Page 152 of My Ruthless Neighbor

My body hums with awareness.

He closes the gap between us and leans down. “For your sake, I am hoping that was a lie, baby.” My mouth goes dry as he steps back and asks everyone to settle down.

Archer stands taller while we are seated. “First and foremost, let’s clear the air, shall we?”

Everyone speaks at once.

“No need!”

“Everything is cool, boss.”

“What for?”

There’s a hint of a smile on his lips. “I am sorry.”

Another round of protests echoes in the air and Archer silences them with a palm. “I shouldn’t have hurt your feelings like that.”

Hannah shakes her head. “We understand, Archer. And besides, Summer told us that you personally apologized to her.”

His gaze drifts to me. His distant demeanor has vanished. Now he is looking at me with something close to tenderness. The kind that tells me I am going to get hurt in the end. My stomach aches with the knowledge.

“She did?” He asks her all the while looking at me.

“Yes. And she gave a little speech on how we shouldn’t give you grief for your ill behavior.”

“Did it work?” He finally moves his eyes from me and stares at Raleigh.

He rolls his eyes. “Of course, it worked. It’s not every day our boss apologizes to us. I wanted to make you sweat some more.”

I smile when Archer walks to him and extends a hand. Raleigh stands, grabs it and they both share a quick hug which leads to a group hug when everyone abandons their seats and join them.

I stay put because it would be odd if I go over there and expect them to include me. So I just sit there and smile lovingly at the best team and their mentor having a sweet moment.

“All right. I have good news.” Archer announces after a few minutes.

“Are we getting a raise?” Brielle jokes and the room breaks into laughter. Archer looks amused too.

“Not really as I just gave y’all a raise not two months ago.” He says good-naturedly.

“Ignore her, boss,” Chris says and Jason nods eagerly. “Please continue.”

“Remember the consumer goods company I asked you to pitch?” He asks his star employees.

They nod. “But we are yet to hear from them,” Hannah says.

When Archer leans against the wall and crosses his arms over his chest, Hannah’s eyes widen. “Did we land the deal?”

He merely gives us the small smile, his expression proud. “We did.”

“Yes.” Raleigh does a fist pump.

The team gets excited, throwing ideas around already.

“I’m not finished yet,” Archer says, silencing the room again. He pushes off the wall and comes straight to me. “I’ve decided that Summer will be the face of our campaign.”

Loud bangs, whistles, and claps fill the air, making me laugh. I stare at him inquisitively through the excitement.

“Why?” I mouth at him.

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