I jump to my feet.
I watch as he rubs his brow line, looking pensive and distraught. “You’re Beau’s girlfriend,” he says with a groan.
“Ex,” I correct. He glances up at me with a hint of surprise on his face.
“You broke up?”
That’s what he’s focusing on right now?
“Yes.”
Letting out an exhale, he reclines in his seat, and I wait for him to say something.
“I just need half of that check. He gave me your address and told me to come get it.”
There’s a wince in his expression and he goes back to rubbing his forehead. “Of course. How much do you need?”
I watch as he reaches into the drawer of his desk, pulling out a checkbook and a pen.
“The deposit was for two thousand, and half of that was mine.”
When his eyes dance up to greet me again, I feel myself almost cower. He’s so intimidating, and maybe that’s where Beau gets it from, although Beau acts more powerful than he really is. This guy just is powerful, no denying that.
He scribbles out the check, rips it from its place, and passes it to me. Quickly, I step forward and take it. I should run away right now. I have what I came for, the awkward mix-up is behind us, and I have no further reason to stay, but I feel stuck in my spot.
“Charlotte, I have to apologize. I’m afraid I thought you were someone else when I found you in my office.”
He won’t look at me as he speaks, just unbuttons his sleeves and begins rolling them up. I’m fixated on the movement of his hands and the way that tight white shirt looks against his tan skin.
I swallow. “Who did you think I was?” I ask, knowing full well I have absolutely no right to that answer, but I’m nothing if not stubborn and reckless.
His eyes are back on my face again. “It’s not important.”
“Someone who works for you? Or someone you…hire?”
He glares at me, his eyes squinting with intensity as he realizes what I’m implying.
“Like I said, it’s not important, and I’d appreciate you not sharing any of this with Beau.”
“I don’t talk to him anymore, and I don’t plan to.”
His jaw clenches as he exhales the word, “Fine.”
Turning on my heels, I head toward the door, reading the check as I go, feeling utterly humiliated and irritable because of it. And just as I reach for the door handle, I picture Sophie’s face. And I remember that her birthday is coming up, and how those Anime Fest tickets are expensive, and she wanted VIP passes to meet her favorite illustrator.
So I pause.
Oh God, this is stupid, but I have to try.
I turn around to face the person who intimidates me more than anyone I’ve ever met. And when I see him there, filling up that large chair behind that giant desk in front of floor-to-ceiling bay windows, it makes sense to me why girls would come in here and kneel for him. I bet he’s not used to girls who talk back, challenge him, give him hell.
But he owes me. I got on my fucking knees for him.
“You know…I might see Beau again, actually,” I say carefully. He glances up at me with a curious notch in his brow.
“I hope I don’t accidentally let any of this slip…”
Oh, you are bold, Charlie.
My hands are shaking, and I can’t let him see me falter, so I quickly clutch them behind my back. I hold my head up high, shoulders back, and I look him right in the eye.
Without another word, he pulls out his checkbook again, and the look on his face says he is not happy at all, but I remind myself that I don’t care. I don’t care if he’s mad at me or hates me or that I’m making him angry.
Except I do. I do care, and I hate the disappointed scowl on his face as he scrawls out another check. But I need this money, and I’m in the position to get it.
Do it for Sophie, I remind myself.
“What number might help you remember to keep quiet?” he says with a grunt.
I quickly lick my lips. Fuck, I don’t know. So I’ll just go with the price of the Anime Fest with VIP passes. “Two-fifty.”
He glances up at me as if he’s surprised. Too much? Too little?
“Two hundred and fifty?”
I nod. He seems to contemplate that for a moment before going back to filling it out. Again, he rips it from the book and holds it out for me.
Quickly, I cross the room, and I notice the way he’s watching my body as I hurry toward him. Then he meets my eyes, but he doesn’t let go of the check right away. Instead, he looks like he wants to say something. I wait, hoping he’s not about to argue with me again.