Page 55 of The Protégé

He leaned back in the chair and pinned me with those powerful eyes. “Fair enough.”

His phone rang, and he picked up. “Hey.” He kept his gaze on me while he spoke to whoever was on the other line. “I haven’t forgotten. See you tonight.”

Did he have a date? Jealousy stirred in me.

Well, I had an event tonight as well. Speaking of which, I had to leave early to get my hair and makeup done at Salon Oasis.

“Is it all right if I leave an hour early? I’ve got a hair appointment I made a while ago. I’ll make up the time tomorrow.”

His eyes scanned my face and hair. “That’s no problem. Are you cutting your hair again? I like it long.”

Joy sprouted in my stomach, but I squashed it. I shouldn’t romanticize anything.

“No. Just an updo.”

“Do you have a date?” he asked.

“Yes.” I had a date with a fashion show.

His jaw tightened, and the veins on his neck throbbed. But his face remained impassive, probably trying to hold back his genuine emotion.

Joy was like the seedlings of a dandelion scattering inside my stomach, flowing all around me. I held back the urge to tell the truth, or even correct his assumption. It wasn’t my fault he assumed certain things.

“Who is he?”

I chewed on a fry. “Oh, you don’t know Octavius Rollins.”

“What does he look like?” His eyes flashed like he was ready to subdue an enemy. “What’s his personality?”

Was Orion Reimann feeling insecure?No . . .

“Handsome. Arrogant. Mysterious. Moody.” I sighed. “He’s got a lot of issues.”

“And that’syourtype?”

“We’ve all got issues, Orion. No one is exempt from that.”

He considered me for a long moment. I could feel his gaze on my face as though he were tracing my features with those sharp gray eyes.

After what felt like forever, he said, “It won’t work out.”

I arched an eyebrow. “How do you know?”

“Because you’ll be thinking of me.” He leaned in and tucked an errant strand of hair behind my ear. I shivered at his touch.

Traitor.

My body should be loyal tome. It shouldn’t respond to him when I didn’t want it to. He had shoved me away.

Orion’s eyes sparkled as though he knew what he did to me. He leaned into my ear, his warm breath brushing my heat. “You can’t erase me that easily.”

“I’ll make that my mission then.”

His eyes darkened. “Why?”

“What kind of game are you playing, Orion? You don’t want me. You said I was an experiment. Why do you care what men I’m dating?”

He didn’t answer me. Instead, he rose and ran a thumb over my bottom lip. “I’m trying to figure out what I should do with you.”

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