Page 19 of Rebellious Hearts

But would I have been such a good CEO?

Alex had a way of shutting off his emotions and getting down to business the way I never could. It was these emotions that got me into shit.

“If you have to send someone with me, let it be someone else,” I said tightly.

Alex narrowed his eyes at me. “Why? What do you have against Sofia?”

If I could choose, I’d have liked to have my body against her, but that was beside the point.

“I don’t like her.”Liar.

“This isn’t kindergarten, Ben. You’re going to have to put your big boy pants on and deal with it. Be professional. You don’t have to be her friend.”

Yeah, well… fuck.

“So, there’s no way you’re going to buckle in this?” I asked.

“Not a chance.”

“You can be such an asshole.”

Alex sighed and leaned back in his chair.

“What the hell is your problem, Ben?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re always upset with whatever I say and do, however I choose to do business, and you take everything so damn personally. This world doesn’t need to be such a survival contest, you know. You keep playing life on hard and you really don’t have to.”

I didn’t know how to answer that. If I argued I would prove him right, and I hated that he wasn’t exactly wrong. It wasn’t like I chose it that way. It was just the way it fucking was.

“Look, Sofia Gallegos is good at her job, and this project is something that will be good for you, her, and the company. It’s a triple treat. I know you’ve been going through some shit and I thought letting you get away for a while was something you would appreciate.”

He wasn’t wrong. Damn it, Alex was never wrong. Ididwant to get out of here and I’d been thrilled when he’d suggested that I go. It was just the fact that I had to go with Sofia after I’d slept with her, and that despite what Alex was saying, I still felt like I was getting a babysitter and Alex didn’t trust that I could do this on my own.

“Thanks,” I said gruffly. “I guess I’ll go home. I have some packing to do.”

Alex nodded without answering me and turned his attention back to his laptop. He picked up his phone, dialed a number, and had someone on the line again before I’d properly left his office.

It irritated me that he was so good at his job, so impossible to argue with, and such a pain in my ass.

But Alex and I had never really gotten along. He’d always been better at everything he did than I’d ever been at what I did and that pissed me off.

It was the principle of the thing.

Ididleave the way I’d told Alex I would, but I wouldn’t go straight home and pack. I would do that later. First, I needed to blow off some steam.

I drove to Jester.

I didn’t usually go there during the day, but the bar was the type of place that catered to its patrons at all hours. They were open for mimosas after brunch at eleven and served the appropriate alcohol until two in the morning.

That was why they were so popular. It was almost like a twenty-four-hour takeaway place that offered what people needed when they couldn’t find it anywhere else at strange hours.

Jester looked different during the day. The bar in the middle wasn’t brightly lit with its neon lights, and with the paneling on the walls and the blue velvet seats, the place had an almost gentleman-club feel.

“Hey, Ben,” Max said behind the bar, coming to me. He wore slacks and a button-up, even though he was behind the bar as a bartender during the day.

“Max,” I said, nodding.