UNRAVEL ME

CHAPTER 5: PROVOCATION

POV: d**k Hawthorne

Dick woke up irritated.

Not the ordinary kind of irritation that came from unfinished reports, incompetent executives, or investors demanding impossible returns.

No.

This irritation was far worse because it followed him into sleep.

Grey’s voice.

Grey’s smirk.

Grey standing too close on that balcony the previous night.

Even now, nearly twelve hours later, d**k could still remember the sharp intensity in Grey’s eyes when he’d asked:

“You keep looking at me like you’re trying to figure something out.”

Dick sat upright abruptly, dragging a frustrated hand down his face.

This was becoming a problem.

A serious one.

His phone was already vibrating with incoming emails, but instead of checking them, he opened his contacts and pressed one name immediately.

Mel.

She answered almost instantly.

“Good morning.”

“Come over.”

A brief pause.

“You sound stressed.”

“I said come over.”

“Yes, Dick.”

She never argued.

That was one of the things he liked about her.

Thirty minutes later, Mel stepped into his penthouse wearing a fitted black dress beneath a cream trench coat. She looked elegant as always—polished, composed, effortlessly beautiful.

Dick barely gave her time to speak before pulling her against him.

His kiss was aggressive from the start.

Possessive.

Hungry.

Mel gasped softly against his mouth but immediately melted into him, her hands sliding up his chest.

“Tough morning already?” she murmured breathlessly.

Dick ignored the question.

He kissed her harder instead, backing her against the wall near the entrance. His hands gripped her waist firmly, fingers pressing into soft fabric while frustration simmered violently beneath his skin.

But his mind betrayed him almost immediately.

Grey leaning lazily against the conference table.

Grey’s amused expression whenever d**k lost his temper.

Grey provoking him deliberately just to watch him react.

Dick’s jaw tightened.

Mel noticed the shift instantly.

“You’re tense.”

“Work,” he muttered.

“That bad?”

“Yes.”

That wasn’t technically a lie.

Mel softened immediately, brushing her fingers lightly against his cheek.

“You should rest more.”

Dick almost laughed at that.

Rest.

As if his mind would even allow it.

He kissed her again instead, desperate to silence the thoughts clawing through his head.

For several minutes, he forced himself to focus entirely on her—the warmth of her body, the softness of her skin, the familiar comfort of someone who never challenged him.

Someone uncomplicated.

Someone safe.

Unlike Grey.

That thought alone nearly ruined his mood again.

Mel tilted her head slightly, studying him with quiet concern.

“You’ve been working too hard lately.”

Dick loosened his tie impatiently.

“The board’s breathing down my neck.”

“You’ll handle it.”

Her confidence in him was unwavering.

It always had been.

Mel never questioned him. Never competed with him. Never pushed him beyond what he was willing to reveal.

She simply existed exactly where he needed her to.

An escape.

A distraction.

A release valve for pressure he couldn’t show anyone else.

And right now, he desperately needed that.

He kissed her again slowly, more controlled this time.

“Stay awhile,” he murmured.

Her expression softened instantly.

“Okay.”

By the time d**k arrived at Hawthorne Industries headquarters, his mood had stabilized marginally.

Not enough.

But enough to function.

The executive floor buzzed with controlled chaos as assistants rushed between offices carrying reports and tablets. Employees straightened immediately when d**k stepped out of the elevator, tension visibly spreading in his wake.

Power.

Control.

Predictability.

Things that still made sense.

Then Grey appeared.

And immediately ruined all of it.

“Morning, boss,” Grey greeted casually from across the hallway.

Dick kept walking.

Grey fell into step beside him effortlessly.

“You ignored three of my emails.”

“I was busy.”

“With what?”

Dick shot him a cold look.

Grey smiled.

That smug, infuriating smile.

“You know,” Grey continued lightly, “most executives answer emails eventually. It’s considered professional.”

“And most executives don’t enjoy hearing themselves talk this much.”

Grey chuckled softly.

God, even that sound irritated him.

They entered the private elevator together, the doors sliding shut behind them.

Too confined.

Too quiet.

Dick immediately regretted getting inside alone with him.

