Page 60 of Boost

Tian rose to his feet and rounded the desk. His anger was thick enough to taste, and it rolled off him as we faced off.

“Jealous? Of him?”

“No, ofme!”

He snorted. “Babe.”

The egotistical retort cut deep despite me knowing that attitude and Tian went hand-in-hand.

“Yes, because Colton Donavan is onmyclient list.”

A wave of scarlet rose up Tian’s neck, and I steadied myself for the volcano to erupt.

“Yourlist? We’re fuckingpartners,Greer. Landon-Michaels. Not ‘Landon and her fucking pool boy’! Un-bel-iev-able!”

Rage literally shook me. “Then stop treating me like I’m inferior to you!”

This was the first all-out screaming match Tian and I had ever had, and while it was long overdue, the explosiveness of our argument took my breath away.

His eyebrows hit his perfectly styled hairline.“Inferior?Jesus, Greer, you’re the only one I wanted to partner with because I knew I wouldn’t need to leave a trail of breadcrumbs behind me every step of the way. You fuckinglead,not follow, and that’s justoneof the many attributes I respect about you. Never,ever,have I viewed you as inferior!” he boomed, defensively.

Tears stung the back of my nose as I fought to keep them at bay. “Then why are you so adamant to take it from me?”

The coiled lines on his face eased and softened as affection shone through. “Nottake, Gree.Swap.For the Yeldon account. It’s equally high-profile. I’m just trying to protect you.” ‘From Ortiz’ he left unsaid.

“But you’re not giving me achoice.”

“There’s always a choice, babe. I’d never force your hand—we’ve known each other for long enough for you to know I wouldn’t. The decision is yours, and the offer stands for as long as we have both accounts.”

I turned and looked out of the window so I didn’t have to meet his penetrating gaze. Despite my resistance to let the account go, I knew he had a valid point. One I had to seriously consider.

“I’ll think about it,” I murmured.

“That’s all I ask. Now, bring it in.”

Turning, I found Christian with his arms thrown wide and inching forward.

I folded my arms over my chest. “No, I’m still angry at you.”

His grin made my own smile tug. And of course, I locked it down immediately.

“Baaaabe.”

“No.”

He hummed in question as his arms rose, encircling my body, but not yet touching.

“Now?”

I snorted, and grumbled begrudgingly, “Fine, get it over with.”

Arms that had always been my safe place wrapped around me and took me back to the times when we shared more intimate moments than not. Tension washed from my joints as he rocked me back and forth a couple of times before pulling away, conscious of not lingering too long.

I set my hands on my hips and expelled a heavy sigh. “You need to work on your tact and not be such an ass.”

He snorted. “I’m well aware of that, but normally it’s not aimed at the people I love.”

He snapped up his arms when I arched a brow.

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