Page 12 of Tangled Control

A shadow passes over his face and his features harden. Before me, his whole demeanour changes. A switch has been turned. There’s a snarl to his tone as he says, “That’s a great idea.” He shifts his focus to Linda with an arrogant tilt to his head. “Linda, do you have a date for tonight?”

My breath lodges in my throat.What the hell just happened?

“N-no I don’t.” Linda beams up at my arsehole boss with her blood-red lips. The hand pressed to her chest stretches the material of her top down.

“Leave your number with Orla. I’ll meet you in the Davenport Hotel at seven thirty.”

He winks at her and leaves. His woodsy aftershave and insult lingering.

“O-my-god! I’m going on a date with Rian sex-on-legs Kearney!” Linda whisper-squeals.

I blink away the sting in my eyes and straighten my back.

“Lucky you,” I say, with a strained smile, and walk back to my desk. “Fuck this,” I mumble to myself and swallow the lump in my throat. “Fuck fucking Rian.” Does he actually dislike me so much that he can’t accept a friendly comment? Can’t even go tooneevent with me as part of a group? “Do you have a date for tonight?” I hiss, mockingly, under my breath.

Last night he said he has no interest in girls like her.

I’m a fecking eejit – he was only playing with me last night. I let him string me along – let myself be wrapped up by his smooth voice, his words and fantasies. His tempting lips and the way his smouldering eyes lingered on me.God, I’m so stupid.My cheeks warm in embarrassment.

I’m no better than any other woman in this office.

Well, it will be the last time I compliment him on anything! What’s eating him, anyway? I blink rapidly to clear my eyes and read through my to-do list. Oh, why did I mention the reception? I shouldn’t care that he has no interest in spending time with me.Shouldn’t care that he’d rather spend time with girls like Linda with their underwear on display.

That lump in my throat isn’t going away and there’s a knot of unease in my gut.

It takes me way longer than normal to go through my list. Listening to the constant giggles from Linda as she spreads the news of her date doesn’t help my concentration. My only saving grace is that since most of my colleagues are going to the reception, the office clears out early. It brings some pleasant silence. And a twitch of loneliness.

Trevor hasn’t asked again whether I’m joining them – not that I would now, a fecking pot of gold couldn’t lure me there, and Gemma has kept her distance since that awful moment yesterday.

A hollowness sits in my chest and I’m ready to call it a day.

A message pops up on my laptop.Rian.

Bring me the O’Toole contract. Now.

Fuck, he’s still here? I grit my teeth. He knows I’m logged on, that I’ve seen the message. I can’t pretend I never got it. I want to scream at the laptop and tell him where he can stuff the file, but instead, I take a couple of deep breaths and get the O’Toole documents from the archives. I hold my head high and put on a façade of cool collectedness, even if it’s only on the outside.

Then I knock on his door.

Ten

Rian

“Yes,” I bite out, not lifting my gaze from the screen as I hear the door open.

“The O’Toole contract,sir.”

Catriona’s words are so frosty, they chill the room.

Yet my body heat soars at how she addressed me.

I glance up. There’s none of the admiration and kindness left on Catriona’s features. None of the earlier warmth that sparked pride in my work for the first time in six months. But that pride was quickly overshadowed by a cloud so dark I choked on it. Why can’t my father see that I’m wasted on small contracts like this? Why is all he sees failure and disappointment? Am I supposed to keep my life on hold and take whatever scraps he gives me to work on? Am I not even allowed to flirt with other women while I wait for Alexandra? I fucking hate my life, and when Catriona looked up at me with praise in her eyes, I was reminded that Dad thinks I’m a loser.

I didn’t want Catriona’s praise. The heat in her gaze was snuffed out by my dismissal. All that is left are ice crystals sosharp they’re cutting my gut wide open. In place of Catriona’s admiration, I now have a so-called date with a twenty-year-old annoying wannabe. A woman who is only a few years younger than Catriona, yet light years apart in maturity…and dress sense.

I track down Catriona’s body, her unfitting cover-up. God, I hate how she dresses. And I hate even more that I’m obsessed with it. She stands so tall and proud, radiating her dislike for me with her hair in that annoying tight bun. The memory of how soft her voice was when complimenting me fades as I look at the hard and unyielding tilt of her chin. I’m barely able to suppress a sneer.

“The O’Toole contract, I want it re-negotiated by the end of next week.”