Page 39 of The Forever Rule

However, James was my boss. Mynewboss. And as I turned to see Aston Cage there, I was afraid of what I was going to see.

And afraid of what I wasn’t.

Chapter Three

ASTON

In case you’re trying to catch up, the Cages are “now” as follows:

Aston, Flynn, Hudson, Dorian, Isabella, James, Theo, Sophia, Kyler, Ford, Emily, and Phoebe.

She was even morebeautiful than I had remembered. And considering the memory of her still haunted my waking dreams, that was saying something.

She wore a pale pink top with some kind of silk bow thing, as well as gray pants, and I couldn’t help but think of how that top looked exactly the same color as the dress I had last seen her in. The dress that I nearly crumpled in my hands in my haste to have her.

It had been three months since I had seen her, three months since I had ignored her text, andhad never called her back. I wasn’t always a complete asshole, but when it came to Blakely, apparently, I could not help it.

“Blakely?” I asked, surprised my voice had come out as coherent at all. Considering it was only one word though, I should not put the cart before the horse.

I should not give myself too much praise.

I looked past her, realizing that she was in my brother’s office, and James just gave me a knowing look. Although what he could know confounded me.

“Hello Mr. Cage,” she said.

Mr. Cage.Well I probably deserved that. “I didn’t realize you would be here today.” Why did it sound like I had a stick up my ass? Probably because just the sight of her felt as if I’d been hit with an anvil.

Weeks of texting, just light conversations with two people who didn’t even know each other, a single coffee date, a single dance, a single kiss that could have turned into more.

Ours was a tryst of promise, a hope that had led to nothing. Because I had made it that way.

And now she was here. In my brother’s office. On my floor.

“I want to introduce you to our newest employee,” James said, and my gaze pulled back to my brother, as I hadn’t even realized I had been staring at Blakely again.

“Excuse me?” James gave me a pointed look, and I cleared my throat before looking back at Blakely. “Welcome to the team. I assume you’ll be working under James since I don’t know what job you applied for.”

I had never sounded so stilted and idiotic in my life.

Her face paled, and I hated myself.

“She’s going to take Johnson’s place. And hopefully do a better job.”

I nodded, remembering the man who had a promising start, and then hadn’t been able to follow through on any of his lofty ideas and lies.

And now it all clicked, remembering what Blakely had done at Howard Enterprises.

“So you’re no longer working with Howard?” I asked, so confused as to why she would be here.

James cleared his throat and gestured me into the office. I closed the door behind him and couldn’t help but notice the way that Blakely stiffened, staring between us.

Because of the way that the company was structured, Blakely would not be working for me. She would only work for James. And yet that thought didn’t make this situation any easier to swallow in this moment.

“Is there a reason that you closed the door?” Blakely asked, her voice smooth, as she stared at both of us.

James sighed. “I assumed you didn’t want your personal business blasted all over the office,” James said rationally, and I felt anything but rational.

“What business?” I asked, feeling as if I were three steps behind. I had purposely not looked into anything that Blakely could be attached to, including Howard Enterprises. Because if I had, I would’ve wanted to reply back. I would’ve wanted to reach out.

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