Page 61 of Hate Notes

"Thank you for making me want to be this version."

Something flickered in her eyes—regret maybe, or longing. Then she was gone, leaving only the ghost of her perfume and the memory of how right she'd looked in my space.

Goblin jumped onto the kitchen counter and stared.

I sighed. “How did I manage to fuck that up so thoroughly?”

I loosened my tie and poured myself a drink - something I rarely did this late. But tonight had shaken something loose in me. Seeing Ember with Colton and Jessica, watching her charm my best friend and his date, had made me imagine possibilities I had no business considering.

I could picture her here, curled up on my couch with Goblin. Could see her adding touches of warmth to my stark apartment, drawing me out of my carefully constructed shell like she'd been doing since the day she walked into my life with her stack of hate notes.

But I also remembered her face when Davenport talked about preserving his legacy. How passionate she was about honoring the history of those buildings.

She would never forgive me when she learned the truth.

Better to keep my distance. Better to maintain professional boundaries and ignore the way she made me want to tear down every wall I'd built.

My phone buzzed with a text from Colton.

Colton:She's good for you, man. Don't fuck it up.

Too late, I thought, tossing back my drink.

I was already fucking it up by wanting things I couldn't have. By letting her make me feel things I had no business feeling.

Tomorrow, I decided, we would go back to normal. Back to boss and employee. Back to safe distance and professional boundaries.

It was better that way.

28

EMBER

Orion's scowl could have frozen hell this morning. I happened to be at the office extra early to get my badges updated at the front desk, which meant I caught a front-row seat to Patricia Rosh reading Orion three particularly vicious hate notes. Orion’s jaw seemed to tick with each word, which was odd, because he usually seemed mostly unfazed by the contents of the notes.

Orion’s cold aura had followed him up the elevator and to the office floor. I knew I wasn’t the only one who felt it, as the office had a hushed, oppressed atmosphere.

Last night already felt like a dream. The way he'd smiled, laughed, let me see behind his walls... It made this morning's arctic front even harder to bear.

"God, he's in a mood," Julian muttered as he passed my desk. "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing," I said quickly. Too quickly.

Julian raised his eyebrows but wisely chose not to comment.

I turned back to my work, trying to focus on client emails instead of remembering how Orion had looked in his apartment last night—tie loosened, shadows playing across his perfect features as he showed me the view from his window. Standing next to him, seeing our reflections side by side, the differences had been stark. He was all clean lines and perfection, while I...

Well. I wasn't Jessica with her perfect hair and sculpted body. Men like Colton and Orion probably had perfectly crafted women like Jessica lining up for a chance to be with them. Even if the stars somehow aligned and Orion wanted to be with me, how long would it be before another “Jessica” came along and showed me up? It was like Kylie and Cole all over again.

"Miss Hartwell."

I jumped at Orion's voice. He stood by my desk, looking every inch the untouchable CEO. No trace remained of the man who'd smiled at me in his apartment last night.

"Yes, Mr. Foster?"

"I need your latest work on Davenport. Bring everything you have to my office.Now.”

He turned and walked away without waiting for a response. Right. Back to business as usual.