Page 41 of The CEO I Hate

After another vodka cran, I’d be in no state to have a proper conversation through text. Plus, I wanted to look him in the eye when I told him how much of an asshole he was. But he probably wouldn’t even show up.

I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.

I stared down at his reply, giving a derisive huff.Sure, Smiles, I texted.Whatever you say.

14

MIA

Fifteen minutes later, Liam Lockhart strode through the door, and I almost choked on my drink. The vodka went down hard and bitter. Like me.

I was now hard and bitter.

“Hot damn,” Ollie muttered from behind me. “Can we start attracting more clientele like that?”

Liam’s gaze drifted to the risqué performance on stage as Britney Spears’s “Toxic” poured through the speakers. There was a lot of gyrating and grinding. I watched him grit his teeth before he methodically scanned the rest of the space. His eyes finally landed on me, and he stalked across the room.

“Really?” he sneered when he was close enough. “Of all the places in the city to meet?”

Clearly, he wasn’t happy about being here. “If you’re that bothered by a little bit of twerking,” I said, emboldened by the liquor, “there’s the door.”

“I’m not bothered by the twerking.”

“You’re looking a little bothered,” I said, poking him in the chest.

He scowled down at my finger. I removed it. “I’m not going anywhere until we come to some sort of truce.”

The music on stage picked up, and I cheered for Craig as he went shimmying by. Liam’s scowl only deepened.

“Is there somewhere quieter we can go to talk?” he shouted over the thump of the bass.

I downed the rest of my drink, then jumped off my stool. “This way.” I led Liam around the side of the bar and through the EMPLOYEES ONLY door that led backstage.

“You’re sure it’s okay to be back here?” he questioned.

“Obviously,” I said. “Perks of knowing one of the owners.”

“Just don’t get us lost, Gretel. I didn’t bring any breadcrumbs with me tonight.”

I threw a glare over my shoulder. The hallway was a maze of costume racks, supply boxes, and shifting bodies, but it was nothing like being inside VeriTV Studios. Mostly because I’d been here so many times, I could navigate it blindfolded.

Offstage, the performers were in a constant state of motion, but I dodged around the chaos deftly while Liam growled “excuse me” as he repeatedly bumped into the passing performers.

“In here,” I said, taking a sharp left into Sophie’s dressing room. I closed the door behind Liam, blocking out the worst of the noise and chaos. I plopped down on Sophie’s couch, pulling a feather boa out from behind my back. I tossed it at Liam. “Happy now?”

He caught the boa and laid it across Sophie’s makeup table. “Look, Mia. What happened today?—”

“You mean the part where you accused me of trying to hook up withone of the actors? Or the part where you kissed me? I’m gonna need specifics.”

“Youknowwhat I’m here to talk about.” Liam rubbed at his jaw, massaging the shadow of sexy stubble. “Just like you know this can’t happen.”

“But it already did happen,” I said. “Twice now.”

“And it never should have,” Liam continued, launching into full-on lecture mode. I settled in as he started to pace back and forth. “You’re Jake’s little sister.”

“Yep, I’m aware.”

“And I’m your boss!” He ran a hand through that brown hair, tugging on the strands. “It would be totally inappropriate.”