Page 16 of Coldhearted King

I scrunch up my nose. “You think?”

Alex shrugs. “You should do whatever you feel is right. After all, if it were me, I’d dump Paul ASAP and give Cole King the best one-on-one meeting of his life.”

I laugh, even as I shake my head. “I don’t have any interest in him like that anymore. It was a great night, but Paul and I are really trying to work on things right now.”

“Mm-hmm,” Alex says. “Have you told Paul?”

“No. And I’m not going to. It was bad enough telling him I’d had sex with someone while we were broken up. I can’t imagine his reaction if he knew who the man was. He’d hate it, and I don’t want to jeopardize their working relationship.”

“Yeah. Probably a good call. I’m sure having to sit across a meeting room table from the man who screwed his girlfriend’s brains out before he had a chance to wouldn’t sit well with him. I don’t have a problem with him getting himself into trouble by trying to one-up his new boss, but I’d hate for it to affect you.”

“So, you won’t say anything to Paul?”

She shakes her head, miming locking her mouth shut and throwing away the key.

I stand and round the table to give her a hug, since I’m not tall enough to reach across it the way she did. “Thanks, Alex.”

“That’s what friends are for, right?” she says. “Keeping scandalous secrets from each other’s boyfriends.”

“Something like that,” I say with a laugh. “Come on. Now that you know, you can help me find something professional to wear to my meeting.”

“By professional, you mean sexy, right?”

I roll my eyes at her before heading to my bedroom, with Alex trailing behind me.

But yeah. It wouldn’t hurt to look at least a little sexy when facing down the man who gave me the best night of my life.

So far, anyway.

* * *

It’sMonday and I’m sitting on the beautiful, uncomfortable leather couch outside Cole’s office, trying not to fidget. My heart raps against my ribcage and a nervous sweat dampens my skin. Cole’s PA, a young man who introduced himself as Samson, eyes me from across the space, and I wonder if he can tell how nervous I am.

He picks up his phone, glances at me, says something, and hangs up. “You can go in, Miss West.”

I smile my thanks at him, then stand, smoothing down my gray pencil skirt. With Alex’s help, I paired it with a cream sleeveless blouse with delicate little buttons running down the front of it. Black strappy heels finish off the look. As Alex put it, the outfit is classy, while still doing a fantastic job of highlighting my curves.

Professional with a hint of sexy. Perfect to give me the confidence I need to face this uncomfortable situation.

Samson gives me a slightly concerned look, and I realize I’ve ground to a halt, standing frozen in front of the wall of frosted glass encasing Cole’s office door. Shaking off my temporary paralysis, I cross the last few feet and knock.

“Come in.” His curt tone stiffens my spine. Whatever his problem is, I haven’t done anything to be ashamed of. I refuse to let him intimidate me more than he already does.

The onyx door effortlessly swings open under my hand, and I step into the enormous office, my eyes sweeping the room to put off looking at the man sitting behind the large mahogany desk.

It’s a corner office, so the expansive windows make up almost all of two sides, and I’m immediately struck by the stunning view of the city’s skyline. Twin couches face each other across a low table at the other end of the office, with a bar and a coffee station alongside. A few artsy black-and-white prints hang on the far wall, and there’s a second door, which probably leads to a private bathroom.

With no more excuses, I finally focus on Cole.

God. He’s still so good looking. Even though he appears far more like the stern businessman he is than he did the night we first met. His suit jacket fits like a dream across his broad shoulders, and as he stands, my eyes drift over the well-tailored lines that only emphasize his stature.

I drag my attention back to his face, my lips twitching up in a nervous smile.

He doesn’t return it, merely rounds his desk and leans against it with his arms crossed, his cool gaze running over me.

After taking a deep breath, I walk toward him and hold out my hand. “It’s nice to meet you...uh, again, uh, Mr. King.” My cheeks warm as memories of that night force their way into my head.

He hesitates for a second, and my stomach sinks. Surely he won’t leave me hanging.

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