Page 106 of Plus Size Player

The hair on the back of my neck stood up.

He broke eye contact and then headed to the right while we turned left. As we headed to the showroom, I glanced over my shoulder to see Russ entering an office. I felt a pit in my stomach.

“I need to talk to Ru—the CEO,” I murmured to the group as I slowed to a stop.

“Do you want me to wait for you?” Jonah asked.

I shook my head. “I need to do this on my own.”

“I think it’s a smart move,” Taisha chimed in. “Get ahead of things. You know people love to call us difficult.”

Nodding, I lifted my hand in a wave. “Yeah. I’ll see you guys later.”

My forced smile dropped the moment I turned my back to them. As I walked down the hall, my heart beat louder with each step. By the time I reached the door with his name on the plate next to it, I was shaking.

Rolling my shoulders back, I lifted my fist and knocked gently against the door.

“Yes,” Russ said sharply.

I’d never been nervous around him before, but that was the best way I could describe the sensation I felt as I pushed the door open. I didn’t know how he was going to react.

“Hi,” I said softly.

It was clear he’d been pacing, because he was statue-still in the middle of the spacious office. His eyes were wide, and his surprise was evident, but he didn’t say a word.

“I just wanted to thank you for what you did on the roof,” I told him from the doorway.

He shook his head. “He shouldn’t have disrespected you and I’m sorry you had to hear that.”

“I appreciate it.” I put my hand to my chest. “Truly.”

“It’s not a problem. You photograph well and you’re doing a good job.”

His response was so robotic. It was professional, but void of all emotion.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. “Do you have a few minutes?”

He checked his watch and then looked everywhere but at me. “I need to be out of here in an hour and I have a lot of work to do before I go.”

I crossed the room until I was a couple feet in front of him. “You can’t even look at me?”

When his eyes met mine, I saw a flash of intensity.

“I’m looking at you,” he uttered through clenched teeth.

The coldness was gone. I wasn’t sure if it was replaced with passion or fury, but it was intense, and he wasn’t masking it anymore. My heart rate went back up, but it wasn’t nerves this time.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked, searching his face.

“How do you want me to look at you, Nina?”

“I don’t know. But I don’t want you to look at me like you have beef with me.”

He took a few steps back. “I don’t have beef with you. I just…”

His sentence trailed off and my insides twisted at the distance he kept between us.

I stepped forward. “You just can’t even be in the same room with me?”

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