Page 17 of Restrained

“You didn’t ask much about me.” I flinch, knowing that sounds like I'm hurt by his lack of interest.

The slow smile spreading across his lips is infuriating. “There wasn’t much to learn, Lola. My P.I. found everything out about you in a matter of minutes.”

I bite my tongue, holding back the actual “fuck you” festering beneath the surface. “You really hired someone to dig into our lives?”

“I told you, I don’t take chances. Ever. Humans are disappointing. There are always secrets hidden under the surface.” He doesn’t touch me with his hand, but his eyes seem to stroke my skin as they move over me. All the way down to my heels and then back up to my face. “Except you.”

Do not let him see how much that bothers you. “Secrets are secrets for a reason. Some things even a P.I. can’t find.”

His eyes darken and flicker with something that makes me shiver as he leans in, his full lips taunting me. “Is that so?” I try to stay strong, keeping my back straight as I keep my eyes on his, which pulls his lips into a slight smirk. “Lola Marie Sterling. The oldest of four siblings. Graduated top of your class in high school and college. Went to work for your father right after college. Never married. No car accidents. Not even a parking ticket.”

Hearing my boring life broken down into even more mundane terms is disheartening, but I don’t react. “Public record. And what makes Penelope all that more intriguing?”

I know, but does he? “Her story is quite something. In and out of foster care most of her life until she was fifteen and moved in with a wealthy family that took her under their wing. Of course, I don’t know the details of what went on in that house or how it led to her dating your brother.”

I want to throttle him. “And what about you, Mr. West? If I hire an investigator. What will he find?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary.”

He seems so sure, and I want to scream. “You sure about that, Hayden? Or is that your actual name?”

His body crowds mine, and I didn’t know I had been backing away from him until my butt hits the bathroom counter behind me. “It is.”

He smells so damn good. I need to snap out of it. How many women has he charmed? Gretchen seems willing to kill for him, and she’s the only woman I’ve met who knows him. “Penelopewas a foster kid, but she’s so much more than her background and a picture.”

My money’s still on him being some kind of weirdo stalker. “She’s a mystery. I don’t like mysteries. I want them solved quickly. That’s why I asked so many questions.”

“And me? You just assume you know everything about me?”

His face creeps even closer, the chill of his words hitting me hard. “You’re everything I hate.”

I’d be shocked if the feeling weren’t so damn mutual.

9

HAYDEN

Ihate that she doesn’t back down. That she doesn’t fear me whatsoever. I also know I'm showing my cards way too much around her. I tried to slip in the question about Penelope casually, but it didn’t work and came out random and awkward.

Which is so not me.

This woman throws me off my game, and I don’t like it.

“How about we skip the questions and get back to work?”

She smells way too good, not like expensive designer perfume which I expected. No. Instead she smells sweet, like honey with a hint of something flowery.

And I don’t hate it.

“One thing that needs to be made perfectly clear, Ms. Sterling.” I’m an asshole. I’ve never claimed not to be. I should probably back off, but I don’t. My mouth hovers only inches away from hers. “I’m in charge. I’m calling the shots, and if I want to get to know the people that are working for me, then I will.”

Her small hand rests on my chest, which catches me off guard for a moment, unsure of where she’s going with her touchuntil she pushes me backward, giving her small body space from my much larger one. “Penelope is off-limits.”

“Are you jealous?” My question quickly causes fire to expel from her eyes in my direction, but she doesn’t intimidate me either. “Is that what this is, Lola? Pissed-off I didn’t try to dig deeper into your life?”

“Of course not.”

But I'm not so sure she’s telling the truth. Her haughty attitude and folded arms tell a different story. And I have to admit, she awakens a part of me that hasn’t felt anything in a long time. “You sure?”

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