Page 258 of By His Rule

“I wasn’t,” she interrupts. “But thanks for bringing that up. We made a mistake last week, Kian. It was fun, but it was a momentary lapse in judgment on both our parts. It’s done. And if you can’t accept that, then I guess I need to start looking for a new jo?—”

“No,” I bark, panic flooding through me. “No, you’re not going anywhere.”

“Then you need to figure this out,” she says firmly. The emotion that had drained from her voice earlier is long gone, replaced by strength and determination. “I need to go. It’s the middle of the night. Some of us have work in the morning.”

Before I get to argue the fact that I’ve been working all week, the line goes dead, severing my connection to her once again.

“FUCK,” I roar, throwing my cell onto the couch cushion beside me and watching it bounce and then crash to the floor. “Fuuuuuuuuck.”

Every minute since she hung up on me drags on forever.

My flight back to the States seems to take a fucking age, and by the time I step back onto American soil, I’m exhausted, angry, and even more fucking confused than I was before.

I spent the entire nine-hour flight trying to read between the lines of what she said on the phone, but no matter how I spin it, I still come up with the same conclusion.

She doesn’t feel the way I do.

Last week meant nothing to her.

I mean nothing to her.

A bitter laugh spills out of me as I carry my small suitcase toward where the taxis are waiting, where I hope Jamie is waiting for me.

It’s late. My flight was delayed thanks to the shitty weather in London. The working week here is over. Everyone is heading home and putting the past five days behind them; whereas I feel like I’m stuck in last week.

The second I step out of the building into a cold and miserable Chicago evening, I find Jamie standing beside my car with a wide smile on his face.

At least someone missed me.

“Did you have a good trip, sir?” he asks, taking my case from my hand. “It’s wonderful to have you back.”

“It was great, thank you,” I lie as he opens the back door for me.

He quickly places my luggage into the trunk before dropping into the driver’s seat.

“Would you like to go home?”

My kneejerk reaction is to say yes, but I think better of it before the word spills free.

I’m not ready to face my apartment yet.

“No, could we please go to the office?”

“Of course,” Jamie says, his eyes meeting mine in the mirror. I might not be able to see the lower half of his face, but I know he’s smiling.

He’s always happy.

How does he do that?

I’m still wondering what his life might be like outside of driving me around at all hours of the day when he pulls away and heads toward Callahan Enterprises.

By the time we get through the city traffic, it’s late enough to ensure that the building should be almost empty.

“Do you know how long you’re going to be?” Jamie asks as he lets me out.

I shake my head. “Go home, Jamie.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind wait?—”

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