Page 35 of Addiction

Her cheeks burned. “That won’t happen.”

“You’re still going to fight what is inevitable?” Armaan asked, his tone light but sure.

Goodness, he was too bloody confident that she was a sure thing. And fuck, she’d made it so easy for him to believe that, considering how she’d kissed him so easily at his party.

Her eyes narrowed to slits. “There is nothing happening between us. Any decent man would’ve taken the hint by now and left me alone.”

“I never said I was decent,moya tigritsa. In fact, I remembering telling you that I was bad, so very bad.”

Her blood sizzled at his words. God, what had she gotten herself into? And why was she unable to get out of it?

He stood. “Jokes apart, why don’t you seize the day and live for the moment? The topmost model in the Middle Eastern region is here in your office. Yes, she’s come as a favor to me. But you will have to convince her to work with you. I’ve only given you an opportunity to do that.”

She inhaled and exhaled. He was right. Rehana was here in her office. So many people would give an eye or an arm to have this very opportunity, and here she was, fighting it.

She lifted her jaw, her mind made up. “Do you promise that you won’t interfere if she doesn’t want to work with me? And that I won’t owe you anything for this?”

“I promise.”

“And do you promise to leave me alone after she goes and that you won’t talk about the debt I owe you?”

“Do you truly want me to leave you alone? Do you want me to cancel the night you owe me?” he asked in all seriousness. “Then say the words, and I will. Say the words, and I’ll walk out of here, and you will never hear from me again.”

A soft breath escaped her lips. This was the second time he was offering her a way out. That night at the party, he’d told her that if she could prove it to him that she wasn’t attracted to him, then he’d let her go. That had been a miserable failure because instead of doing that, she’d gone and kissed him.

Once again, he was offering her a chance to remove him from her life. The only problem was that her lips weren’t able to form the words she had to say to do that. She breathed out and once again parted her lips, but no words would come out. The proverbial stone had lodged itself in her throat. She wet her lips and tried again, and still, she couldn’t tell him to let her be. Fuck, what was wrong with her?

There was a knock on her door and Lavina entered. She looked from her to Armaan and then back at her. “Rehana is getting restless…”

Navya shook her head. “I’m coming.”

A soft chuckle followed her as she made her exit. Damn him for making her feel off-kelter. She’d ruined her chance to make him leave from her life. But after this meeting, she would tell him to leave her alone, and nothing would come in the way of that.

9

One hour later, Rehana Haddad was her client. Navya stared after her as the woman and her entourage left her office. She pressed a hand to her mouth and sat down. Having Rehana as her client was a game changer. All the big brands would be lining up on her doorstep just so that Rehana Haddad could wear their outfits, shoes, and jewellery. Everything, henceforth, would be next level.

“See, I told you to have faith in yourself,” Armaan said from her side.

She stared at him, dazed. He hadn’t said a word while she’d discussed business with Rehana, only silently observed.

“You’re good, Navya,” he added. “You need to believe it.”

Lavina stepped into the conference room, waving her phone in the air. “Rehana just tweeted that she’s looking forward to working with you. She’s tagged you as well.”

“What?” Navya screeched. “She literally just walked out the door.”

Lavina’s cell phone rang. The office line rang at the same time and so did Navya’s cell phone, as well as the landline on her desk. Lavina looked as awestruck as Navya felt.

“You’re going to be busy now and very much in demand,” Armaan remarked.

Navya stood, moving to her cabin. Both Armaan and Lavina followed her, the phone rings echoing from all directions.

“May I offer some advice?” Armaan asked.

“Sure, you’ve gotten me this far.”

Armaan folded his hands on his chest. “Is that your way of saying thank you?”

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