Page 37 of Ruthless Wars

Slamming my palm on the up button a few more times than necessary, I release a relieved breath as the doors finally open. In the car, I assault the button repeatedly until the doors shut and the car finally lifts. In slow fucking motion.

By the time the elevator arrives at its destination, I stalk straight to the conference room, barging through the doors.

“What on earth?” Margot says sharply, unbelievably indignant as she stands with both men by her side, their postures stiff and expressions unamused.

“Get out,” I say harshly, not bothering to look either of the men in the eye, and dangerously close to kicking their asses for sport.

“It’s all right.” Margot speaks to the men but meets my eyes for the first time in days. “We’ll continue our conversation later.”

Without a word, they leave.

“Coop,” Margot says, trying to lead me out, “why don’t we go to my office?”

“No. Right here. Right now. Margot, we need to—”

The tips of her fingers land on my lips, shushing me with the lightest pressure. Her wide blue eyes fill with something I can’t understand, but it’s there.

And, damn me, I think it’s sadness.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Margot

Coop’s hand smooths over mine, holding it as he kisses my fingertips, and I’m tingling clear to my toes.

But I back away—I have to—and pull my hand from him. After taking in a deep breath, I let it out in a slow exhale, stating my position as clearly as I can. “No. Not. Right. Here.”

I can tell Coop’s not getting it, because he looks about sixty seconds away from fucking me right on the conference table.

“We’re not leaving this room,” he growls. “Not until I know what the hell is going on.”

Nodding, I find a compromise, making my way across the room and to the adjoining media room. It’s small and private, where someone usually controls all the audio-visual feeds for the meetings, monitoring them from behind a discreet two-way mirror. As I step in, the room is mostly dark, dimly lit by a soft glow from the displays and gadgets.

When Coop’s inside, I push the door nearly closed. “That room is bugged.”

Cocking his head, he asks, “Why would you bug your own conference room?”

Flatly, I say, “We wouldn’t. Someone else did. We found the bug after the story broke about you storming off—”

“Okay, just to be clear, I didn’t leak that. And I sure as hell didn’t storm off.”

“I know. But someone who was in that room did, and we want to find out who. We swept the room and found the eavesdropping device, but it’s generic and unremarkable. So, we were about to plant a story when you entered.”

“Maybe Richard could lend a hand with his tech-genius gig and all.”

“Dead end there. It’s transmitting on a low-band radio frequency. Someone needs to be close to retrieve and download the recordings. They'd have to have access to come and go freely. That narrows it down to a member of our team. Not yours.”

“Is that how you knew I didn’t leak the story?”

Shaking my head, I lean against the wall, like the weight of the company is resting on my shoulders and I need the reinforcement to stay on my feet. “It took me a hot second, but I knew you didn’t do it because you’re private. A headline drawing attention to your mysterious status is hardly what someone who wants to stay under the radar would release. Plus, and you said it yourself, you’re not exactly the sort of man to storm off and run away from a fight.”

Coop’s gaze pierces me as he reaches out to cup my cheeks. “I’m also not the sort of man to run away from you, Margot. Tell me what happened. Was it something I said or did? You’re my temptress one minute, then blowing me off the next, and not knowing why is goddamn near killing me. What happened?”

It’s like the man just hasn’t a clue. But pinned by his dark stare, I’m frozen in his hold, the heat of his body melting me.

“I’m not interested in a player, Coop.”

“I’m not playing with you.”

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