Page 23 of The Cocky Neighbor

I hardened my gaze and also pretended like the last few minutes hadn't happened. "And if it doesn't?"

"I suppose you want a reward, then? But for some reason, I think you'd much prefer the punishment," he said with a hint of amusement in his voice. So much for keeping things professional.

The fucker then turned and left without a backward glance, leaving me hard and all sorts of confused in my own office. My brain didn't know if we liked the dude or not, but my body was for sure on board with the idea of him.

I might have won the battle with him regarding the phones, but I couldn't help but feel that I lost the mental game we'd been playing, and I didn't know how I felt about that.

At least my coworkers would be happy to hear about getting their phones back.

SEVENTEEN

LIAM

I hated to admit it, but Eric was right. Not only were the staff happier with this new arrangement, leading to less complaints every time I saw them hanging around the lobby, their productivity actually increased.

Rooms were being cleaned faster. At first, I thought they were half-assing the job, but after inspecting the rooms, I couldn't find anything to be dissatisfied about. They did their work perfectly and efficiently.

I'd caught a couple of staff checking their phones while on duty, but it only lasted a few moments before they got back on task. Perhaps my original decision of keeping their phones away from them was fueled by the one negative experience from the teenager I'd fired the first week I was here and Eric had been right all along.

This was a fact that annoyed me to no end. It was also especially irritating to see his smug smile in the days following our talk in his office. He was very well aware that he'd won this time and had no problem gloating about it.

Although, he could gloat all he wanted if it meant that he'd keep showing me those lively expressions of his. Gone were the days of shooting me an indifferent glare, now his features lit up with delight every time he faced me. And it didn't even bother me that this was all brought on by my misfortune. Okay, it only bothered me a teeny tiny bit.

That was why I was only a tiny bit annoyed when I got him alone in the corner of the staff area. "Fine, you win," I gritted, pushing back the smile that threatened to spill at his happy expression. What could I say? The man was already handsome, but when he was happy, he absolutely glowed, so much so that I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. "What do you want as a prize?"

His eyes widened like he wasn't expecting my question. "I thought you were kidding about that?"

"Why? We made an agreement, and I don't break my promises."

"Not ever?" he asked, and for some reason it felt like the question wasn't as simple as it seemed. Did he also think about how we agreed to keep things strictly professional? Because I sure as hell did.

I’d spent more hours than I cared to admit thinking of ways to change his mind but came up with nothing. If this was how he wanted things, I had to respect his wishes. I’d already acted the jerk in front of him and wasn’t planning on making the same mistake twice.

Things hadn't been as tense between us these past few days as it had been last week, and that should have been a good thing. Instead, I found myself missing the back and forth jabs we took at each other.

"Of course. Wrights don't go back on their word," I said.

His nostrils flared for a quick second before he turned away from me. "Fine," he said, his arms crossed, obviously closing himself off to me as well.

The man confused me to no end. He was the one who said there should be nothing but professionalism between us, and now he got mad that I gave him just that? What the hell did he want from me?

I gave him a few seconds to sort out his turbulent thoughts, because god knew that I needed those extra seconds for myself as well.

In the end, he finally sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "I don't know what I want yet, so I'll get back to you."

Why did I have a feeling he wasn't just referring to his reward?

"Whatever you want," I said, lowering my tone to convey that I would go along with his wishes in all aspects.

It was ridiculous that I was leaving the ball in his court. I was a Wright. I took what I wanted without any regrets or hesitation, but it somehow felt good to give him the power to decide what he wanted, and if he chose me, then I'd know for sure that I wasn't the only one wanting to see where this confusing, infuriating spark between us leads.

I knew I conveyed my meaning by the way his eyes dilated as his gaze automatically moved to my lips. I forced myself to keep calm, despite wanting nothing more than to steal another taste of him.

Fortunately, he broke the silence before my restraint broke and I lost all self-control. "Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work."

I watched him leave, loving the way his ass jiggled in his form fitting dress pants as he walked. All his suits were drab dark colors of black, grays, or blues, but they sure looked fine as fuck on him.

"Nice view, huh?" Alfred said next to me, shaking me out of my daze. I made a sound in my throat, my eyes not leaving my target until Eric was out of sight.

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