Page 50 of Hold You Close
He shakes his head and walks back inside his fortress.
I stand here for a second, fighting back the urge to march over there and beat some sense into him. How dare he treat me like I’m the bad guy? I didn’t crawl on top of him. I didn’t lie in his bed and give him any indication that I wanted to have sex.
I was just fine on the damn couch.
He picked me up.
He carried me.
He touched me, made me beg for his cock, and then I begged for it . . .
Ugh.
I head inside, slamming the door behind me. Only that man can make me this angry. I swear, I’m the most even-tempered and level-headed person unless I’m around Ian Chase.
Thankfully my impromptu nap didn’t set me too far off my schedule. Showering and getting dressed earlier actually saved me the eighteen minutes I slept over. I grab my pre-made overnight oats from the fridge and head out the door for a long day at the office.
Where my life is put together and the only complication is how much of a raise I should get for being such a badass.
“I understand that,Casey, but I can’t travel this weekend,” I try to explain to my boss.
There’s no way I can bail on Ian tomorrow. He’ll never find a sitter in time, and I can’t do that. No matter the very undefined status of our—whatever we want to call it—it wouldn’t be fair to him.
I agreed to care for the kids at night on our designated days, and I don’t break my word. But I don’t want to tell my boss that. He won’t give a crap about my plight, and he might doubt my ability to handle bigger accounts if I indicate I have a higher priority than work right now.
As if on cue, Casey continues, “You’re single, no kids, and the client that we’ve been vetting for six months wants you to go to New Jersey. There are no options here.”
“I can’t go tonight, I just can’t.”
He huffs. “You better have an amazing reason why not.”
My anger starts to build as he waits for my reason, but I don’t owe him one. I can’t go and that should be enough. “I don’t have to give you a reason. Per my contract, I require forty-eight hours’ notice for any travel. This is less than twenty-four.”
“This is a million-dollar account, London,” he growls.
In other words, this is your job and I don’t give a shit about your contract.
Dammit.
“Let me see what I can do,” I sigh.
“You have an hour. Figure out whatever you need to, but make it happen.” He pauses at the door and turns back. “The position for the Vegas supervisor is opening up soon, London. We both know you’re the obvious choice, but something like this could really sway me towards Martin. I would think hard about whatever is keeping you back . . .”
“I understand.”
When he closes my door, I drop my head on my desk. Could this day get any worse? It’s just one damn thing after another. This is the job I’ve been working my ass off for every day for years. Moving up in this company is difficult, and I’ve done everything to get to this point.
Ugh.
I need to talk to Ian and figure a way out of this. I grab my phone and make the call I know is going to go over like a brick through glass.
“Hello.” Ian’s sleepy voice fills the line.
“Shit, sorry, I’ll call back,” I whisper. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
I forgot he didn’t get home till three-thirty and then he used his big magical dick to make me do things under duress.
I hear movement through the phone. “It’s fine. I’m up now. What’s wrong?”
