Page 10 of Ruthless Rebel

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Banks. Again, my apologies for interrupting.” I take my hand back and offer her a small smile in return.

She looks me up and down once more, and now I am certain I see interest there, which is only cemented further when she replies, “Oh no, the pleasure is definitely all mine, Lincoln.”

My name rolls off her tongue as if she has said it a thousand times before, like the gentle purr of a kitten, and I’m sure her obvious tactics would work on other men. Other straight men that is, but she doesn’t seem to realize she is barking up the wrong tree.

“Did you enjoy your weekend with your boyfriend, Lincoln?” Asher abruptly interrupts, and my gaze breaks to him in confusion.

I wonder why the hell he is asking me about Logan, but when I flick my stare back to Miss Banks, I notice her shoulders have dropped a little as if in disappointment, and when I look back to Asher I can’t help but smirk. He knows full well how my weekend was, I saw him for most of it, so he has no reason to question me about it. The only reason he is asking is to make my sexual orientation known. He was outing me to stop her from flirting with me, which is unusual. It’s not like she is the first client to ever flirt with me. It actually happens quite a lot, given the types of people we deal with, but I guess never in front of him. And never with someone as beautiful as Miss Banks. Not that it flares even a speck of interest on my part, no, there is only one person in this room I have any interest in fucking, and it isn’t her.

“It was very physical, we worked out a lot,” I reply smoothly, knowing that neither of them will miss the innuendo, and I swear I see his teeth grinding from here.

“The best ones are always gay,” Sierra mutters, confirming her attraction once more, but all I can do is smile.

“You’re right, they are.” I ensure my focus is solely on Asher as I answer her, before adding, “And sometimes the best ones are unattainable.”

My thoughts must be clear on my face because he drops my stare, looking flustered as he turns back to his client. “Miss Banks, I pretty much have everything I need,” he says, clearing his throat. “So if you are comfortable with moving forward, I will get started this afternoon and be in touch when I find something.”

Miss Banks is watching us both closely, almost meticulously, as if trying to figure out the dynamic between us, which, good luck with that, evenIdon’t understand it. Eventually she smiles at us both with a nod, “Yes that would be fantastic, thank you so much for your time.” She moves back towards his desk to retrieve her things, and offers him her hand. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Donovan, I look forward to working with you.” They shake hands, and then she slips her hands back into her coat and moves towards me. “And, Lincoln,” she purrs, placing her hand on my shoulder firmly. “It was really nice to meet you too, I look forward to seeing you again soon.”

I nod in response, turning to watch her leave, before moving my focus back to Ash. “Are you planning on outing me to all future clients, or just the ones who try and hit on me?” I ask, strolling towards his desk, and dropping into the now vacant seat, much to his dismay.

“I didn’t realize your relationship with Logan was a secret,” he claims, ignoring my presence and focusing back onto his computer, as if I am not even there.

“It isn’t,” I toss back instantly, not wanting to lose the upper hand he has just given me.

“So you admit it?” he asks, flicking his stare at me, as if he is in desperate need of the answer to whatever the question is.

Confused about where this conversation has gone, I reply, “Admit what?”

“That what you and Logan have is actually a relationship.” His words are casual, his tone almost indifferent, but the intensity of his stare is something I can’t ignore.

His ocean blue eyes bore into mine, and I can’t look away as I all but whisper, “That’s not what I meant.”

I mean yes, technically I am not seeing anyone but Logan, and haven’t been with anyone but him since Elle returned to town almost eighteen months ago now. Yet neither Logan or I have set any parameters to our seeing one another. Yes we are fucking, and spending time together, more and more time for that matter, but we haven’t said we are in a relationship, but does that mean we aren’t?

“But it’s what you said.” Asher doubles down, like he just wants me to admit it and get it over with, but I refuse to give him the satisfaction.

“No, it’s what you said,” I start, standing from the chair, and rounding his desk until I am towering over him. “I wasn’t aware you had such an interest in my relationship status.”

“I don’t,” he snaps, reaching up to adjust his tie, as he moves his eyes up to meet mine. His pupils are wider than they were a moment ago, and the pulse in his neck is strong, but it’s his mouth where my focus lies. “I was just trying to help save Miss Banks from embarrassing herself by flirting with someone who is unavailable.”

His words shouldn’t excite me but I can’t help it, especially when they sound a lot like jealousy. I lean my hand down onto his desk so it rests right by his, bringing our faces closer togetheras I say, “But flirting with someone who is unavailable is so much fun sometimes.”

The thrum of his vein intensifies from my words, and I am certain he is clenching his teeth this time, but before he can respond, another voice floats between us.

“So this is what you do all day, and here I thought you were saving people,” Elle chuckles, and both our heads snap towards the door she’s suddenly leaning against. “And don’t forget, sometimes flirting with someone unavailable can get you killed,” she adds with a smirk, flashing us the blade she never leaves home without, and I am mildly reminded of the night she killed Cherry. Of course it wasn’t because she set her sights on Marcus, no there was much more to it than that, but I’m sure she enjoyed killing her all the more because of it.

Asher is up and out of his seat faster than when I burst into his office and interrupted his meeting, as he makes his move away from me and towards her. “Hells Bells, what are you doing here?”

I crack my neck as I rise back to my full height and move towards her myself, burning under her assessing stare as she watches us both. “Max called and said that he would be finalizing the security measures and travel plans for the wedding today, so I told him I wanted to be here.” When neither of us say anything she continues, “I know the call was scheduled for this afternoon, but Marcus is teaching a class at the gym and I need to be around for Cass, so I asked him to bring it forward, unless the two of you are busy?” Her questioning tone sounds only slightly teasing, as if she knows exactly what game I was trying to play before she arrived.

“My last meeting just ended, I’m free,” Asher replies almost instantly, moving to stand in the doorway with her, and holding out his hand. “Lead the way.”

Elle holds my stare for a second before she relents and smiles up at Ash. “Sure, let’s go.”

I allow the two of them to leave before I inhale a much needed breath, then I follow after them to one of the meeting rooms, and to my surprise Elle leads us to the smaller one, which I suppose makes sense. Max is video calling in, as is Zack, so that only leaves us three here. When she steps inside, she takes the first seat, leaving Ash and I to take a seat side by side, all of us facing a large screen hanging on the wall. I sit down first leaving a space between Elle and I for him, but he hesitates, looking around the rest of the room as if willing another chair to appear.

Elle is too focused on setting her laptop up for the call to notice his dilemma, but I can’t help but smirk as I watch his internal struggle. I swear he would rather slit my throat than be forced to sit next to me, but whatever argument he is having with himself must fail because he huffs and stomps towards the vacant chair. He takes a seat, ensuring not one part of our bodies touch in the process, and keeps his focus solely on the screen before us.

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