Chapter 13 Dark Promise
ALICE
I blurted, "What?"
A look of pure annoyance crossed his features. "What did Todd Steimer say to you, Miss Rhodes?"
My immediate answer was, "Nothing."
He watched me, running his tongue along the edge of his upper teeth. Then, he echoed, "Nothing."
Uh, why was my heart beating faster than it was moments ago? Why was he looking at me like he was about to lose his shit?
I had to admit to myself that there was something about the way he looked at me, with his piercing gaze, that made me equal parts terrified and excited. But it was a morbid kind of excitement and nothing normal.
Why was he acting this way? Why did he care about what his business partner said to me?
Because he's jealous. That was what the voice in my head told me.
I ignored it because it only ever said shit.
He started talking again and tore me from my thoughts. "You see, Miss Rhodes, I try and try to understand you, but I fail. Each and every time."
I squared my jaw. "I don't see why you have to understand me, Mr. Linden-Hawthorne. All that matters is how good an employee I am to you. The rest is...inconsequential. Right?"
He smiled thinly and the sight made my stomach lurch. For some reason, maybe because of how much time I was spending with him in the past few days, I knew something totally out of pocket was coming.
I could sense that he'd say something that would turn my stomach even faster.
But I was wrong. He said nothing and just kept staring at me.
By the time the waiter approached us, I'd lost my appetite completely, so I asked for nothing.
Mr. Linden-Hawthorne's expression hardened after I said this, and when it was his turn to order, he dismissed the poor guy with an impatient wave of his hand.
"Why won't you eat?"
I shrugged and tried to speak calmly even though I was shaking with nerves. Everything about this man unsettled me. Everything about this entire situation was wrong.
I'd allowed things to go too far, and I could feel it. The line had been crossed a long time ago, and now, all I could do was deal with the consequences of my own actions.
These realizations hit me all at once. I should've never gone back inside the building to get my job back.
I should've never gone back to working for a man who most likely had a nude of mine on his phone, and who'd kissed me and touched my cunt.
The worst part? He didn't accept that it was a misunderstanding. He believed that I was playing some seductive game. I saw it in his eyes. Heard it in his voice whenever he spoke to me.
I thought I could convince him that it truly was a misunderstanding, but I failed.
And now, here I was. Here we were. Far away from home. Forced to tolerate each other. He was expecting one thing, and I was expecting another.
But that wasn't entirely true, was it?
I told him, "The stale mood made me lose my appetite. In fact, I think I should head back." I stood up. "The flight was long and—"
Just as I started walking past him to get to the exit, he raised his hand and grabbed my arm to stop me. "Sit down, Miss Rhodes. Now."
I glared at him, not wanting to obey his command. He sensed this and tilted his head to the side, challenging me.
"You're my boss, not my master," I hissed. "You can't make me do things I don't want to!"
His eyes darkened. I saw intent written all over them and it made me blush. It also did a little something to the traitorous space between my thighs.
"Want me to put that to the test, Miss Rhodes?"
I sat because I didn't want unnecessary drama. That was what I told myself. The smirk on his face made my hand itch to smack him. Who did he think he was?
What was happening to me? Why was I reacting this way? I hated this man. I hated him before the whole...situation that ruined my life.
So, what was this about? A way of my mind coping with what happened?
I wasn't attracted to him. I was sure of it. I had a bodily reaction to his kiss that night. If I had known it was him, I would've vomited in his mouth.
I knew this. So, why was my mind—and my body—working against me now?
The waiter returned a couple of minutes later to find out if we were ready, and the asshole told him we were before ordering for us both.
After the waiter disappeared, I told him, "I don't even like steak."
"Well, you're gonna like it today, Miss Rhodes."
"What if I'm a vegetarian? You don't know anything about me."
He surprised me by chuckling darkly. I saw once more that he wanted to say something, but for some reason, he decided against it.
"Just say it!" I blurted impatiently. "Say whatever you want to say, sir. Don't hold back on my account."
Mr. Linden-Hawthorne leaned forward. The look in his eyes made my mouth dry. "I could say a lot of things, Miss Rhodes, but there's no honesty between us, so I'd only be wasting my time."
I folded my arms. "You're calling me a liar."
"Among other things."
I scowled. "What other things?"
"I know you're not a vegetarian. In fact, you like your meat a little too much."
My eyes widened and it was my turn to lean toward him. It took a lot of effort to keep my voice down. "You perverted fuck!"
"I didn't mean it in that sense, Miss Rhodes, but I understand why you'd think that way, considering your head's probably always in the gutter. You bring medium-well pieces of steak and asparagus to lunch more than once a week. I know you eat steak." Our faces were only inches apart. "I should remind you that I'm your boss, and your language isn't appreciated."
"Not when you're trying to get in my pants, you're not," I spat. "If you keep making lewd remarks, I'll treat you like any pervert who'd try to do the same thing. I don't want to sleep with you. Why don't you get it? That night was a misunderstanding. I thought you were someone else!"
"So you keep saying."
"Because it's the truth!" I scoffed. "I would never have kissed you back if I knew it was you. I would never send you those texts! What will it take for you to realize that!?"
His gaze was on my lips as I spoke, but they're back on my eyes. "Do you really expect me to believe that you kissed and touched a man who wasn't your fiancé and didn't realize it was him? You saw me when I opened the door."
"I didn't! I—"
"Your good girl act isn't convincing, Miss Rhodes."
"Excuse me?"
He sat back and interlaced his fingers. "You'll deny that Todd offered to sleep with you?"
I was astounded. To make matters worse, he was changing the subject. "And what if he did? What does that have to do with you? What does that have to do with any of this?"
He stared back at me with a blank expression. I was flustered. This man had a way of making my head spin. I lost all my patience when I was around him.
He drove me crazy with rage.
The food arrived and we still hadn't said a word to each other. I felt nauseous.
It didn't help that he hadn't taken his eyes off me.
"Eat."
"No," I spat almost immediately after his command.
"Do it, Miss Rhodes."
"You can't make me!"
He leaned forward once more and reached for the utensils without looking. "Keep on acting this way, Miss Rhodes, and I'll show you exactly how I deal with disobedient people."
His words riled me up again. "What'll you do? Fire me because I don't want to eat a damn steak!?"
He threw me one last look filled with a dark promise that made my mouth dry. I looked down at my plate, then angrily started eating. Just so I wouldn't have to give him the satisfaction he was clearly looking for.
It was a damn good steak.
The best I'd ever had.