Once Upon a Dare (Risky Business)(18)
“Excuse me?” Anger sparked low in her belly, threatening to explode in a slew of four letter words that would make her own father blush. “My personal feelings for you? Are you really that much of a self-involved asshat?”
Cole shrugged, looking nonplussed. “What else am I supposed to think?”
Evidently he wasn’t quite sure what to make of her childish name-calling, so he just ignored it altogether. Of course, Mr. Perfect was above that, too. Probably for the best, she thought, as she counted to ten, trying to get a grip on her temper.
“You know Mama’s campaigns are stale and outdated, yet you refuse to even listen to my ideas.”
“Look, I get it. You’re new here and you want to make a name for yourself, but I won’t have you doing it at the expense of my team.” She sighed and crossed her arms, unsure of why she was even arguing with him. He was being completely impossible. “Did it occur to you for even one minute that my team is the best in this office, and those brainstorming sessions are a critical factor in our success? Award-winning campaigns don’t just drop out of the sky, you know. Like people, sometimes ideas have to be nurtured, molded, and crafted. Instead of tearing the team down, you could have helped me guide them in the right direction in a more collaborative fashion.”
Cole studied her for an eternity before he finally responded. “Interesting.”
“Interesting? That’s all?” She arched her brow, unable to hide her disgust. “You insulted my team. Did you really think I was going to sit there and let you speak to them that way?”
Surprise washed over his face and she was horrified to realize that was exactly what he’d expected. So he’d heard the rumors and probably her nickname, too.
Ice Queen.
Maybe she’d earned it, maybe not. Olivia knew she had a reputation for being tough, but above all else, she was fair. She offered constructive criticism and expected her team to work hard, but she also shared the praise and she sure as hell didn’t berate them publicly.
She took a deep breath. She didn’t have the luxury of feeling sorry for herself right now. So he saw her as the Ice Queen. That was beyond her control. Sure, it stung, but it didn’t really matter. This was business, after all.
“That may be how you run your company, but it’s not how I run my team. I will not have my people humiliated for your entertainment. I’ve worked with these people a long time and I’ve earned the right to challenge them. You haven’t.”
“I’m a partner here,” he reminded her, “which means I have every right. We owe our clients the best and that wasn’t it. I won’t apologize for pushing the team to be better, although I may have mishandled the situation today.”
“You think?”
“It won’t happen again, but I still intend to be very hands-on.”
“Yes,” she sneered, unable to cut off the snarky reply before it escaped her lips. “I believe we already established that fact.”
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing,” she recanted as common sense took root. What the hell was she thinking, antagonizing him like that? As a partner, he had Jonathan’s ear and with it the ability to make or break her future. The last thing she needed was for him to think she was a jilted schoolgirl. “I apologize. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“No, if there’s something on your mind, we should get it out in the open now,” he reasoned, crossing his legs and leaning back in his chair, amusement lighting his gray eyes. He looked completely relaxed, while Olivia herself felt like a bundle of nerves.
“What is there to talk about? You look like a guy who’s had more than his fair share of one-night stands. You know how it works.” A shaky laugh rolled off her lips. “But I guess it didn’t quite go as planned this time, huh? I’m sure you never expected to see my shining face again.”
“That’s hardly fair!” he growled, rising from his chair and closing the gap between them in a few short strides. He towered over her, looking both dangerous and sexy in that moment, with raw emotion flashing in his eyes. She wasn’t sure if he wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake the shit out of her or if he wanted to do something a whole lot dirtier.
Judging by his ragged breath, her money was on door number two: down and dirty. The thought of his lips pressed to hers had her hormones in a damn frenzy. Desire coiled in her belly, reaching out and planting some very delicious, very NC-17 thoughts in her mind as her gaze drifted from his full lips to further south. Her body reacted to his nearness as though it had a will of its own, and she found herself craving his taste, her anger dissipating with each passing second. Cole’s hooded eyes and the erection he couldn’t hide suggested he was fighting the same losing battle.
For the first time in her career, she wanted to be the girl who had sex in the supply closet, and to hell with the consequences. The tension curling between them was a live, ravenous thing that threatened to consume her even as she resisted.
“You’re the one who ran out,” he whispered gruffly, breaking the silence. “You never even gave me a chance. Hell, I wanted to take you to dinner.”
He’d wanted to see her again? Olivia’s chest tightened at the revelation. She reached for him, but stopped short.
If she’d stayed that morning, would things be any different? She doubted it. Cole wasn’t the monogamous type. Neither was she. Besides, he was the boss now. She didn’t have the luxury of indulging in office romance. All it would take was one person catching wind of them sleeping together and any hope of promotion would go straight out the window. Or worse, if she did get a promotion, everyone would assume it was because she was screwing her boss. Her very hot boss.