Page 69 of Damaged Mogul

If she was hoping to appease me with her words, she failed.

“And what makes you think I’d hurt her?”

“She’s a sweet girl––”

“She’s a woman.”

“You’re right. She is.” She bites the inside of her lower lip.

“Get it off your chest.”

“You’re…”

“A blunt object with rough edges? A broodingbeast? A grumpy asshole? Short? Brusque? All of the above?” I scoff. “That’s what people say about me behind my back.” I arch a brow. “I’m sure many of my friends say I’m stubborn. Obstinate, even.”

She stares up at me through narrowed eyes.

I glare back.

“I was going to say intense.”

“If that’s how you feel about me, Michaela, why did you and your husband taunt me until I showed up here? I texted you earlier and told you, chances were, I wasn’t going to come. I made sure to call the birthday boy with my good wishes and even told him as much.”

“Gage, you should’ve seen the way you were devouring Lily with your eyes yesterday when you first met.”

My feral reaction to this woman was written all over my face?

Fuck.

I rub the back of my neck.

“It was as if Phoenix and I were witness to two people falling in lust with each other.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re layering it on a bit thick.”

A smug smile stretches Michaela’s lips as she studies me.

“What?”

“The chemistry between you was bouncing off the walls,” she says. “For years, you’ve been immune, but yesterday… a young woman sparked something in you.”

A strange sensation I can’t quite label fills my chest, but I don’t let on. “So now you’re playing matchmaker?”

She tilts her head way back, cockiness shining bright from her eyes. “Are you going to tell me you guys have beentalkingsince you dragged her off the dance floor?”

I flare my nostrils in lieu of an answer.

“My point exactly,” she says. “Why do you think myhusband and I have been torturing you with teasing text messages? Collin is Collin, but he would never make a move on another man’s girl?—”

“She isn’t my—” I stop midsentence.

What’s the point?

Michaela grins from ear to ear.

“I’m watching over her,” I say.

“Whatever you wanna call it, big guy.”