“Lord in heaven! You’ve got to be kidding me!” she screamed in her head.
She needed to get out of here. Pronto. Not that she can walk out of a meeting. But she could sure use a bit of alone time to compose herself. She looked for the nearest exit. She inwardly groaned with dismay when she realized that the only way out of the room was also the only way in. And the bastard was standing right next to it. Jumping out of the window was, of course, not an option since they were on the 24th floor. There’s abso-fuckin-lutely no way she’ll splatter her brains on the sidewalk because of him.
“Well, Cassie, brace yourself and suck it up,” she told herself.
“Cass?” her close friend and colleague, Melanie, whispered.
“Yeah?” “Are you all right? You’re muttering.”
She mustered a smile. “I’m fine. Just thinking out loud.”
“Apparently, not loud enough for everyone to hear what that pretty brain of yours was thinking of.”
Cassie stiffened at the sound of that voice. She turned her attention to him, made certain that he could see her big, fake smile.
“That was the goal.”
He had the nerve to laugh. She gritted her teeth and balled her fists so tight; her nails dug grooves into her palms.
“You’re looking good, Cassie.” His eyes travelled up and down her body. It took a lot of self-control not to scratch his pretty face.
“Oh! You know each other!” Melanie enthusiastically exclaimed.
“Once upon a time,” she murmured.
“I see you still like your fairy tales,” he said, his eyes teasing.
“Yeah, well, I’m pretty good when it comes to dealing with wicked witches and frog princes.”
She felt a dab of satisfaction when she saw him flinched. Good.
“If you’ll excuse me, my boss is calling for me.”
She turned away from him and hoped he that he failed to notice her tremble from that exchange. Bastard! How dare he make her feel this way?
**********************************************
For the nth time, Ryan gritted his teeth as he watched Cassie talked to her boss. He tightly gripped his pen when he saw Marc leaned towards her and whispered something to her that made her smile. He used to be able to do that. Now, the only thing that he could manage to do is antagonize her.
Too close. You’re too close to her, asshole, he silently cursed at Marc.
Of all the companies to have a business deal with, it had to be the one where Cassie worked. And of all the assholes that she had to work for, it had to be Marc who was his rival in every little thing since they were in diapers. It had to be the guy who does not understand healthy competition and who made it a habit to steal everything from him, from his toys to his girlfriends.
Right now, the bastard in question will no doubt become a recipient of his pounding fists if he will not put some distance between himself and Cassie. Boss or no boss.
It took a lot of self-control not to act like a Neanderthal and haul Marc’s ass off his chair and out of the window.
And you’re not being reasonable; a part of his brain reprimanded him.
Cassie won’t take you back if you started acting like a lunatic. Despite the maddening jealousy, he had to acknowledge that fact that he had to win her first before he can stake his claim on her.
…