Brazen and Breathless (Untouchable #6) - Heather Long Page 0,40
I wanted the bitter brew on my tongue. It definitely fit my mood. The call lasted another five minutes, and as he ended it, Edward faced me fully.
“Archie,” he greeted me in a chill tone. One that warned I’d already irritated him by showing up in the first place.
Too. Fucking. Bad.
“Edward. You want to explain me to what the fuck it is you think you’re doing?” I didn’t waste any time on pleasantries. I had none to share.
Removing the headset, he crossed to his desk and took a seat, not bothering to answer me before he pressed a finger to the call button on his phone. “Janis, move my next call back fifteen minutes, and the next time I tell you I’m not to be interrupted, make sure it happens or find a new job.”
That done, he leaned back in his chair and studied me. I didn’t twitch, just met him gaze for gaze. These little power plays were old hat for me. I could make some scathing remark about his secretary, but she mattered so very little to him, it wouldn’t even make a dent.
But I had collected a few nuggets of information along the way that definitely would.
“Perhaps you’d like to clarify that question with some actual information, or is this just another teenage tantrum? I’d have thought you were over the hormonal stage by now.” The faint smirk used to enrage me. It was like he’d throw that in my face, bored with me and my so-called tantrums.
Of course, I used to long for his approval, too.
I got over it.
“Frankie.” I said her name in the same dry tone he’d affected when he’d opened his mouth. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing with Frankie?”
Oops. Not so unaffected, but his faintly puzzled frown wasn’t anywhere near as convincing as he might wish it.
“I’m doing nothing with Frankie.”
And fuck if I didn’t hate hearing her name on his lips.
“It’s my understanding that she and her mother are having some issues, but they will work them out.” A careless shrug, like it had nothing to do with us.
“Right, and you didn’t pull any strings to get her assigned to Standish for an internship.”
One corner of his mouth quirked a little higher than the other, the barest hint of pleasure in his expression. It made me want to punch that smirk right off his face. I’d experienced any number of feelings where this man was concerned over the years, but being incited to violence was new.
I could see every detail in sharp relief. We were the same height, roughly the same build, but he didn’t work out with near the frequency I did and I could make it fucking hurt if I belted him.
But first, I needed answers.
Business before pleasure and all of that.
“Archie, my boy,” he said, almost laughing as he pushed his chair back and stood. “Are you jealous? You shouldn’t be. You have an office just down the hall. You could come to work here, the offer has been on the table for years.”
“Let’s not pretend this is about me,” I told him before knocking back the rest of the coffee then setting the empty mug on the table as I tracked Edward’s passage from behind the desk to where I stood near the coffee. “This is about whatever game it is you’re playing with Frankie and her slut of a mother.”
Edward spared me a look. “There is no game, Archie. You need to grow up. Maddy and I are engaged, I’m going to be a fact of Frankie’s life. There is nothing wrong with me trying to make things easy for her. The program is a solid one, she’s an excellent candidate and she’d do well here.”
I shook my head. “Engaged. You’re still married, and your little fuck princess outside can attend to your needs. So, one would think you’re busy enough at the moment to not mess with a girl who’s more than half your age.”
“More than?” Edward raised his brows. “Barely. But that’s not the point.” He took a sip of his coffee, then added, “I owe you no explanations. I’m doing something nice for the young lady, and if you’d stop poisoning her mind, maybe I could fix some of the things going wrong. Like a rejection from Harvard. Clearly, she is the better candidate.”
“What she does or doesn’t do is none of your business. Leave. Her. Alone.”