Page 18 of Rebellious Hearts

I had to stop thinking about her as someone I’d slept with if I was going to get through this project at all. I had to see her as a colleague. Maybe not even that.

We weren’t equals. I was a Blackwood, for God’s sake. And the owner of the company, and she was just an employee.

A hot one, but the fact was, I was her boss.

End of story.

The boss who slept with his employee.

Damn it, my mind wouldn’t leave me alone. No matter what I did, I wasn’t going to be able to work with Sofia.

Fuck this shit.

I got up from my office, where I was going through the documents for the Harborview project, and stormed to Alex’s office.

I didn’t bother knocking.Wewere equals.

Okay, maybe that wasn’t true either because he was the CEO and technicallymyboss. But that wasn’t the point. The point was that we were brothers, we were equal owners of the company, and when it came down to it, I was older than him.

Yeah, that had to count for something.

I pushed Alex’s door open despite Marina trying to stop me.

“We need to talk,” I growled.

Alex held up his finger. He was on the phone.

“Will you just hold on for a moment?” Alex hit mute on his phone. “I’m on a call, Ben. Can this wait?”

“No, it can’t,” I snapped. “Time is running out, I have to leave tomorrow, and I’m not going until we straighten this bullshit out.”

Alex sighed. “Fine, just let me handle this, okay?”

He unmuted his call and spoke for a while longer. He typed a couple of things on his laptop while he did, nodding as he listened, and—finally—he ended the call.

Nice of him to have some time for me.

God, I was in a shit mood.

“Okay, what is it?” Alex asked with a sigh. I hadn’t even started yet and he sounded exasperated.

“I’m not going to Harborview with that woman,” I said flatly.

Alex frowned. “We’re not going through this again—”

“I don’t need a babysitter. Why don’t you think I can do this shit? I’m not just a salesman, you know. I can do other stuff, too, without needing supervision.”

Alex shook his head. “This isn’t about your abilities, Ben. Why is everything always so difficult with you? The project needs someone who understands business development and Miss Gallegos is the best we have. She’s outstanding, I pulled her files. You can look at them if you want.”

He opened his laptop.

“You don’t have to—”

“I sent them to you,” Alex said and offered me a level stare. “I know you’re pissed off and you think this is all about you, but it’s not. This is about expanding the company, which is a big step, and I want it to work out right. That’s all. It’s a business move, not an emotional one.”

I shook my head. Alex was so fucking reasonable, it pissed me off. That was why he was the boss. My dad had chosen Alex to be the CEO, and I’d been pissed off when he’d done that all those years ago.

I’d felt like I’d been overlooked, like my dad hadn’t wanted me there because I wasn’t good enough.