Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
“Aspen. Language.” My father’s reprimand failed to penetrate the bubble growing around me and this man and the challenge building between us.
His lips twitched with the faintest smirk. “I’m the man who’s buying your father’s company.”
Darkness crept around the edges of my vision, as if the sun sensed an impending explosion and curled away. His darkness joined in, stretching across the space between us, curling around my chest and squeezing.
Tighter. Tighter.
Too tight.
Control, a familiar whisper reminded. Don’t be what they expect. But the emotion had swelled too fast, tearing me too far away to hear it. I needed release.
I didn’t know what would tumble from my lips, but I was beyond caring. I took two steps and opened my mouth, ready to crush him with a darkness of my own.
Knock, knock.
Knuckles against the door pierced the bubble.
“Come in,” my father called, relief turning his words to a plea.
Tanya cracked the door open, briefly scanned the room with worried eyes before landing on my father. “Mr. Quinn, the delivery service is here. You mentioned you wanted to talk with them, so I have him waiting in the lounge.”
“Ah. Yes. I’ll be right out.” My father walked past and paused to rest a hand on my arm. “Aspen, why don’t you head back to your office, and I’ll swing by in a bit.”
“Absolutely not,” I rejected, keeping my eyes glued on the dark douche-canoe in the corner.
Another sigh—this time mixed with a grumble. “Fine. Just behave and don’t let your mouth get the best of you,” he warned, knowing my temper well. “I’ll be right back, Mr. Daire.”
Mr. Daire nodded toward my father before returning his gaze to mine at the click of the door. While mine held the rage of a thousand suns, his was…empty. It matched his relaxed posture, like we were acquaintances meeting for coffee and not in a verbal stand-off over my company.
“Don’t let Daddy’s warning stop you. I would love to see your mouth get the best of something, princess,” he said, his blank stare turning suggestive.
No. Not said…taunted.
While I prepared to use my words to kill him with a thousand cuts, he used his in a way I hadn’t seen coming. He used them to throw me off balance.
He wanted to gain the upper hand while I flailed and lashed out.
He expected me to react.
Well, he could keep on wanting, because nothing beat my temper into submission like proving someone’s expectations wrong. Using every ounce of patience I had, I shoved down the words begging to spew from my tongue. With a deep breath, I returned his crooked smirk with a disgusted curl of my lips.
“I don’t know what kind of businessman you are, but if you think you can pull some chauvinistic shit in this office, you’ll be sorely mistaken. And by sorely, I mean I will twist your balls in a knot if you come at me or anyone with that sexual harassment.”
Instead of looking away with guilt, his smirk grew into a smile. He stood, taking his time to straighten his suit jacket and refasten the button before approaching one slow step after another until less than two feet separated us. If I thought he was imposing and dark from the corner, it was nothing compared to the way he blacked out the sun with his height.
“Careful with your promises, princess. You have no idea how rough I like it.”
“You can stop with the princess shit,” I snapped in an attempt to lash out, but his confession and nearness swayed my resolve.
“Tsk, tsk. Such a potty mouth for the little girl who expects everything from the father who made it all.”
“Excuse me?” It was one thing to assume people thought the worst of you and another entirely to have it said to your face.
“I’ve bought many companies and seen many girls just like you, wanting what someone else made. Not because they earned it, but because they think they’re entitled to it. And I’ll let you in on a little truth…” he paused, walking around me as if I wasn’t worth his time. His shadow loomed over me, and his heated breath brushed my ear. “You’re not entitled to anything. Princess.”
I whirled around to find his face inches from mine. Between his gloating eyes and the nickname hitting a nerve I didn’t know existed, I decided to say fuck it to control. “You arrogant mother fu—”
The door opened.
Upon my dad’s entrance, Mr. Dark-Douchy-Daire dropped all pretense of name calling, stepped back, and welcomed my dad with a smile.
Glancing at my scowl, my dad focused his attention on the schmoozy smile and ran with that over asking what was wrong. “I’m glad to see you two talking,” he said with forced brightness.
“Of course. Aspen has been quite informative.”
Aspen. I hated the way my name looked on his mouth. The way the perfect curve of his lips collided over the p. I hated the way he made my name sound like heaven and hell. I hate that I noticed.