Page 14 of Coldhearted King

I shake my head. There’s no way she didn’t deliberately seek me out.

Then there’sPaul. Her ex, I’m assuming, since she’d said she worked with him. He seems like a smug asshole. I noted the way he touched her lower back as they left the conference room, and the way he leaned down to whisper in her ear. It seems a little too familiar, considering they’re no longer dating.

Or was that part of the lie?

I frown, then shake my head. None of it makes any difference. I’ll wait for the report from Samson, but a part of me already knows I’ll give the job to them. Emotions have no bearing on this decision. Business is business, and they seem to be the best fit, but I’ll make it abundantly clear I will not tolerate any attempts at manipulation.

And if she’s harboring any delusions that I’ll invite her back into my bed, she’ll soon discover how wrong she is.

CHAPTEREIGHT

DELILAH

My ringing phone wakes me from a restless sleep. I fumble around on my side table until I find it. “Hello?” I mumble, squinting against the fingers of light finding their way past the edges of my bedroom curtains.

“We got it!” Paul’s loud voice makes me wince.

I sit up and rub my eyes. “Got what?”

“The King Group project,” he says, and now I’m wide awake.

“Really?” I’m simultaneously shocked, delighted, and wracked with nerves. Delighted that all our hard work has paid off, and excited at the knowledge that something I’ll have a hand in designing will feature prominently in major cities around the US.

But my stomach twists at the thought of being in the same space as Cole for an extended period.

From the way he looked at me during our presentation, it’s obvious he was less than happy to see me. And I guess I understand why. Cole doesn’t seem the type to be interested in mixing business with pleasure, particularly not when the pleasure was only ever meant to be a one-night thing. Luckily, there’ll be more than a few floors separating us, and he’ll probably be dealing mostly with Paul.

Which reminds me...

I tune back to Paul’s voice, hoping I haven’t missed out on anything important.

“They’ll have the space ready for us by Monday, so we can start then. I’ll have my own office, but you and the rest of the team will have desks on the main floor.”

“Okay.”

“Cole has also asked to meet with all of us individually on Monday. I suggest saying as little as possible at this stage. Answer his questions, tell him you’re looking forward to working with him, and leave it at that.”

My stomach flips again. Oh god, why do we have to meet him on our own? It would be so much easier if the entire team was with me. Still, disregarding what Paul just said about not saying much, this might be an opportunity to clear the air with Cole. Let him know I won’t go blabbing about our previous...interaction to anyone.

“And Delilah,” Paul continues, “I don’t need to remind you how important this project is. You’re the youngest and newest member of the team, so you have to appear professional at all times. Also, I think we should keep quiet about our relationship. There’s no reason to discuss personal details like that with anyone outside of our firm.”

I roll my eyes. I know Paul is angling for promotion to partner, and having a project of this scale go smoothly will improve his chances, but when am I ever unprofessional? Or prone to spontaneous PDAs at work? Or running my mouth to people about my personal life?

It’s not worth saying anything about it now, though. Not when I’d rather get off the phone and digest the news than get into an argument. I just make a general sound of acknowledgement, and he carries on for a few more minutes.

When we eventually say goodbye, after arranging to have dinner tomorrow night, I sink down on the bed. My nerves from before have dissipated and now excitement zips through me.

When the sound of our coffee machine reaches me, I realize Alex must be awake. I immediately throw back my covers and climb out of bed. After using the bathroom, I make my way to our small-but-neat kitchen, which is filled with the delicious aroma of fresh coffee.

“Any left for me?” I ask, smiling at my very tousled-looking roommate, whose long auburn hair is half falling out of its ponytail.

She passes the mug she’s just finished pouring and reaches for another. “Ugh, why are mornings so hard?”

I sit on one of the chairs in our little breakfast nook and pull my knee up to my chest. “They’re only hard because you were sexting your rock star boyfriend all night.”

“Fiancé,” she corrects with a wink as she fills a cup for herself.

I laugh. “I’ll start remembering soon, I promise.” Alex’s boyfriend, Jaxson, is an up-and-coming rock star, whose band Lightning Strikes was recently signed by Hazard Records. A week ago, just before he and his band flew to LA for two months, they’d gotten engaged, and I keep forgetting to call him her fiancé.

---