Page 101 of My Ruthless Neighbor

“You’ll have to come with me.”

“Where?”

“Stop asking questions and trust me.”

I sigh. “Listen, if you want me to have lunch with you guys, I can’t. I have a meeting and—”

He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. You are a busy man who can’t spare some time for his friends, I know.” He mocks goodheartedly. “It’s about work.”

“Oh?”

“See? You are a workaholic through and through. As soon as you heard this is about work, it grabbed your attention instantly.”

“Never denied I wasn’t. Now let’s go before I change my mind.” I get to my feet.

“Why are we here?” I ask as we near the studio.

He stops and faces me. “We are doing another test shoot today.”

That means Summer is just behind the doors. A mixture of desire and rage courses through me. I chase it away.

“I don’t know why you texted me last night to replace Summer but I wanted to prove that Hannah’s choice is perfect.” I already know it.

But how am I going to tell him that I am insisting on replacing her for a different reason?

I am this close, this close to giving in. And if I gave into my lust, nothing will stop me from having her.

“The decision was final, Raleigh. You can’t change my mind.”

“I am not trying to. I just want you to see for yourself. Watch her performance, judge her. If you still find her unfit for this campaign then I will accept your decision.”

“Raleigh…”

“And please don’t think I am biased toward her. She is important to me but that doesn’t mean I would compromise the quality of my work.”

“I know,” I say softly. Raleigh has a carefree persona. A polar opposite of mine. But there’s one thing we have in common. The passion for creativity.

He says I am a workaholic but the truth is, he is the one who lives for his work. He loves what he does.

I would never doubt his sincerity toward his job. He would’ve never approved Summer if she wasn’t good.

“So, you coming in?” He asks as he pushes the door open.

I nod and follow him inside.

An unpleasant coldness shoots through my veins. Watching her talk and smile with that prick in the park this morning had already fucked with my mood.

Now as I see Summer plastered all over this fucker’s body, my inner beast is itching to surface.

She does that to me. She brings out the darkness in me. This ugly, possessive side makes it hard for me to not lose control.

With the effort of steel, I manage to stand beside Raleigh and watch another guy touch my little liar.

She is not mine. Yet. I want her to be, though. I want to consume her. I want to taste her. I want to punish her for heating my blood every time I look at her by fucking her thoroughly.

I want to grab her and shake her when she looks at the male model because I want her eyes on me. Only me.

It’s fucking irritating that I could sense her easily when she is in the same room as I am.

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