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“What?” His high-handedness has me seething. Why did I feel guilty about my outburst again? “Excuseme?”

“You need an internship. Work at Fleur. Marketing, right? Rex won’t mind.”

“I didn’t recall askingorapplying.” I narrow my eyes at the infuriating man, who’s staring at me like he wants to cut apart my brain to examine its contents. “And I don’t want pity offers from you, my brothers, or from Dayton. I want to do this myself. Unlike some people, I don’t want to use my last name to get somewhere!”

Ethan’s eyes flare and a muscle tics in his jaw. Dayton clears his throat.

Crap. I just insinuated they both didn’t earn their places in life. “Look, I didn’t mean—”

“We’re top five of the Fortune 500, Alexis.” The pulse throbs in Ethan’s temple now, and a flush crawls up his neck. But his voice is calm. Unruffled. Everything I’m not feeling.

“Let’s be rational here. You aren’t family and haven’t been…romantically entangled with us before.” His throat ripples as he swallows. He glances away. “So you won’t get any favoritism from us. If it makes you feel better, I’ll have HR review your resume and if you pass, you can go through our regular interview process.”

His words make sense. Even the teenage me has heard of Fleur Entertainment before. Their hotels, nightclubs, and restaurants are world famous. I remember trying to sneak into some of their venues with Summer back then, only to be turned away by the bouncers who saw through our fake IDs.

Working at Fleur will open doors for me. They consistently show up on lists of top employers to work for. Their hiring process is stringent and they only take the best and the brightest.

If I can get in on my merit, maybe I can make it on my own.

Maybe Alexis Vaughn really will be fine at twenty-nine years old.

You’re far from reaching the end. So, I don’t think you need to rewrite anything, because you can create the ending you want.

Polaris’s words echo in my ears. I can write my own damn ending.

Yes. I’ll write my ending.

Determined, I sit up taller and face Dayton. If I work with him, he’ll take care of me. I’ll never know if I can stand on my own two feet. “Thanks for the offer. I’ll keep it in mind. But I need to do this on my own.”

His cheek twitches. “Of course. Whatever you need. Here’s my cell.” He hands me a business card. “Keep in touch. And it’s good seeing you. I’m glad you’re awake.” He leans in and brushes his lips on my cheek before turning around, leaving me with the cold financial king who looks like he wants to kill every living thing in the vicinity.

After the door shuts, I mutter, “Ethan Anderson, you may be Liam’s best friend and maybe you think you’re being an older brother by ‘taking care of me,’ but make no mistake, you arenotmy brother and I don’t need your high-handed attitude.”

His eyes flash and lips twitch. Is the damn bastard struggling not to laugh? I ignore the small thrill pulsing inside me and point to the door. “Why are you even here? You can go too. I have tons of work to do.”

I swivel my chair to face my laptop again before stopping. Ugh, I have to answer that damn man. “And just give me the email of your HR. I don’t want you to pass my resume along. I’ll submit it myself. And no interference from you.”

His low chuckles reach my ears, followed by a warmth trailing up my spine and the scent of leather and amber wafting to my nose.

Goosebumps pebble on my arms and I dig my nails into my lap, struggling not to drag in a deeper inhale.

“Yes, your highness,” he murmurs.

His breath ghosts over my neck and heat shoots straight to my core. My muscles seize, my body attuned to his slow, tortuous movements behind me as he sets a bag on the desk. Dammit, do I have a thing for assholes now?

“Charles asked me to give this to you. New journals—the same brand your grandmother used.” He pauses behind me, his soft breaths puffing against my neck, and for a moment, time stands still.

“I’ve missed this,” he whispers, his hand grazing my shoulder, and sparks spread across my skin like wildfire.

“What?”Missed what? Touching me? Arguing with me?

His fingers trail lightly to my neck, settling on my rapidly beating pulse.

My breath hitches and my eyes flutter shut—a heavy sense of déjà vu and awareness floats over me.This is so familiar.“Ethan, what do you mean?”

He freezes behind me and clears his throat. “Nothing. Ignore me.”

Then, the heat of his body is gone.