Page 97 of Reckless Harmony

Her stomach a tight knot, Rayna gave Phoebe a brittle smile. “Always nice to see you, Phoebe.”

She pushed past them and out into the cold air, walking briskly toward her vehicle. She grabbed her gym bag from the front seat, slammed the door shut so hard that rust from the door drifted to the snow, and stalked toward the gym. She would work off her rage in the gym and not think once about Isaac fucking Stark.

Hollis knocked on Stark’s open door. “Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Stark, but your five o’clock call is on the line.”

“Thank you, Hollis.” Stark stood and walked around his desk, staring pointedly at Phoebe, who stood reluctantly. “Have a good evening, Ms. Edwards.”

She slipped her hand around his arm again, giving it a warm squeeze. “Isaac, I’ve asked you to call me Phoebe. Why don’t we have dinner tonight? I’m happy to stick around until your call is over. Have you tried the carbonara at the Whiskey Grill? It’s the best you’ll ever taste, I promise.”

“Thank you, but I have plans for this evening,” Stark said.

“This weekend, then,” Phoebe said. “I’m free Saturday night.”

“No, thank you,” Stark said.

Her lips thinned, and her smile turned stiff. “Right then. Good night, Isaac.”

“Good night, Ms. Edwards.”

She followed Hollis out of his office, and he returned to his chair, sinking into the soft leather before rubbing his forehead and closing his eyes. When he sensed Hollis’s presence a few minutes later, he said, “I’m giving you a goddamn raise, Hollis.”

He opened his eyes just in time to see a rare smile cross Hollis’s face.

“All these years of working together, and I didn’t realize mind reading was one of your talents,” he said. “Or could you just feel my ‘get her out of my office’ vibes through your office wall?”

Another smile flitted across her face. “Something like that. Faking a five pm phone appointment is barely worthy of a raise, but I’ll notify the payroll department of my increase in pay.”

He laughed despite the tension headache that lurked at the base of his skull. “You’re worth every penny.”

“I know,” she said before glancing at her watch. “Are you heading out for the day?”

“I am. Have a good night, Hollis.”

“You as well, Mr. Stark.”

She returned to her office, and Stark stared at his laptop for a few seconds before closing it abruptly. Throughout the entire torturous half hour that Phoebe had been in his office, his mind kept returning to the look on Rayna’s face when he’d walked in with Phoebe.

His stomach clenched, and he stared moodily out the window. What did he care if Rayna was upset? He wasn’t dating Phoebe and had no intention of dating her, but he didn’t have to share that with Rayna. She’d made it clear last week that he was nothing more than a dick for her to use.

Is that why you’ve spent the last week avoiding her like she’s a rabid mongoose?

He stood, grabbed his jacket and gym bag, and then headed outside to the parking lot. He wasn’t avoiding her. It had been a busy week at work, and maybe he’d spent every evening alone at home, but that wasn’t anything new for him. It was what introverts did.

They sat alone in their bedroom, working or playing video games with nothing but a cat and her three kittens for company. Just because he’d had a surprisingly good time with Rayna, Gideon, and Grace didn’t mean anything. He liked his privacy and his space, and that weird aching loneliness he felt more and more often was just a bizarre blip.

He unlocked his car, pausing with his hand on the door handle, when he saw Rayna’s SUV in the parking lot. He locked his car and walked toward the gym. He’d worked out that morning and absolutely didn’t need another workout tonight, but that didn’t stop him from opening the door and stepping inside.

“Hey, boss!” Rupert was running on a treadmill, and he gave Stark a brief wave.

Stark nodded to him before staring at Rayna, who was using the rowing machine. She stared resolutely at the wall, even though he was in her line of sight. Ear buds in her ears, her cheeks red, and her forehead gleaming with perspiration, she kept a steady rhythm on the machine. He headed toward the men’s locker room and changed into his workout clothes.

He returned to the central area of the gym and was immediately smacked in the face with a healthy dose of jealousy. His movements jerky, he stalked to the closest treadmill and started a brisk warm-up walk.

Rayna and Rupert were both standing by the free weights on the other side of the gym. Stark was too far away to hear what Rupert was saying, but he couldn’t miss the appreciative looks Rupert kept giving Rayna’s body.

Stark gave Rayna a stiff nod when she glanced at him. With an inscrutable look on her face, she turned back to Rupert. Stark’s jealousy skyrocketed when Rayna smiled warmly at Rupert before laughing at something he said. When she touched him, just a brief brush of her hand against his chest, Stark’s hot jealousy turned into a fiery inferno.

His stomach was a flaming ball of lead, and he told himself to go the fuck home instead of torturing himself watching Rayna flirt with Rupert. Instead, he upped the speed and the incline on the treadmill and stared grimly ahead.

---