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“This can’t happen,” he growled.

I blinked, my mind trying to catch up to his drastic change in mood. “What do you mean?”

His jaw clenched and rather than the heat I’d imagined seeing, his face had grown cold and distant. “Don’t romanticize this. Don’t romanticize me. I’m not some hero you dreamed about fucking you slowly.”

Lightheadedness swamped me as a fire burned through my whole body. “I-I’m not. I just…I just wanted to say thank you.”

He paused for a moment and I waited for him to pull me back to him and accept all I had. Instead, his hands gripped me tighter, sitting upright to sneer in my face. I pulled back, seeing the same look I’d seen in the hotel when he’d been trying to scare me. Who was this? Was this the real Erik? Was the man I’d spent the day with an act?

I swallowed the lump in my throat and grabbed onto the small ball of anger at his quick change in mood.

“I’m not someone to be repaid with sex.” He sat me aside and stood, turning to look down at me. “Have some respect for your body.”

He stormed upstairs, leaving me cold and shell-shocked.

I’d held tight to the swell of anger and at his words, it exploded, consuming me. It burned every other feeling of tenderness and joy into nothing.

If he didn’t want my thanks, then my anger was what he’d get.

10

Alexandra

Three days had passed since Erik shifted into a giant, silent asshole.

And despite his return to a colder behavior, I didn’t feel any less safe around him. Safe enough that I didn’t need to sleep in front of my door. I just now felt the need to punch him in the face each time he answered me with a grunt.

On Sunday, I’d stayed in my room. I’d been a petulant child by not responding when he’d knocked on my door saying he was going out. I did it again when he came back saying he had something for me. I didn’t want anything from him, unless he was willing to give me the piece of my pride he took from me Saturday night.

We didn’t talk Monday morning and he’d had Laura take me back to the apartment at the end of the day. He hadn’t spoken directly to me unless it was to give a brusque command at work. And the “internship” I was supposed to be in consisted of the most menial tasks known to man. I didn’t see anyone else grabbing everyone’s coffees and printing off papers. Laura had been getting up from her seat to do it herself when Erik let her know I could do it.

She at least had the grace to wince each time I had to complete another mundane task.

But I’d swallowed it down and did it because I was still better off here grabbing Erik’s lunch than I’d been at the grocery store. So, I’d set aside more of my pride and been as polite as possible to him, even if we didn’t actually speak to one another.

“Hey Alex, can you watch the desk while I go on lunch?” Laura asked. She’d begun calling me Alex for short and I kind of liked it. I never knew anyone well enough to give me a nickname, besides Leah.

“Sure.”

“It shouldn’t be too busy, but call me if you have any issues.”

“No worries. I’m not as dumb as it seems when Erik gives me such basic tasks.”

She laughed softly. “He’s a complicated man.”

Maybe five minutes later a tall blonde in a hell of a business suit came strolling in. I gawked at her cream wide leg pants and black blouse, in awe of the authority she strutted with. She was halfway to Erik’s office when I picked my jaw off the ground.

“Excuse me, can I help y—”

“No,” she answered before I could finish, throwing a hand up like she was waving me away. She didn’t even turn to look at me when she spoke.

My admiration for her dropped like a dead weight. Erik was at his desk and had just locked eyes with me when she shut the door. What a bitch.

The minutes ticked by as I stared at Erik’s door waiting for Miss Bitch to come back out. Five minutes passed and I came to the conclusion that maybe she had a meeting, even if it wasn’t written down on the calendar.

I took the time to pull up some more information on the University of Cincinnati’s business program. Each button I clicked made me a little more breathless. The campus was beautiful, the programs were top notch. I never imagined attending a college like this. I figured at best I’d end up at a community college with an associate’s degree.

“It’s a good school to attend.”

I jumped at Jared’s voice, not having heard him come down the hall back from lunch.