Page 121 of Reconciling With the Rival

I doubt what he had to tell me was that important, though I’ve never seen him so serious before. Normally, he has the same smirk and asshole expression on his face—one that screams he knows he’s the hottest guy in every room. But this one looked genuinely worried, and I don’t know what to do with that information.

Leo hasn't said anything, and Brody just sits across from us with a smirk, so I break the weird silence. “You wanted to see us?”

“Indeed I did.”

“What does this pertain to? If it's about the project we’re working on, then—”

“No, it’s not that, Ella. In fact, it’s more interesting.” He leans back in his chair and throws his arms behind his head.

All my alarm bells are going off, and as I turn and see Leo with his head down, I get more nervous.What the hell is going on?

“Well, I heard you two have been involved recently, and we can’t have that, can we?”

Involved?How the fuck did he find out? “I’m sorry, what?”

“I know about your little arrangement, Ella. You can drop the act.”

I have no idea how to react right now, and Leo not saying a fucking word isn't helping. Isn't he going to say something? He’s the one who’s all buddy-buddy with Brody, so he could easily get us out of this.

“And you called us in here to discuss a personal matter that doesn't pertain to you? Wow, that’s a new level of meddling, even for you, Brody.”

“This company has a zero tolerance policy for dating within the company.”

“We’re not dating. We’re not anything, so can we leave?” Leo asks, his leg still bouncing.I bet he’s itching for a cigarette right now.

“Well, Leo, I know you had nothing to do with it. It seems Ella is more conniving and manipulative than we thought, right?” Brody leans forward in his chair and smiles at Leo.What the fuck?

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“It’s become clear to me that Leo here had nothing to do with this little deal you two made. Ella, I knew you were desperate, but if you wanted to sleep with someone to get a promotion, your chances would have been better with me.”

I almost throw up in my mouth. “Excuse me?” I can barely form words. Where the fuck does Brody get off accusing me of this?

“Watch it, mate.” Leo leans forward in his chair. “It’s not just her involved in this. It does take two to tango, if you know what I mean.”

Brody only keeps looking at me, ignoring Leo. “What were you wearing to entice him, Ella? Or did you just get under his skin so much that he had to shut you up?”

“I don’t have to listen to this,” I say as I get up, but as I go to grab the door handle, he speaks again.

“It sure would be a shame if Imogen found out about this—or the board members.”

I turn around and march over to his desk. “Are you threatening me?”

He only shrugs his shoulders.

“Then you’d have to tell them about me too. I propositioned Ella, not the other way around.”

At least he’s sticking up for me. I’d have to cut his dick off if he just sat there silently. “What do you want, Brody?”

“I want you to know that I know all about this. Ever since Leo let it slip at the bar the other night, I’ve been thinking about what to do, and this is as sweet as I thought it would be. It’s going to be so much fun, holding this over your head, Ella, especially, since all you talk about all day is how terrible I am at my job and I don’t deserve the promotion I got. So, going forward, I hope I have your complete cooperation.”

I barely heard what he said after Leo’s name came out of his mouth. We both agreed to keep this between us, and he fucking ruined it. Brody only found out because Leo hung out with him outside of work and blabbed his stupid British mouth.

“Get fucked, Brody. I’ll tell Imogen myself if that’s what it comes to. I won’t have you blackmailing me when everyone knows I should be in your seat and not you. The only reason you got promoted is because you’re a man. And you’ve never known what it feels like to work hard and achieve something.” I turn to face Leo, but he can’t even meet my eyes.

I guess there’s my answer about what he wanted to talk about this morning.

I leave the office, slamming the door behind me as I head back to mine, anger and annoyance swimming through my veins. I swear, if someone even looks at me the wrong way today, I might kill them.

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