Brandy.
Chapter Seven
THE WORLD IS STILLhazy when I sense, rather than hear, Hexius saying something as he slowly pulls away.
I watch him straighten his shirt, and I realize only when he’s done that he’s watching me watch him.Eep.
“Remember what I told you.”
He cups my chin to give me a swift, hard kiss...and then he’s gone, the door already swinging shut in silence before I have a chance to catch my breath and tell him that I actuallycan’tremember what he said earlier.
Embarrassment starts creeping in as I slide off the desk on unsteady legs. Is this...normal? For my would-be husband to suddenly up and leave like that? I know he said something earlier, and I know it’s my fault that I don’t remember what he’s said...but that doesn’t excuse him.
Right?
My body is still humming, but that only makes me feel...guiltier.
I just...I just feel like we’ve jumped the gun, and everything’s moving too, too fast.
Breathe, Sam, breathe.
I try calming myself down, but all I can suddenly think of is how I’m still wearing his shirt...and nothing else. I feel like crying and wanting the ground to swallow me up as my gaze falls on the torn remnants of my underwear on the floor.
Shame threatens to engulf me, and I end up wrapping my arms around myself as if needing protection from my own thoughts. I try distracting myself by looking around his office, and the first thing I notice is how the entire space seems more designed to serve as a battle room than a billionaire’s workplace.
Honestly, the books on the shelves say it all: Machiavelli’sThe Prince,Plato’sThe Republic,and you can’t be a futuredictatorwar hero if you don’t have Sun Tzu’sThe Art of War,and in Mandarin at that!
I move to another shelf, which showcases what seems like his company’s newest prototypes related to preter science and technology. There’s even this—oh no.
Is that his phone?
I reach for it right away, thinking that I’ll have to look for him and hand it over to Hexius in case of emergencies. But as soon as I look down and see what’s on his screen—
Eleven missed calls...from Brandy?
And a message from the same person:I’m ready to talk.