Rebound by Noelle August Read Free Book Online Page B

space?”
    I hate to come across as spoiled or particular, but I have to command authority here. Have to make Nancy and Simon see that I’m not just some daddy’s girl put in place as an indulgence.
    Adam looks at me—not into my eyes exactly, though his gaze is still intense enough to wrap around me, riveting me to the spot. “I’m sure we can accommodate you,” he says in a coolly pleasant tone. “Why don’t you all come with me, and we’ll talk to Cookie?”
    Even her name makes me cringe.
    Simon and Nancy rise and gather their things.
    “How about the conference room?” Paolo suggests.
    Adam shakes his head. “Too much going on this month. We’re putting the final touches on the team-building retreat, and I told Brooks he could set up a temporary space for the film project.”
    We stand there, at a cordial impasse. Behind me, my troops—Nancy, Simon, and Philippe, shore up my position. Though I can’t help noticing the starry-eyed gaze Nancy levels at Adam. Not that I can blame her.
    The staccato of heels clicking down the hall interrupts us, and Cookie appears.
    “What’s going on here?” she asks in a needle-sharp tone.
    She’s in a white A-line dress, with broad Tiffany-blue pipedlapels. She looks like she’s still in costume, like a flight attendant from a class of futuristic airships.
    I can’t help cutting a look at Philippe, who I know is thinking what I’m thinking. Someone needs a makeover.
    “Good to see you again, Cookie.”
    She raises an eyebrow and gives me a limp handshake. “Yes. And you’re certainly . . . different from the last time we met.” Her mouth twists into a smirk, letting me know she doesn’t think much of me, and that smirk lights a fire in me.
    I want to say, Oh, I still have my whip with me, but I decide it’s better to leave that night out of the conversation.
    “Ms. Quick and her team aren’t comfortable in the space we’ve provided,” Adam says. His ramrod posture tells me he’s not thrilled, either. With her, or with me, I don’t know.
    “We just want to be comfortable and free of distraction,” I tell her. She’s tall, but with my heels, I’m taller. Up close I see that her skin is almost pore-less, like glass. She may not actually be real. “I’m sure you can appreciate that.”
    I think of my father’s words, “Alison, when you’re in a pissing contest, you gotta pee right in the eye of the big dog. Don’t waste time on the whelps.”
    Adam breaks in, changing the energy—like puncturing the surface tension of water.
    “My office.”
    “What?” Cookie says. “That’s—”
    Exciting, I think. Terrifying. To be so close. Though I’ll have my staff there too.
    “Perfect,” Adam says. “There’s plenty of room, and I’m running around so much, we won’t be . . .” His eyes shift to me. “On top of each other.”
    “But Adam—”
    “That’s so generous,” I say. “If we won’t be a distraction.”
    “Not at all,” he says, giving me a challenging look. “I’m sure we’ll all work well together.”
    I don’t know if my brain will be worth a damn with him so nearby, but I can’t let anyone else know that. Especially not him.
    “I think so too,” I tell him, and then I meet Cookie’s icy glare with a wide smile. “Problem solved.”

Chapter 8
Adam
    W hat was that about, Cookie? You put her in the kitchen ?”
    “Yes! It was a good place for her.” Cookie drops into the chair opposite my desk. She crosses her legs and rolls her eyes. “You saw how she came in here this morning, Adam. She acts like she owns the goddamn place! She needs to know she can’t steamroll us just because she represents her daddy’s money.”
    I picture Alison moments ago, standing before her team like an army general. Cookie’s exaggerating, but it’s true. She showed a cool side I hadn’t seen at all on Saturday night. She was totally in control, confident and assertive about her needs.
    The office kitchen for Quick’s daughter?