Page 49 of Rejected By My Stepbrother Alpha
“I hate that guy,” Damian muttered as Asher and Cooper walked through theballroom doors.
But before the doors closed behind him, Asher looked back one last time at me.
“Yeah, me too,” I agreed.
But I was terrified that I still loved him, too.
“Damn it,” Damian said as we walked out of the hotel front doors a few hours later.
We had just had a meeting with Anya, Asher, and Cooper. After all the presentations were over, she had asked the four of us to stay behind. She said that our companies would have a better chance of winning the project if we worked together because our ideas complimented each other.
“Well, we obviously can’t work with them,” Damian said as he loosened his tie. “Not after what he did to you.”
I shielded my eyes from the bright, afternoon sun. I was torn. On one hand, I’d been the one to ask Damian to refuse to work with Asher’s company. And my rational mind knew I shouldn’t allow him back into any part of my life.
But part of me wanted nothing more than to spend more time with Asher.
And that part of me was an idiot.
Don’t allow him into your life again!
“We’re just going to have to try our best to get the account alone,” Damian muttered more to himself than to me.
“Wait, Ivy! Please just let me talk to you for a second.”
I paused on the sidewalk and spun around.
Asher was hurrying toward us. Cooper had rushed out of the meeting as soon as it was finished. I overheard him telling Asher that he had a lunch meeting scheduled with an important client.
When Asher was beside me, he put a gentle hand on my arm. Even that small amount of contact made desire pulse through me.
“You need to back up,” Damian told Asher with an icy tone.
Asher took his hand off of me but turned to Damian with a hostile expression.
“Is there a problem?” Asher asked.
“A problem?” My brother let out a sharp laugh that held no humor. “Of course there is. I know what you did to Ivinia. I know how you broke her heart and humiliated her in front of your whole pack. And now you have the audacity to speak to her like nothing happened? Hell will freeze over before we work with you. Don’t ever come near her again, or you’ll regret it.”
“I appreciate your concern for Ivy, but she’s a grown woman who’s perfectly capable of speaking to whoever she wants to,” Asher said with a calm voice that seemed forced. He turned his back on Damian to talk to me again. “Please, can I just speak to you alone—”
“Did you not hear me?” my brother snapped. “You need to back up.” Damian’s hand shot out to grasp Asher on the shoulder, but Asher spun around to face him at the same time. This caused Asher to accidentally dodge out of the way of Damian’s hand.
But that meant his hand came right for me and accidentally grazed the side of my face.
I jerked back, surprise shooting through me.
My brother’s eyes widened in horror when he saw he had accidentally hit me. Asher growled at Damian in anger.
“It’s fine,” I assured them. “Honestly, it didn’t hurt at all. You barely touched me.”
“I’m so sorry—”
Asher cut Damian’s apology short by leaping in front of me.
“You’ll regret that!” he yelled as his hands trembled with rage.
The two of them advanced toward each other.
