Page 18 of Never Gonna Lie (Forbidden #2)
Chapter Eighteen
JAMES
I ’m pacing my work office the next day, trying to figure out if I’m going to make this call or not. I run a hand through my hair and grip the strands, tugging painfully, hoping that the pain might elicit some sort of brain reset. But nothing happens.
To call or not to call.
The cream carpet softens the sounds of my steps as I walk back and forth between the sofa and coffee table that’s on the left, and my desk and filing cabinet on the right. The floor-to-ceiling windows of the high-rise allow light to flood through, making the space light and modern.
Call? Don’t call?
The offices in Drew’s building are dark and dingy, with dark wood paneling lining the walls, which I hate with a passion. It gives the office a depressive feeling, which is why, when this building was being renovated, I insisted on a bright theme.
I’m not gonna call .
I stomp over to the hidden bar next to the sofa and pour myself a good measure of whiskey, knocking it back before pouring another one—I’m aware it's lunchtime, but as Theo says, “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere.
” I replace the bottle top and take my drink to the sofa, sitting down.
Placing the glass to my lips, I take a hearty gulp before sliding my phone out of my pocket and pull up the number I’m looking for, inhaling deeply.
This is a bad idea .
Hitting the call button, I place the phone to my ear and wait as it rings. I feel like a teenager again—nervous sweats, heart palpitations, and an overwhelming need to hang up. But I don’t.
Eventually, I hear, “Hello?”
“Hey, pretty girl.”
If it wasn’t for the sharp intake of breath that was clearly audible, I would’ve assumed the line had been cut off with how silent it went.
“You still there?” I ask as I brace my elbows on my knees, phone in one hand, glass in the other.
“Ye-yes, I’m still here,” she breathes. “What do you want, James?”
“Your dad asked me to check in on you.” I swallow before adding, “Let me take you for dinner?”
My heart hammers in my chest as I wait for her reply. No girl has ever said no to me, but I feel like she might be the first.
“No.”
And there it is, the ‘no’ I was waiting for. I smile to myself as I imagine her sitting with a pout on her face.
“No?” I repeat, leaning back on the sofa and enjoying this far too much. “Care to elaborate a bit more than ‘ no?’”
“No,” comes her reply, and I’m almost tempted to put her across my knee again, consequences be damned.
“Raven, I’m taking you for dinner. End of discussion.”
“And I said no.”
She hangs up on me, and I’m left staring at my phone.
The actual fuck ?
I dial her number again. The phone keeps ringing, finally sending me to voicemail. “This is Raven, please leave a message after th ?— ”
A rumble sounds in my chest, a low growl at her brattish behavior. I dial again. This time it doesn’t even ring. I clench my jaw, desperately trying to quell the urge to tan her ass for this little stunt. She’s pushing every single one of my buttons, and I think I like it.
Dialing one last time, thinking that if she doesn’t pick up, I’ll?—
“What, James?” she sighs into the phone. “You’re like a little boy who can’t accept the word no.”
“Yeah, well, I’m an only child, so I never did learn to share my toys,” I grumble.
“Is that what I am to you, James? A toy?” I can hear the eye roll from here.
“I didn’t mean it like that, Raven,” I sigh. I’m never gonna get Drew off my case if I can’t get her to have dinner with me. “Look, just have dinner with me… please?”
I’m not normally one to ask, usually being one to demand, but Raven brings out a softer side to me that I didn’t realize I had. The silence that follows drags. Will she tell me no again, or will she accept? The jury’s still out.
Very quietly, so quiet I almost miss it, she says, “Okay.”
I jump up out of my seat, the whiskey sloshing over my hand as I say, “I’ll pick you up at seven.” I hang up, wiping my wet hand down my trousers. I’m not giving her another chance to second-guess her decision and change her mind.
It’s just dinner, but why does my chest fill with excitement at the thought of seeing her?