Page 43 of Rebellious Hearts

The more I thought about it, the more upset I got.

I’d seen so many good things about him the last couple of days, spending time with him, seeing a part of him glimpse through that was completely different from the business shark he was to the world.

But this trumped everything good I’d seen. This was who Ben really was. This was the definition of Benjamin Blackwood, and thanks to his scheming and conniving, he’d turned me into an immoral person, too.

I was furious all over again and just waiting for our little lunch meeting so that I could lay into him all over again.

He deserved to know how upset I was.

Even if a part of me secretly liked the idea of being that close to Ben, pretending to be married, andallthat entailed…

No, no, no, I scolded myself.

That wasn’t what this was about.

I had to keep my mind on business, not on sex.

But what if businesswassex in this case?

13

BEN

Come to my suite for lunch.

I sent the text to Sofia and drummed my fingers on the desk while I waited for a response.

Excuse me???

Her reply was quick and about as emotional as I’d expected.

I don’t want to have this discussion in public.

I was pretty sure this was going to become an argument.

Oh, so now your image means something.

I rolled my eyes. Yeah, so she was pissed at me. And she had every right to be. But couldn’t she just let it go?

Clearly, she couldn’t.

Just humor me.

Her fingers had to be quick as fuck because her replies were almost instant.

I think we’re way past that point. I’ll be there.

Well, that was something, I guess.

She knocked on my door a half hour later and when I opened, she looked as glorious as always—dark hair cascading over her shoulders, those mercury eyes almost the color of slate, and her delicate features pinched with anger.

How was it possible for someone to be so beautiful when she was so angry?

“Come on in,” I said. “I ordered room service.”

“Nice of you.”

I wasn’t sure if she was being sarcastic or not.