Chapter 10 CHAPTER 010
Have I mentioned how much I hate how easily my body betrays me when it comes to Linc Tanner? He is my goddamned stepfather for fuck's sake. Why can't I find some other middle-aged man to feel this way for? I will take any other man but him.
No matter how much I like to deny it, we are related. Not by blood, but something that might be worse. We are related by commitment. Loyalty. All the things that bound him to my mother. This attraction to him started as a rebellion, but now it has evolved into something completely out of my control.
An uncontrolled flashback to that night a week ago rips through my mind, and I feel the heat rise up my neck. I kissed him back. Recklessly. I wrapped my leg around him, wanting more. I wanted more. And he gave me just what I was demanding, and then I ran away like a coward.
"Let's start," Linc says to the room, his voice authoritative and incredibly hot.
I zone out. The more the meeting progresses, the harder it gets for me to keep my eyes away from him and breathe normally. I get nervous thinking others can notice the madness going on within me and yet I can't put a lid on the pull.
I am subconsciously aware of Tyler beside me giving his inputs as the meeting unfolds. Everyone else is involved in some way. Throwing in ideas and comments. I am the only quiet person, and I am painfully aware of that, but I can't bring myself to say anything without feeling self-conscious.
"Who is the new guy?" Linc turns to Marcus with a slight smile on his face after Tyler chips in something intelligent.
"Tyler. He is interning here. He is from BSU, top of his class," Marcus says, glowing with pride, reflecting Tyler who is beaming like the fucking sun beside me. He deserves the recognition.
"BSU?" Linc says, and he turns his body to look at me with a brow raised. I just stare back at him.
"Yes sir. I am friends with Amelia," Tyler speaks out, and I see a tick in Linc's jaw, it passes quickly but I catch it because I am overly aware of him.
But hold on, friends? With Tyler? That is weird considering we have never even sat together in class or exchanged more than three sentences with each other in the two years of being classmates.
"Oh really," Linc says, and I feel ice shards directed at me with the coldness in his gaze as he stares at me. What the hell is his deal?
"Yes, sir," Tyler pulls me into a fucking side hug, smiling innocently, oblivious to the glare Linc is leveling at us.
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Linc Tanner's POV:
What the fuck is wrong with me and why am I glaring at this seemingly innocent kid?
He seems close to Amelia. That is why. Close enough to be hugging her like that in my face. Too close for my comfort. I can literally hear the agitated beat of my fucking heart thumping in my ears.
I bite my tongue to keep from asking Marcus how come he didn't run Tyler's application by me before just accepting him into my firm, but then I remember it is not my responsibility. Titan's Construct is not open to interns because we already have enough talent. But once in a while, some departments take in one or two kids for the summer. It is not my business.
I rarely even acknowledge the new faces. They come and go without so much as meeting me. So it would be weird to talk about it now. But I can't keep my fucking temper from flaring just at the sight of Amelia smiling at him and the two of them being so at ease with each other.
It is driving me fucking crazy. She looks stunning this morning. She always does. And I hate that she is at ease with this Tyler kid. Something she never is around me. Right from the moment Kathryn introduced us three years ago, Amelia has had her guards up with me.
I chalked it up to the awkwardness of our relationship then due to being her mother's husband. But it is still there now. And I want to tear it apart brick by brick, however means necessary.
"Alright. Welcome Tyler. Hope you enjoy your time at Titan," I say and turn away immediately, ignoring his reply so I can return my attention to the meeting. I don't want the others to notice the shift in my mood. It is pretty fucking weird.
"Okay guys, any more information I should know," I say, nodding in Liam's position, my executive assistant who is taking notes of the meeting. I shouldn't have come down to this meeting in the first place, Liam always attended departmental meetings in my place, but I wanted to see Amelia and note how she is doing in her chosen department since she wouldn't fucking talk to me at home.
I run my hand through my hair, exhaling loudly through my nose. The others are watching me, and I know Amelia is too, along with the cheesy Tyler kid sitting too close to her.
A series of answers in the negative goes around. And I take a pause, looking around the huge table accommodating at least thirty people, they all hold my eyes except for one pair of pale blues, I clear my throat, looking away.
"Okay. That would be it." The meeting has come to an end. Nobody moves because they are waiting for me to get out first.
"Amelia. Come with me." I get up, not bothering to look if she is following as I step out of the conference room. Her heels clacking on the marble floors tell me she is. I turn around and see every single eye in the conference room looking back at us through the glass walls. Amelia is blushing furiously.
Fuck.