Page 32 of Trust Me

Then he storms over to my side of the bed and takes me by the arm.

“It’s time for you to leave,” he demands, pulling me to stand.

“I can walk on my own.” I rip my arm out of his hold, not liking the way my body warms from even his unfriendly touch. It’s as if the Kyle from last night—the one who laughed and sang Britney Spears, and kissed like he couldn’t get enough of me—never even existed.

That Kyle has been replaced by this grumpy ogre who wants nothing more than to get me out of his sight. I stuff down the bite of rejection that wells up in my stomach. I should’ve expected this.

“I need to get my shoes,” I insist. A few moments of scanning the bedroom for the sandals I wore last night reveals my shoes are on the floor at the end of the bed.

“Let’s go,” he demands once my sandals are on. His words are punctuated by a banging on the suite’s door.

Kyle yanks it open to reveal a massive guy dressed in all black—another one of his security guards.

“She needs to go back to her hotel room.” Kyle takes my arm as if he’s handing me off to the security guard.

“Screw you.” I can’t help the anger that wells up in me. It’s my fault. I should’ve expected this reaction.

Kyle is the type who doesn’t like getting close, he’s untrusting and guarded. Last night he let his walls slip, as evidenced by the fact that I woke up in his bed with my clothes on.

He doesn’t do intimacy beyond sex. And while we may not have shared our deepest, darkest thoughts last night, I recognize enough to see that he’s regretting even that tiny amount of leeway he gave.

“Take her,” he growls at the guard. He looks at his watch. “Shit. Make sure she’s out of this hotel by the time I get out of the shower.”

He turns his back on the guard and me, slamming the bedroom door behind him.

“Come with me, miss.”

I don’t bother protesting my indignation with the guard. He’s simply doing his job. It’s his spoiled brat of a boss that has me seeing red.

I grab the small clutch I carried last night and hold my head high as I exit the hotel suite. Unfortunately, my final thought as I leave is,How in the hell am I supposed to get close to Kyle Townsend after this?

CHAPTER9

Riley

Three days after returning from Miami, I still haven’t found a suitable way to approach Kyle or Townsend Industries. I’ve ignored calls from Dean Walsh for the past five days. Not the smartest move on my part since the bastard holds my freedom in his hands.

As I enter my office, the weight of the world feels like it sits on my shoulders.

“Good morning,” Charlotte greets with a big smile on her face.

“Morning,” I mumble before taking a sip of the coffee in my hand. I pass her the caramel latte I picked up for her on my way in.

“Thank you.” She holds up the cup, wiggling it a little. “This is my second one of the day. I stayed up late studying.” She chuffs. “To be honest, I thought I was going to be the one running late.”

I give her a half smile. “I woke up late, and then Ladybug called first thing in the morning. She’s freaking out over another exam she has next week. We talked for almost an hour.”

Despite my dour mood, the memory of speaking with Eve fills me with joy.

“Hey, did you see this?” Charlotte turns her computer screen so that I can see it. On the screen is a business article. The headline reads “Townsend Pulls it Off.”

I mouth the words as I read the article announcing Townsend’s successful acquisition of Sam Waterson’s medical supplies company.

“He did it,” I mumble. Despite the cold way he turned his back on me and practically had me thrown out of this hotel room, a sense of pride comes over me for Kyle.

“The article says Kyle Townsend is going to oversee this merger.” Charlotte whistles in admiration.

Clearing my throat, I straighten my back.

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