10. Leah

CHAPTER 10

LEAH

" H ey, Mike. Leah Woodland." I offer the designer my hand, and he studies it for a moment before taking it and giving it a limp shake.

"I'd love to take a look at the designs Jack mentioned," I continue.

His gaze returns to the computer screen on his standing desk. "Did Mr. Leadsom okay this?"

I blink. "What? No. Jack— Mr. Leadsom doesn't need to okay that."

He smirks. "Yeah, sure."

I wait.

And wait.

"So you'll send them to me?" I ask.

He gives me a flat look. "I'll send them to you if Mr. Leadsom says it's okay."

My anger rises. Why do so many people here seem to think I'm not capable of the job I've already been doing for years?

"I don't need Mr. Leadsom's permission for everything," I say through gritted teeth.

Mike shrugs. "That's not what he said."

I take a deep breath and force myself to stay calm. There's no point in getting into an argument with someone who's clearly not interested in working with me.

"Fine," I say, turning on my heel. "I'll talk to Mr. Leadsom about it."

As I walk back to my office, my frustration builds. It's only five thirty on the first day at Leadsom Tower and I'm sick of constantly having to prove myself to everyone here. And I'm sick of Jack cock-blocking my every move.

But most of all, I'm sick of the way he makes my pulse race every time we're in the same room.

I need to keep reminding myself that he's just a guy.

A gorgeous, sexy, cocky, billionaire guy.

God, how much longer can I even put up with this? Day one and I feel like I'm falling apart.

Throwing the door to my office open, I stop in my tracks.

"Surprise." Taylor looks up from her phone.

"Oh. Uh, hey."

She looks at me funny. "Were you expecting someone else?"

"No," I quickly lie, even though in the split second between seeing someone in here and figuring out who it was, I hoped it was Jack.

Unfortunately.

I can't stand the man, and yet I also can't stop thinking about him.

She puts her phone in her purse. "Are you done for the day, or is Jack Leadsom requiring you to work sixteen-hour shifts?"

I sigh. "That could happen. He wasn't too happy about my interrupting him in this morning's meeting."

"It was baller, though." She grins. "How about a drink to shake the day off?"

"Uh…" I think about it. Technically, I'm done with the day.

There's more I could do, though. There's always more I could do.

And it would be nice to show Jack just how hard I can work, to prove to him that I'm a real asset.

But then again, that's silly. He knows I'm an asset. If he didn't, I wouldn't be here.

I shouldn't have to feel like I need to prove myself to him. I shouldn't care what he thinks.

"A drink sounds great," I say.

"Really?" Taylor laughs. "I didn't expect you to say yes."

"These are desperate times." I open the door for her.

We head out, passing by Jack's office. The door is closed, but I can hear him in there, talking on the phone. The sound of his voice sends a little thrill through me.

I bite my lip, wishing I could just reprogram myself so that I'm not attracted to him anymore. Unfortunately, this isn't a sci-fi movie.

As we walk down the hallway, Taylor turns to me. "How are you holding up?"

I grimace.

"I know." She checks her lipstick on her phone's camera as we walk. "But he is brilliant. You have to give him that. I bet he's right, and he'll take GourmetGlobal to new heights."

"And it'll lose the personal touch it had."

She gives me a look that almost looks like pity. "Leah. This is the tech world. What else do you expect? If something doesn't blow up, it fails."

My heart sinks. "I want to be the exception. I want to do things a new way."

"I know you do. You're sweet. Maybe too sweet for this industry."

Does that mean she thinks I should throw the towel in and quit? What else would I even do? Sell my shares and buy a farm deep in the mountains?

I can't imagine being anywhere other than Olympus City, unless it's with my grandparents. And I certainly can't imagine doing anything else for work.

We step into the elevator, the doors sliding shut behind us.

"Hold the elevator," a deep, familiar voice calls out.

I tense up as Taylor hits the open button. A moment later, Jack slips into the elevator.

At the sight of me, his eyes widen slightly. He's good at maintaining a poker face, though, because a second later, he looks completely unaffected.

"Ladies." He nods at the both of us.

Behind his back, Taylor's gaze cuts to mine. I can't tell what she's trying to convey, but there's a mischievous look on her face.

And then her eyes dart to Jack's ass, and she bites her bottom lip.

I freeze.

The doors open, and Jack steps out without so much as a goodbye or a smile. Taylor and I follow but at a slower pace.

The people in the lobby all stop what they're doing as he passes, either nodding at him or staring in awe.

"Did you see what he's packing?" Taylor whispers to me.

My face warms. "That's not very professional," I chastise.

Neither is sleeping with your boss.

