On His Terms(34)

After she was in her tunic blouse, leggings, and ballet flats again, she took the dress up to the front counter, saw the sales girl still eyeing Rian, and refrained from gritting her teeth. This stab of jealousy filled her, but it was so misplaced that Sorcha felt ridiculous and childish for even having it.

“Hi there,” she said to the young woman, but instead of a greeting in return Sorcha got a roll of the eyes. It was almost laughable the disgust that came from the saleswoman. Maybe this was what she had looked like at first when her jealousy had reared its head? Sorcha chose to ignore the clear brush-off, and Rian was in his own little world with whatever message he had just gotten on his phone, that he hadn’t even noticed the silent exchange.

“Here is your total, Mr. Hartford,” the blonde said in a very singsong voice that made Sorcha sick. This woman was as fake as they came, right down to her Botox injected forehead and lips, implanted breasts, and tummy tucked stomach.

Rian grabbed his Amex Black card, handed it to her, but was still reading whatever was on his phone.

“Everything okay?” Sorcha didn’t care why she even wanted to know what caused those frown lines on his forehead. Maybe she was just so used to making sure his day ran smoothly during the week that seeing him clearly upset about something was a little unsettling?

He glanced at her, shoved his phone in his pocket, and nodded. “Everything’s fine.” He took the card back and the dress now in a plastic bag, and took her arm to lead her out of the store. Once they were out of the shop he took her toward the black Mercedes waiting by the curb. She climbed in, he got in behind her, and the driver shut the door gently.

She stared at him as the car pulled away from the curb and into heavy New York traffic. He seemed tense, uncomfortable even. “Rian, I’ve worked for you long enough to know when you’re pissed about something. And even if you weren’t doing the silent treatment, you look like you’re about to have an aneurysm.”

Rian glanced at her, and for a few seconds he didn’t speak. When he finally did he sounded annoyed and tense. “It really isn’t that big of a deal, or it wasn’t at first.”

“What do you mean?” She shifted in her seat to face him better, and a second later he was putting up the privacy screen that separated the back from the front of the car.

“It’s nothing, just work, and then a slight annoyance from a…” He glanced away for a moment, and she saw his jaw harden.

“A lover scorned?” She phrased it like a question even though she already knew that was what the drama was about.

Rian looked at her again. “That obvious?”

She shrugged. “It was an educated guess given the number of women you’ve pissed off.”

He started chuckling. “I can’t argue that.” His voice was so deep, but soft right now. This was the Rian she liked being around.

“But seriously, there isn’t going to be an ex-girlfriend that comes knocking on the door ready to kick my ass, is there?” She was half teasing. Although she could handle herself, Sorcha really didn’t want any drama, even if she was only with Rian for seven days.

“She wouldn’t get past security.” He said it in a teasing manner, but there was truth behind his words, she could feel it.

“Great, like this whole situation wasn’t awkward enough.” She chuckled uncomfortably, and turned back around so she was facing the front.

“Some women just don’t know what it means when a man says they don’t want anymore.”

She slowly looked at him. “Are you serious?”

He looked at her as if she were the one that had lost her mind. “Very.”

“So it wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact you use women as if they were nothing more than vessels to unload your orgasms into?” Sorcha was blunt, but Rian was the type of man that needed to hear that. He could be conceited, arrogant, cocky, and could be an all around douche-bag. Maybe it was his upbringing, the fact he had whatever he wanted at the tips of his fingers, women included? Or maybe he was hiding something deeper inside, reflecting that in his actions? She didn’t know, but it wasn’t her place to question it anyway.

“Coarse and crude language for a lady, Sorcha.” He said the words with a bite to them, but she didn’t care if she pissed him off.

“You didn’t specify that you wanted a lady in your contract, Rian. If that’s what you wanted you picked the wrong woman.” He didn’t respond, but then again she didn’t think he would. “You used those women, Rian, just like you’re using me.” She was silent for a moment. “You’ve shown me different side of you, a softer side. How can you expect a woman not to fall for you?”