Read Because He Torments Me for Free Online Page A

to
talk about.
    When I got back from lunch, I hovered outside
Kiersten’s office.
    The prize packs were done, at least the ones on
the long list that Betty had given me, and I was hoping they weren’t going to
give me another list to start working on.
    “Kiersten?” I said.   “I’m done with the prize packs.”
    “Have you had lunch?”
    “Yes.”
    “Good.”   She leaned back in her chair and slid a pair of glasses onto her face,
one of those trendy chic pairs with Ralph Lauren frames.   She slid a packet of papers across the
desk to me.   “This is the info for
the Callum Wilder book tour.”
    I picked it up and ran my eyes over the top
sheet.
    “He’ll be going from city to city, reading and
signing.   In certain cities we’ll
have a twitter giveaway for a chance to join Callum for dinner.   Of course he’ll be promising to talk
about his business secrets, but it will mostly be young women who enter.”   She sighed. “Women cannot get enough of
Callum.    You’ll be in charge
of a lot of that, picking winners, vetting them, that sort of thing.”
    Wonderful.   I pictured myself looking through entries from young, beautiful women,
all of them desperate to win a dinner date with the sexy and enigmatic Callum
Wilder.
    “Do you think you can handle that, Adriana?”   Kiersten barked.
    “Yes,” I said.   “Yes, I can.”
    The phone buzzed and Betty’s voice came over
the speaker.   “Callum Wilder is
here,” Patty said.   “Shall I show
him to the… oh, wait, sir, no, you can’t just - -   um , Kiersten, he’s coming back,
I’m sorry, I couldn’t – ”
    The rest of her voice faded away because
suddenly, there he was, standing in front of us.  
    Callum.
    He was dressed in one of his signature black
suits, and today his shirt was grey, his tie grey and black striped.   He looked as if he’d gotten a haircut
since I saw him yesterday, the hair on the back of his neck shorter than it
usually was, his sideburns neatly trimmed, his face clean shaven.
    And those eyes.
    Blazing blue, as always.
    “Callum,” Kiersten said, giving him a smile and
rising from her seat to shake his head.   “How are you?”
    “Good, thank you.   And yourself?”
    “I’m good, I’m good.”   She turned to me.   “And you know Adriana.”
    “Yes, of course,” Callum said smoothly, not
showing any trace of knowing me as anything more than a work relationship.   He gave me a curt nod, but didn’t make a
move to shake my hand.
    I nodded back at him, hoping I was as good as
he was at keeping my emotions in check.
    Callum glanced at his watch.   “I have another meeting at three.”
    “Oh, this won’t take long,” Kiersten assured
him.   “Let’s move to the conference
room, shall we?”
    We shuffled out of the office and started down
the hall toward the conference room. The two of them walked ahead of me,
chattering about publication dates and galleys, and I followed them like a lost
puppy.
    When we got to the conference room, Kiersten
asked Callum if he wanted a drink.
    “Water with lemon,” he said.
    “Of course.   I’ll be right back,” she said and turned
to leave.
      “I
can get it,” I said, panicked at the thought of being left alone with him, even
if only for a moment.  
    “No, it’s okay,” Kiersten said.   “I got it.”   She left the room, obviously trying to
prove to Callum that he was such an important client that she was willing to
fetch him beverages.
    Not like he needed to be made to feel as if he
were important – he was already arrogant enough.  
    He sat down at the head of the table, and I involuntarily
scoffed.
    “Do you have something to say, Adriana?” he
asked.
    I sat down on his left side, making sure to
slide my chair over so that there was a fair amount of distance between
us.   Although at this point I could
have been in New Jersey and there wouldn’t have been enough distance between
the two of us.
    “No,” I said.
    “Are you sure?