Page 36 of Obsessing Over His Favorite
Emily had just returned to her desk when a shadow fell over her doorway.
She looked up.
Dillon didn’t bother to knock. He barged in without knocking.
“Mr. Cantrell wants to see you. Now.” he said with clipped authority.
Emily bristled at his tone but said nothing. She stood and walked straight to Lucas’ office.
The door creaked as she entered.
The moment it shut behind her, Lucas slammed a thick file onto his desk with a sharp thud. The sound made her flinch.
He stood to his full height, his eyes burning with barely controlled anger.
“I told you to stay away from Amelia’s business!” he snapped, storming around the desk, closing the distance between them in seconds. “I warned you this morning—and you still went back there. What the hell is wrong with you, Emily?! Why can’t you listen for once?!”
Emily flinched at the sharp edge in his voice but kept her face carefully blank, like a mask hiding everything beneath. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I was just strolling around.”
Lucas’s jaw tightened, his frustration sharpening his tone. “Emily, you’ve already been fired once for stirring up trouble like this. Why can’t you just learn and stop meddling in Amelia’s business? Is that so hard for you?”
Her fingers curled into fists at her sides, nails digging into her palms. Her eyes narrowed, locking onto him with a quiet defiance. “I just wanted to understand why you fired me... even though I am the one who accusedherof stealing.”
“For fuck’s sake, Emily!” Lucas roared, his voice echoing off the walls. His eyes burned with impatience and anger. “Let that matter go! Why do you keep creating trouble for yourself? Amelia isn’t easy to deal with either, but you’re supposed to be better than this. You almost ruined Amelia’s entire career by accusing her of theft in front of a hall full of people. Firing you was the least I could do after pulling a stunt like that and nearly sabotaging the entire project.”
Emily’s chest tightened with disbelief.
He’d heard her accuse Amelia loud and clear, and she’d even warned him that accepting those designs would damage his company’s reputation. She was his girlfriend, and despite everything, she tried to protect him.
Yet instead of looking for the truth, he’d chosen to believe she was jealous.
His girlfriend, who was protecting him, was fired for it.
Her fingers clenched into fists again, eyes flickering back to him. She gave him a stiff nod.
“Got it,” she said coolly, her voice steady despite the storm inside. Without another word, she turned on her heel and walked out of his office, disappearing down the hall.
***
As evening rolled around, Lucas stepped out of his office, eyes scanning the floor instinctively. He glanced toward Emily’s office, but it was empty.
Dillon, noticing the restless tension in his boss’s posture, approached cautiously. “Mr. Cantrell, looking for someone?” he asked. He glanced back toward Amelia’s desk. “Ms. Jones is still here. Should I get her?”
“Where’s Emily?” Lucas cut him off sharply.
“She already left the office,” Dillon replied flatly.
Lucas stiffened at the news. They had arrived together. She was supposed to leave with him, but hearing she was already gone left a bitter taste in his mouth.
‘Last night, we didn’t sleep together. She made me angry. Did she leave early to get dressed up, to seduce me like always?’ he wondered, frustration and hope twisting inside him.
This wasn’t new. Emily was always the first to give in after their fights—the one who apologized first, who smoothed the tension, who made him forgive and forget and pacify him. After yesterday’s cold silence and today’s clash, she must’ve thought he was still angry. Maybe she left early to find a way back to him.
He shook his head, a slight smile twitching at the corner of his lips as he remembered all the times she’d done that—making him angry, then seducing him to make peace.
“Got it,” Lucas muttered and left the company, his steps carrying a trace of restlessness and impatience as he headed home.
When he entered the Cantrell house, he braced himself for her to come rushing down the stairs and throw herself into his arms, wearing a seductive outfit.