Grey leaned casually against the mirrored wall, completely relaxed while d**k remained rigid beside him.

“You seem tense today.”

“I’m always tense around incompetence.”

“Hm.” Grey tilted his head thoughtfully. “Interesting. And yet here I am.”

Dick’s eyes narrowed.

“Do you ever stop provoking people?”

“No,” Grey answered instantly. “Especially not you.”

The elevator suddenly felt much warmer than it should have.

Dick focused on the floor numbers instead of the man standing beside him.

Grey noticed immediately.

That was the problem.

He noticed everything.

“You know what I think?” Grey said softly.

“I truly don’t care.”

“I think you actually enjoy being annoyed by me.”

Dick let out a short, humorless laugh.

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard all week.”

Grey stepped slightly closer.

Not enough to touch.

Just enough to become distracting.

“Then why do you react every single time I speak?”

Dick finally looked at him.

Big mistake.

Grey’s eyes held amusement, confidence, and something sharper hidden underneath.

Something dangerous.

“You think too highly of yourself,” d**k said coldly.

“Maybe.” Grey shrugged lazily. “Or maybe I just know when someone’s obsessed with me.”

Dick’s pulse stuttered once.

Only once.

But Grey caught it.

Of course he did.

A slow grin spread across Grey’s face.

“Oh,” he murmured. “That hit a nerve.”

Dick stepped closer instantly, voice lowering dangerously.

“Careful, Grey.”

The teasing expression on Grey’s face only deepened.

“There he is.”

The elevator doors opened abruptly.

Neither of them moved immediately.

For one brief second, the tension between them became almost suffocating.

Then d**k walked out first.

Fast.

Controlled.

Furious.

Behind him, Grey laughed quietly under his breath.

And somehow that sound followed d**k through the entire day.

The strategy meeting began an hour later.

Dick sat at the head of the conference table reviewing financial projections while executives discussed revised construction timelines.

Grey arrived late intentionally.

Dick knew it immediately.

The bastard looked far too pleased with himself.

“Sorry,” Grey said smoothly while taking his seat beside him. “Traffic.”

“There’s a private elevator.”

“Yes.” Grey nodded thoughtfully. “Still traffic.”

A few executives suppressed awkward smiles.

Dick ignored them.

Barely.

Throughout the meeting, Grey continued his subtle torment.

Passing comments under his breath.

Amused glances whenever d**k lost patience with someone.

Tiny provocations disguised as professionalism.

It was psychological warfare.

And somehow Grey was winning.

At one point, while Lillian discussed investor relations, Grey leaned slightly closer.

“You’re grinding your teeth again.”

Dick didn’t even look at him.

“You’re distracting.”

Grey’s lips twitched upward immediately.

“Oh, I know.”

Dick wanted to strangle him.

Instead, he focused aggressively on the presentation screen.

Unfortunately, that only made Grey worse.

By the end of the meeting, d**k’s patience was hanging by a thread.

Executives quickly gathered their documents and escaped the room once discussions concluded.

All except Grey.

Naturally.

The moment the door shut behind the last executive, Grey spoke.

“You know,” he said casually, “watching you try not to react to me is becoming one of my favorite hobbies.”

Dick slowly closed the file in front of him.

“You have a death wish.”

Grey laughed softly.

“No.” He stepped closer to the table. “I just enjoy seeing you lose composure.”

Dick stood abruptly.

The tension shifted instantly.

Grey should have backed away.

He didn’t.

“You enjoy pushing people too far,” d**k said quietly.

Grey held his gaze steadily.

“And you enjoy pretending you’re unaffected.”

Dangerous.

Everything about this felt dangerous.

Dick moved around the table slowly until they stood only inches apart.

Grey’s expression remained infuriatingly calm.

“You should stop testing me,” d**k warned.

“Or what?”

The challenge in Grey’s voice nearly snapped the last thread of d**k’s restraint.

For one reckless second, he imagined grabbing him by the collar and shutting him up with his mouth instead.

The thought hit him so violently he immediately stepped back.

Grey noticed that too.

His teasing expression softened slightly—not mockingly this time.

Curiously.

As though he’d just discovered something fascinating.

And somehow, that terrified d**k even more.