Page 35 of Point of Contention

I swallowed the thickness in my throat, then dropped my gaze. “No, Sir.”

“Look at me.” He placed a knuckle beneath my chin and lifted my head until I was locked in those icy blue eyes again.

His words triggered a flood of memories and my gaze flicked to the green ivy wall. I licked my lips and he focused on them.

His mouth curved into a cruel but somehow beautiful smile, his white teeth bright and straight. “You’re in need of one, aren’t you?”

My eyes widened. My swallow was audible over the muzak playing softly throughout the store. I shook my head as much as I could with his fingers on my chin. My pulse raced.

I didn’t want to be anyone’spet, but I couldn’t ignore the way the thought of returning to the Rabbit Hole tugged at my belly.

He released me and rose to his full height again, snapping me out of my momentary, treacherous thoughts. The man was terrifying. Then he gave a curt nod and began to make his way to the back of the store. As he typed the lock code into the keypad, he said, “He’s trained you well. I’ll be sure to let him know that when I inform him of my plans for you.”

My mouth dropped open on a gasp, but before I could find the words to argue, he was gone, disappearing into the underground stairwell.

My stomach twisted at the thought of going anywhere with that terrifying man, especially down into the Rabbit Hole.

But it was fine.Iwasfine.

I wasn’t someone’s toy to pass around. I wasn’t anyone’spet.

This guy didn’t have any right to makeplansfor me.

He could tell Cabot whatever he wanted but I still had control over my decisions.

If I ever did go down there again, I’d find my own sexy sadist, thank you very much.

Chapter Twelve

Cabot

Swirling my glass in a circular motion, I watched the amber liquid mix with the water melting off the single sphere of ice. Darkness surrounded the booth, save for soft amber light emanating from globes on the walls. For a speakeasy, the music pulsing through the speakers was too loud to hold a conversation. Typical L.A.; they took a beautiful idea and turned it into something that barely even represented the original concept. The entire city was full of bastardized ideas.

But the inability to schmooze was fine with me. I had nothing to say to these execs that hadn’t been said to death during the few days I’d spent in Los Angeles. At this point, Reed Enterprises’ West Coast team and affiliates were either with me or against me. Though, regardless of outcome, they had no problem using me for free drinks and entertainment until I returned to New York and they all stabbed me in the back.

Or voted in my favor.

Time would tell.

The problem I ran into repeatedly, both here in California and at our London offices, was fear of my father. No one wanted to challenge the old man. No one wanted to go against him, even if doing so was the best thing for our corporation. This was another reason why I so desperately wanted control of the entire conglomerate. He led with fear—and I planned to change that.

Stretching my neck from side to side, I leaned back against the stiff, high-backed chair. My shoulders were tense after a particularly grueling afternoon video meeting with my New Zealand media team. I’d gone into this evening of cocktails and cigars with the West Coast c-suite and executives with hopes of relaxing and shedding off some of the stress I’d carried around with me for the past week, but instead, as I often did these days, I found myself bored and my mind elsewhere.

Twenty-eight-hundred miles away, in fact.

Rylan had made the right decision—the fall internship was hers and hers alone—but I didn’t agree with her choice to continue with this silly separation. I understood it, obviously, and knew it stemmed from a fear of what people might think of her, but I didn’t like it one bit.

Life was unjust to women, and though people likely spoke behind my back, I would never be burned at the stake for our relationship the way Rylan would be. The things they’d whisper about her, possibly even say to her face when she came back to the tower…

Did shedeservethe internship?

Had sheearnedit?

Or had she simply fucked her way into the program?

I knew what they thought, had heard the whispers. The difference between us was that I simply did not care what anyone thought about me.

Rylan earned that internship spot, just as she’d earned my respect, and quickly thereafter, my love.

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