Page 129 of Three Irish Kings

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But I don’t know if I’m thinking it about Dare or myself.

I let myself believe…

It doesn’t matter. Whatever I felt before was crazy, obviously some kind of fluke. I was right all along.

She doesn’t want me. She doesn’t want any of us. She was just playing the game.

And I fucking fell for it. We all did.

A knock sounds on my door, and I jerk it open.

It’s Faye, my secretary, and she looks at me with wide eyes. “Mr. Hayes?”

“What?”

“Um… your office…” She gestures toward the destruction. “Is something wrong?”

“None of your business.” I speak through gritted teeth and although Faye is used to my mercurial moods, this is extreme. I know I’m being an asshole, but I can’t seem to help it.

“Sorry, sir.” She looks down at the ground. “I'll have the cleaners come and… try to salvage your office. I suppose you’ll be out the rest of the day?”

“Rest of the week.” My voice softens. “Thank you, Faye.”

She blinks up at me. She can probably count the number of times I’ve thanked her on one hand.

“You’re welcome, sir.” She scurries over to her desk, and I shut the office door just as Allen comes hurrying toward me.

“Liam, the board meeting, you have to?—”

“Postpone it.”

“Postpone it?” Allen looks flabbergasted. “But the Reynolds deal is going through as we speak. We can’t postpo?—”

“I said postpone it.” My tone leaves no room for discussion, and Allen goes silent.

I push past him, heading to my car, and haul ass to the cottage.

Dare’s car is gone. Of course.

When I walk into the house, Cillian is smoking a cigarette on the terrace, and Dare is sitting on the couch, staring into space.

“Thought he quit.”

Dare glances over at the glass door, seeing Cillian with smoke billowing around him, and he shrugs.

“He did. Guess he started back.”

“You fell asleep, didn’t you?”

Dare rolls his shoulders and stands up, facing me.

I tower over him even though he’s tall.

“Don’t fucking start with me, Liam.”

“Don’t start with you? You’ve undermined this whole operation?—”

“Whatoperation?” He huffs out a breath, puffing out his chest.

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