Beneath This Ink (Beneath #2)(31)

His grin flashed white and boyish. There was no denying it; the man was attractive. And I should have been attracted to him. He was arguably my type, but he just didn’t… do it for me. My senses should have been revving, but all I could think was that I wanted him out of my office now.

I considered all the ways I could tell him to go to hell, but bit my tongue because I didn’t want to antagonize a man who could let one little thing slip and call my judgment and ability to lead into question.

“Can I help you, Mr. Titan?”

“I thought I told you to call me Lucas.”

“I’d prefer not to.”

He sat up and grabbed the house-shaped stress ball on my desk. He threw it in the air, not looking away from me as he caught it.

“Stressed, Vanessa?”

“What do you want?” I bit out.

He switched to tossing the house back and forth between his spread hands.

“So you got all the invites?”

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t feel the need to inform me?” he asked.

“Apparently not.”

Silence stretched between us as the stare down continued.

I broke first. I looked down at my desk, shuffled some papers, and lined up the pens in a neat row.

He didn’t speak—just kept flinging the house back and forth until I wanted to bat it out of the air like a pissed off cat.

He was baiting me, but I wasn’t sure why.

I smoothed on my most businesslike don’t screw with me frown. “Is there anything else, Mr. Titan? If not, I’d like to refresh my coffee and get to the board room.”

“You’ve still got at least fourteen minutes before the first board member, excluding me, will arrive.” He didn’t even look at his watch.

“How in the world do you know that?”

“I study things. People. Habits. Reactions.”

“That’s not creepy at all,” I mumbled.

His lips quirked to the left. “But I’ll admit: I don’t quite get you.” He leaned back in the chair, lifting the front legs off the ground and balancing, the way the nuns scolded us for at school. “I would’ve bet good money that a guy like Con Leahy was a no-go zone for the perfect Ms. Frost.”

I pushed down on my desk, bolting to my feet.

“I’m not having this conversation with you.”

“Sit your ass down, Vanessa.”

My mouth dropped open. “What did you—?”

The green of his eyes seemed to freeze. “You heard me. This conversation isn’t over until I say it’s over.”

“Fuck you, Titan.”

This time his smile bared teeth. “If you talked like that more often, I’d have been a hell of a lot less surprised when he dragged you into that coat room.” He shifted forward and the chair landed on its front legs with a thud. I glared, hoping my eyes were just as frosty as his.

“I’d think you’d be happy about it, considering it played right into your plans.”

Titan pushed out of the chair and loomed over my desk—and me.

“Honestly, it really didn’t. Kind of f*cked up my plans, if you want to know the truth, Vanessa.”

I didn’t understand, and my confusion must have shown in my drawn brows because Titan continued, “You see, he stole my play. Although I hadn’t planned on dragging you into a coat room, but if I’d known you liked that sort of thing… I could have worked it in.”

His meaning crystallized in an instant.

“You were going to try to seduce me? To help you?”

He laughed, and as much as I hated to admit it, his chuckle was a good one—although it should have sounded evil given the conversation we were having. “Sweetheart, I don’t have to try to seduce women.”

I shook my head and grabbed my note pad and a pen. “Whatever you say, Mr. Titan. I’m leaving. Please feel free to stay and enjoy the comforts of my office until the meeting begins. Although I’d prefer you didn’t.”

He stood, dropping the stress ball on my desk, and followed me toward the door. “So polite. You think those manners are going to be able to keep Leahy in line? Because there’s still time to toss him aside and fall in line with my original plan.”

Somehow his hand had found its way to the doorframe, and he was close enough to me that I could feel the heat of him on my back.

And once again, that was all I felt. No flare of attraction. No rush of excitement.

The logical side of my brain said that my life would probably be easier if I wanted someone like Titan. He might raise eyebrows in certain circles, but he wasn’t persona non grata without any hope of reversing that status.

But logic wasn’t ruling whatever I was getting into with Con—and that fact was scary as hell.

I wobbled on my heels, and Titan steadied me.

“Whoa. You okay?”

Am I okay? Do I want to be okay? Or do I want to be off balance and recklessly, foolishly not okay?

Clearing my throat, I grasped the door handle. “I think we’re done here, Mr. Titan. I’ll see you in the board room.”

This time he didn’t protest. Rather, he stepped back and allowed me to pull open the door and make my escape.

But for the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel like I was running from something. I was finally running to something.