Even though, technically, he wasn't my boss when we hooked up.

Then again, sleeping with the man who's trying to acquire your business still isn't professional. It's tacky, at the least.

So I'm a hypocrite. Or maybe something worse than that.

Taylor, as per usual, is unfazed. "What good is life if you can't have a little fun? I've heard he's amazing in bed."

My face warms as we walk across the lobby. Jack is nowhere to be seen. He must have already slipped out the front doors. "Where did you hear that?"

"Around. A friend of a friend had a fling with him a few years ago. And it's not exactly a secret that he likes the ladies."

The embarrassment turns into a hot stone in my gut. I shouldn't be jealous, but I am.

And I'm angry.

Jack treated me like an object. Just like he probably treats every woman. What's worse, after he was done with me, he went behind my back and took my business.

"I need two drinks," I mumble. "At the same time."

She laughs. "Who is this new Leah?"

"She's stressed out and pissed, that's who she is."

We head to the bar across the street, where we take a table in the back and order two Old Fashioneds. Steepling her fingers under her chin, Leah studies me.

"So." She purses her lips. "What did you think of the first day?"

I laugh, loud and nearly maniacally. "Great. It was just peachy."

"The new hires…"

I sigh and close my eyes. "I only met a few today."

"I'm sure they're good at their jobs."

I open my eyes and smile wryly. "I'm sure they are too, but they're all a bunch of assholes."

She leans back in her chair, looping an arm over the back of it. "That's—"

"The industry. I know." The server arrives with our drinks, and I can't get the first few sips down quick enough. I've never been much of a drinker, but it feels like I'm carrying a literal ton of stress on my shoulders.

Taylor studies me. "I'm worried about you, Leah."

"What? I'm fine." I down half my drink. "Why do you say that?"

"I know this isn't what you want. Maybe it's time to turn in your cards."

I stare into my drink. "Yeah. Maybe."

"How much do you think you would get for your shares?"

I chew that over. "Jack did make a pretty good offer, but that was before I turned him down and he went ahead and bought GourmetGlobal up."

"What if you took him up on it? You seem…"

"You can say it. You won't hurt my feelings." I fish my cherry out of my drink.

"Run-down."

I sigh. "I am. GourmetGlobal has been the biggest dream of my life… and now it feels like I'm losing it."

"Maybe you've done the best you can, and there's another dream waiting for you out there. Another goal to achieve."

I sit on that. As much as it hurts, being free of this whole mess would be freeing. Sad, but freeing.

The bar's front door opens, and a familiar face walks in. I sit up straight, watching as Jack walks to the bar, followed by two other men in suits.

They take seats at the bar, launching into a conversation. Though I can't hear what they're saying, it looks like they're having a business meeting.

Of course they are. This bar is in the middle of downtown. If I didn't want to run into Jack, I really should have gone somewhere else.

Leah follows my gaze until she's turned around in her seat. "Oh. Speak of the devil."

I snort. "The literal devil."

As if he feels us looking at him, Jack's eyes snap to us. It's right then that the entire contents of my stomach come bubbling up my chest. Bolting out of my chair, I rush to the back of the bar.

The bathroom. Where is the bathroom?

Oh, God. If I vomit right here in front of Jack, that's it. I'll be ready to crawl into a hole and die.

Finally, I find the bathroom and burst into it. I barely make it to the toilet, where I promptly throw up.

Straightening up, I wash my face and hands and stare into the mirror. Okay. No more drinking for me.

It's been a while since I had liquor, and apparently I just can't handle it.

Composing myself, I head back into the bar. Jack is in the middle of a conversation, but I catch him glance my way.

"Are you okay?" Taylor asks.

"I think I should head home."

"Okay. I already paid." She stands. "Did you park in the garage? That's where I am."

We head for the door, and on the way past the bar, Jack smirks. "You okay there, Woodland?"

Woodland.

His choice to call me by my last name feels so absurd and patronizing. I want to punch him in the face.

Instead, I plaster on a huge smile. "Peachy."

"Don't hit the bottle too hard." His eyes dance. "We could replace you at work, but it would be a pain in the ass."

It feels like I've touched a live wire. I actually stop in my tracks, my hands clenching into fists.

Screw selling my shares. Screw retiring to a happy little farm in the mountains.

This man took the most important thing in the world to me. And he doesn't care one bit. In fact, it seems he actually derives pleasure from making me unhappy.

Fuck it. I'm not giving up. This is all-out war.

"I'd hate to have anything to do with your ass," I say sweetly. "So I'll keep that in mind."

The shit-eating grin drops off his face. Interpreting that as ten points for me, I stride out of the bar, Taylor right behind me.