Page 19 of The Devil's Conflict

I turn toward her. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Milk gaping at her and Shadow looking like he’s not sure if he wantsto laugh or grab her and rush her out. “Shouldn’t you be doing your job, Sutton?” I ask tersely. “Instead of pissing off your boss the first day?”

“Am I pissing you off, Boss?” she asks Shadow pointedly.

“Don’t draw me into whatever weird shit you two have going on,” Shadow admonishes.

“You did that by bringing her here in the first place,” I tell him shortly.

“Awww, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you didn’t like me,” Thea mocks.

“Does she not realize who he is?” Milk blurts out. “Lady, you might want to be careful.”

“I know exactly who he is, and exactly why I’m not scared of him. He’s been out of the game for a while, so I think I have a leg up. Literally, since I’m sure his hip can’t lift his leg that high,” she adds with a taunting smirk.

With each press of my buttons, the shorter my patience gets. And her jabs at my age make me want to grab her and show her how wrong she is. Something I should not do.

“Lady, you’re nuts,” Milk moans. “Seriously, Shadow, why are you just standing there?”

“Shut up, Milk,” Shadow sighs.

Thea and I don’t look away from each other, the tension between us rises. I want to wipe that smirk off her face so badly, and I want to do it by shoving her back against that wall and teaching her how wrong about me she is. And from the look in her eyes, she knows it. The dare in them is enough to have me seriously considering breaking my own rules.

And I know she’ll be wilder than any dreams my brain can cook up. My cock jerks at the thought, and I resent it instantly. Why, after all this time, does this woman have to show up and throw my life upside down?

“Everyone out,” I bark, determined to deal with this now. “Except you,” I say before Thea can move. She narrows her eyes but stays put.

“Sniper,” Shadow cautions, even as Milk hurries out, not needing to be told twice.

“Out,” I snap at him.

“If you make her quit, I’m beating your ass, VP or not,” Shadow warns darkly. I don’t react to that, I just stare at Thea, who has folded her arms across her chest and leaned back against the wall, a defiant look on her face. “And don’t be forever with this shit. We have a client to get to.” Then he walks out the door and shuts it behind him.

Neither of us move or say a word, staring at each other and waiting for the other to make the first move. Unlucky for her, I’m not afraid of making it and I step forward until I’m inches away from her. She doesn’t move, but her eyes sharpen as she tilts her head back to stare up at me. “Twenty-four hours, and you’re already pushing every button I have, Athena,” I tell her in a low voice.

My use of her full name has her narrowing her eyes at me and her shoulders stiffening. “Twenty-four hours and you’re already pushingmine,Grayson,” she retorts, pointedly saying my legal name.

“Just keep pushing, Thea, and I’m going to make you regret it,” I threaten.

She straightens, lowering her crossed arms and putting her hands on her hips as she glares up at me. “I’d like to see you try,” she hisses.

The challenge is there and I want so badly to reach out and take it, but by some sheer will power, I manage to keep myself from doing something stupid. Something that I’m going to regret. Instead, I force myself to step back and snap, “Well, Idon’t have time for whatever games you’re trying to play. I have shit to do, and dealing with you isn’t at the top of my list.”

Her eyes flash as she steps forward, her face flushing. God, she’s sexy as hell when she’s angry. I want to strip her down and see if she’s red anywhere else. Fuck, I need to get a grip.

“Games?” she repeats incredulously. “You think I’m playing games? You arrogant prick!Youare the one who decided to be an asshole and show up at my apartment last night and order me to be here.You’rethe one who put me in your path.You’rethe one who has to deal with that as a consequence. So don’t you fucking dare act likeI’mthe problem. LikeI’mthe one who is messing up your day.” Her expression darkens. “Everyone acts like they’re afraid of you and like I should be too. But guess what, Sniper, I’m not. Because you’re the exact same as you were back when you called me a wimp and that I would never amount to anything in the army. Well, I proved you fucking wrong, and I’m going to continue to. You wanted me around, and now you have to deal with it. And I hope I spend the rest of my time with this company pissing you off and knowing you made a terrible mistake. Just like you did ten years ago doubting me and treating me like I was nothing more than shit under your boot. So fuck you,Sniper.” Then with that, she throws open the door and stalks out.

I clench my hands into fists to keep from charging after her, though I’m not sure what I would do if I caught up to her. Part of me wants to apologize, because I know she’s right. But the other part of me wants to remind her that she’s going up against someone who can make her life a living hell if I want. And I’m not someone she wants to make an enemy of.

“Fuck,” I curse as I turn back to the now accessible shelves.

I hear someone walk inside and I turn my head and see Bullet standing there. When the fuck did he get here?

He leans against the doorframe and crosses his arms over his broad chest. “You know, I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen you so wound up over a woman,” he says conversationally.

“I’m not wound up over her,” I snap at him as I start to pull everything off the shelf and put it on the cart I pulled in here.

“So you’re not acting like a bear because she’s pushed your buttons? Or the fact that she just left here, pissed as hell and already barking orders at Shadow to leave? I’m glad I dropped Rose off at the clubhouse before I came here because if she saw that, your ass would be locked in here while it was her turn to badger you with questions.”

Yeah, I definitely don’t need that right now. Rose is like a dog with a bone when it comes to any of us being interested in a woman. “I’m acting like a bear because she’s pissing me off. Instead of thanking me for helping her find a job, she’s acting like an ungrateful brat. And as for how she’s talking to Shadow, he can handle that shit. She’s his problem now.”

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