Page 174 of Embriagado

“What do you think you’re doing here?” Ariyan snarled, eyes furious as his fingers dug into my biceps.

“So you do know who I am after all,” I hissed in return.

Clenching his jaw, he crowded me against the wall. “Whatever you’re playing at ends now. So go pick up your brother, and get the hell out of here.”

Caged between him and the wall, I tilted my head, holding his stare. “Really? You’re not even going to offer me a drink?”

“Just do as I say.”

He was about to walk away, but having none of it, I grabbed his arm and kept him put.

“Mr. Rivas⁠—”

“Why did you tell that bouncer you don’t know me?”

“It’s irrelevant.”

“But it’s not.” I pulled him closer so our faces were a breath away. “To me, it’s not. So answer my fucking question.”

Pressing his lips together, he held his chin up, cold eyes looking down on me. “Don’t forget your place.”

A wave of rage crashed through me, and I grabbed both his arms.

“The fuck is my place, then, huh? Or do I only have one when I fight for you?”

Ariyan looked aside before returning his eyes to me. “Will you keep your voice down?”

“Fuck.” I let him go and tried to take a deep breath, but it felt like the air failed to reach my lungs. “You really don’t give a shit, do you? You hurt my fucking feelings tonight, and all you care about is me keeping my fucking voice down?”

He sighed. “I hate it when you swear.”

I gaped at him. “Are you fucking shitting me? I just said you’ve hurt me, and that’s all you have to say in return?”

I kept on looking at him, waiting for him to say something, anything, when he clicked his tongue.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m in the midst of work.” He smoothed a hand over his suit. “And you, you’re interrupting it. So, as I said before, find your brother and leave while I’m still asking nicely.”

My throat tightened, and I sealed my lips shut, trying to swallow down whatever was about to come up. And while I stood there, feeling like shit, he remained unfazed. Erase that. Dressed in his fancy suit and with his white hair all smoothed back, he looked perfect, and it pissed me the fuck off.

“Do I mean anything to you?” I looked at him, hoping to catch something in his eyes that would give me hope to hold on to.

“This isn’t the time nor the place for such conversation.”

The room felt like it was running out of air.

“But if you must know, then no.”

No.

My stomach clenched into a knot at that one simple word. It wasn’t that I didn’t know it already, but a part of me hoped that maybe he’d lie and make it easier to swallow.

“All that binds us is work, nothing more,” he went on, voice cold as ice as he stomped all over my fucking emotions. “If us sleeping together blurred that line, then let me be clear: we’re not boyfriends, nor are we lovers. I’m your boss, and you’re my employee. That’s where the nature of our relationship starts and ends.”

Silence followed his speech, and unable to look up, I continued to stare at the floor until he cleared his throat.

“Now that we’ve clarified ourselves, if you could please find your brother and leave, I’d appreciate it.”

I huffed, shaking my head in disbelief. “So if I fuck someone else, you wouldn’t care?”