Kiss me, Mr Steele

08

EIGHT

LILY

I was halfway through shutting down my computer and trying my best not to think about everything that had already happened today when the door to my office flew open, leaving me in complete shock because there had been no knock or warning whatsoever.

I watched as Jamie walked in, pacing around the room in anger. I straightened myself instantly as I watched him with visible irritation on my face. His tie was loosened and I could see that he had his fists curled up; he majorly did that when he was angry about something and it annoyed me to no end that I knew that fact about him.

There was definitely something wrong and the truth was that whatever it was, it wasn’t my problem. After all, we weren’t together anymore.

“What the f**k are you doing barging into my office?” I snapped at him, as I reached for my bag to continue my packing.

He stared at me for a couple of seconds without saying anything. He looked like he was sizing me off and I could see something that looked like disgust on his face which further infuriated me.

If there was someone that should be disgusted by anyone then it should have been me, especially after what I saw him do in that cage.

“Tell me Lily, how do you know him?” he demanded,

I paused as I looked at him with a puzzled look.

“What?” I asked with genuine curiosity.

His lip curled.

“Don’t play stupid with me, Lily. How do you know him?”

My confusion was real, as I tried to make sense of what he was saying to me.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Who are you talking about?”

That was apparently the wrong answer, as I watched his anger snap and he made his way to me, closing the gap in two strides. He was in front of me now and had grabbed me by the arm, his long nails digging into my skin hard enough that I winced in pain.

“Jamie,” I hissed, as I tried to pull back. “You’re hurting me.”

He squeezed tighter.

“You better answer my question truthfully,” he said through clenched teeth, “or I swear…”

“If you don’t let go,” I cut in, my voice shaking despite my effort to keep it steady, “I will scream and everyone on this floor will hear me.”

For a moment, I wasn’t sure which way it would go. We continued staring into each others eyes for a couple of seconds and then slowly, I felt his grip loosen on me. I staggered back, rubbing the spot where his stupid hands had been. This was a side of him which

I had not seen before, at least not directed at me.

He laughed at that point, but there was nothing amusing about anything that was going on here.

“I always thought you were a goody two-shoes,” he said bitterly. “Miss morals, but now?” he looked me over with disdain. “Now

I’m not so sure.”

I folded my arms over my chest, tired of all of this.

“Get to the point.”

He scoffed.

“I bet he came here specifically to see you today, didn’t he?

It was at this point that the pieces suddenly began to slide into place and I knew the him that he was talking about.

“Wait, are you talking about Damon?” I asked slowly.

I saw his eyes flare up immediately,

“There it is,” he spat, “So you do know him up to the point where you know his name. I should have f*****g known that there was something fishy going on.”

“That’s not…” I began to say, but he didn’t allow me finish.

“I f*****g knew it.” He cut in, as he continued pacing around the room. “How long have you been f*****g him and pretending to be going through some trauma from your past”

I audibly gasped but he continued.

“You pretend to be all innocent, but look at the company you are keeping. How do you even know him to start with and the fact you are even going around telling everyone that I ended things with you. You like to spin narratives, don’t you? Make it look like it is my fault, putting my f*****g business out there”

I felt something inside of me snap. “If you didn’t want your business out there then you should have thought about that before stepping into that club. Before climbing into that glass cage and letting strangers watch you fuck.”

His face went red with rage and it made me laugh so hard.

“For someone who likes to be f****d publicly,” I added, my voice dripping with contempt at this point, “you sure do take your public image very seriously.”

He lunged toward me, but I didn’t move.

“If you so much as lay a finger on me again,” I said, my voice deadly calm, “I will bring the full brunt of the law down on you. And you know exactly how capable I am of doing that.”

He stopped short, staring right into my eyes as he realized I meant every word.

For a second, I saw hesitation flicker across his face.

“This isn’t over for even a second, ” he said angrily, as he stormed out, slamming the door hard enough to rattle the glass.

I sighed deeply, willing myself to stay calm.

I had no idea how long I had been blind to Jamie’s behaviour.

All the way home, my thoughts circled relentlessly back to Damon. The way he had looked at me and the words he had said.

You work for me now.

It had been ringing in my head all afternoon. I wondered if he was thinking of me at all then I decided against him thinking of me

because that would mean he is remembering me begging him to f**k me.

It definitely did not help that we were now going to be working together, which meant that I was about to be seeing a lot more of him.

I should have refused the case the moment he walked through the door. And yet… I hadn’t.

A part of me wanted to see it through, to be close to him and that was the part that scared me most.