Page 20 of Tempt Thy Neighbor

Just the mention of the bastard puts a sour taste in my mouth. “What about him?”

“You work for him, don’t you? Is he expanding his horizons beyond Wells Springs?”

“No.”

“No he’s not expanding or no you don’t work for him?”

My god, what is taking this elevator so long?

I shuffle my weight to the other foot, her stare like an anvil sitting on my chest.

When I don’t answer, she quirks a brow.

Realizing she’s not going to let it go, I sigh. “No, I don’t work for him. What part of out don’t you get?”

“But if you’re living here and not working for him, then…”

A wrinkle forms between her brows, and I can see she’s beginning to put two and two together.

Her back goes ramrod straight. The pieces have clicked.

She turns toward me. “Sutton…do you work here?”

The elevator skids to a halt and the doors slide open.

“Ah, Mr. Barnes,” says the woman who interviewed me. “There you are.”

I step out and slide my hand into hers, giving her a firm shake as I peek over at Holland.

Her green eyes are big and bright…and full of fury.

“Welcome to Spectrum Marketing. We’re so excited to have you working here.”

5

Holland

It’s official:I’m going to spend my life rotting in jail for murder.

I’ve been working with Sutton for three days now, and every time he comes into the same room as me, I feel him.

And I hate that I feel him.

I hate that my eyes are drawn to him. I hate that my nipples pebble, remembering the way his teeth felt against them. I hate that I can clearly recall just what it feels like to fall apart in his arms. I hate that he knows the effect he has on me.

And worst of all, I hate that no matter how badly I want to march into my boss’s office and quit, I’m going to have to suck it up and take this giant F-you from the universe in stride.

I woke up to news from Dean that his building manager let him in on a little secret—there is an apartment opening up, and I have first dibs on viewing it tomorrow. There’s no way I can quit knowing I’m this damn close to getting out of Dean’s apartment.

I toured three places this past weekend, but not a single one of them turned out to look like the now obviously stock photos they used to lure me in. One landlord even suggested sexual favors were acceptable as payment for room and board.

I took a hard pass on that one.

“Oh my gosh,” Emma squeals as she rushes into the break room. We’ve just gotten out of a meeting, and since she was seated next to Sutton, I have a feeling I already know where this is going. “Did you see the new guy flirting with me in there?” She fans herself, her short blonde hair whipping around with the movement. “I cannot believetheSutton Barnes is working here. His father is so crazy rich and they throw the best parties. Ugh, he is so hot.”

I wrinkle my nose, and a laugh spurts out of her mouth.

“Oh, come on. You cannot tell me that man isn’t drop-dead sexy.”

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