Page 208 of My Ruthless Opponent

“You were thinking with your eyes closed?” Brielle raises a brow, her lips stretching in a teasing grin.

“That’s called concentrating.” She lifts her chin, sitting straighter. “I was so engrossed in thinking that it must have looked like I was sleeping. But I was—”

“Thinking.” Says everyone in unison, completing her thought.

She grins. “Exactly.”

“So, what have you come up with?” Raleigh asks Summer before kissing my shoulder.

She tenses and it’s so comical. Obviously, she doesn’t have any ideas because she was busy napping.

Her face lights up as if a light bulb has gone off in her head. “We can call Archer and tell him that Hannah met with an accident and she’s in the hospital! He’ll come running!” She wags her eyebrows.

Raleigh tenses beneath me. “No fucking way. Don’t even think about using Hannah and accident in one sentence, Summer.” He growls.

I press kisses against his temple to relax his stiffened body. It works. He begins to relax.

She rolls her eyes. “I am just telling you to lie on a phone call, dumbass.”

“You are suggesting to lie to him when he is pissedbecauseof the lying?” Mia shakes her head.

I sigh, wrap my arms around Raleigh’s neck and snuggle him. He tightens his hold on me as if sensing my spirits diminishing.

Jason stands. “I have an idea!”

We all look at him. He paces the room. “We can go on a strike. If we don’t show up at work, hewilltalk to us.” Jason stares at us with wide eyes and an eager expression.

I shake my head. “We can’t twist his arm into hearing us out, Jason.”

Jason’s shoulders drop and he slumps back on the pouf.

“And not to mention he is a ruthless man. He might be a darling boss but he won’t let us corner him like that.” Nina points out.

Chris bobs his head, his eyes widening. “Yeah, man. I don’t want to lose my job.” He hugs Mia close.

An idea strikes me. I squirm to sit straighter. Raleigh groans and catches my hips. “You’re killing me, princess.”

I bite my lip to suppress my smile.

When I turn my eyes to our friends, they are smirking at us.

Clearing my throat I say, “I might have an idea to win him back.”

I smile to myself. You can’t avoid me forever, Mr. Archer Kim.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Ikneel when Lucy comes running to me. Lucy is a mutt. Her wheelchair clinks behind her as she approaches me.

“She is happy to see you again.” The founder of the animal rescue center, Kayla says.

I hold out my hand as Lucy stops a foot away from me. She sniffs it, then nuzzles her nose against my palm, wagging her tail.

“I am happy to be back.” I smile up at her.

Kayla must be surprised to see me here again.

I’ve been coming here for the last five days hoping to get a hold of Archer.

---