Page 21 of Taming the CEO

He blinked. "I’m not insulting you. It’s the truth. I don’t beat around the bush."

"Right. I see we're getting nowhere."

"Clearly," he said. His eyes were steely, but then his gaze dropped to my mouth.

I broke eye contact, looking at my toes. I felt myself blush despite willing myself not to do so. Why did I have so little self-control around him? Why did I keep reacting like this? He wasn't the first handsome man I'd ever encountered.

But he's the most handsome, a little voice said in the back of my head.

That was true. Still, he was also a world-class ass.

"You’re arrogant and dismissive, Mr. Whitley. Neither my father nor I do business with people like you."

I turned on my heel, heading to the main building without waiting for his reaction.

Chapter Six

Maddox

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"I passed Cami. She seemed upset,” Gran said, walking up to me.

I blew out a breath, trying to rein myself in.

She tilted her head at me. "Darling, you look upset too."

"Come on, let's go," I said, keeping my voice as calm as possible. It wasn't her fault that I kept misfiring when I was around Cami.

Why the hell am I screwing up so badly? She was never going to agree to a deal now.

"What did you do?" Gran asked.

I jerked my head back. "Excuse me?"

"You scared the poor girl off again, didn't you?"

"Gran...," I said in a measured tone.

"Oh goodness. I knew I shouldn't have left the two of you alone."

"So that wasn't a setup?" I asked.

"No, that was just my bladder getting in the way. Sorry for being so graphic, but being ninety-two isn't all they make it out to be."

"I should have done my homework better."

"Or," she said, "I should have left earlier, after she told us about running this place right after college. That seemed like a very good bonding moment."

"You don't have to treat everything like a play."

"I find that most things in life can be treated that way. I can't believe we didn’t make progress today."

"Let's go," I said.

"No, you should go after her and—"

"Gran!" I sounded determined enough that she didn't interrupt me. "I appreciate your help, but going after her isn't an option. I need to think of another way to approach this."

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