something you wanted me to look at?”
She sorts the paperwork. “These came in this afternoon. They’re the last two contracts you were expecting. They’re from All Out Burlesque and Bags o’ Fun.” She grins. “Bags o’ Fun, get it? The burlesque companies are hilarious.”
I shake my head. “Yes, well, you can pass those along to William. Blackwell pulled me off the event.”
