Professional Restraint

31 All Ears

Liam

"I'm all ears," I say, taking a seat on the couch in my office.

Sophia narrows her gaze, but walks over to the chair across the coffee table from me. She sits and gracefully crossed her legs, looking like a femme fatale that's planning out my death in a dozen different ways.

"You fucked up."

I open my mouth to say something, but her pointed look and flick of her wrist has my mouth shutting just as fast. Fire burns in her mocha eyes, warning me to tread carefully.

"You. Fucked. Up." Her words hang heavy in the air as she leans back, resting her finger on her temple as if to stem back a headache. "More importantly, you fucked up with someone I love more than my own family. What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I—" My words fail me. The last thing I expected this morning was to get chewed out by the ever cheery and sassy Sophia Hernandez, yet after this dumpster fire of a Monday morning, I suppose I should have seen this coming a mile away. "I'm sorry," I genuinely admit. "I really am... but more so, I have no idea what I did."

Anger flashes in her eyes, making it clear that was the wrong answer.

Sophia sits up straighter, snapping her fingers at me. "You have no idea!? None?" The angrier she gets, the more her hands fly to accentuate her words. "Are you for real?"

"I swear I never meant to hurt El—"

"She's not one of those bimbos you're used to fucking with, you know?" Sophia leans forward, glaring daggers at me. "Meant to or not, you're an asshole."

Sighing, I slump back into my seat. "I know, but I was trying to be better." To say I was a jerk when we first crossed paths is an understatement, but Ella quickly brought out a different side of me, one I had forgotten existed.

Pursing her lips, Sophia sighs. "I know. Which, contrary to my best judgement, is why you get one more shot." She holds a single finger up to make her point crystal clear.

I edge forward in my seat, feeling more hopeful than I have all week. "Thank you, you don't know what this means—"

"Don't thank me," she practically spits out the words as if they leave a bad taste in her mouth. "Thank Declan. He seems to think the world of you: lumps, bumps and all."

Guilt rears its ugly head once more. Given his reaction, I was sure he didn't believe me, so I thought I was on my own here.

"I will, but can you at least tell me what I did?" I cringe, mentally bracing for her emotional backlash.

Instead, Sophia rolls her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose. "El's different, you know? Whether she means to or not, she picks apart everything and reads between the lines. She was vulnerable, and confused, and you fucking say that she should thank you?"

My stomach drops. I had done so well keeping my dominant side at bay, but slipped. Submissive's asking permission to come and thanking their dominants is common place. Burying my face in my hands, I groan, seeing it clearly now.

"Got it now, dumbass?" She growls, disapproval lacing her tone. "You can't say that cocky shit to someone like El. She's only ever had shitty exes who were incompetent in the sack."

I scowl at the thought of anyone mistreating her.

Sophia gets up and spares me one last glare. "So don't be that guy, who's good in bed and a dick in life... El deserves the total package."

"She does," I admit without delay. "But still, thank you—" her glare has my words dying in their tracks.

She arches a brow. "You still have to try to fix things. All I'm doing is getting out of your way, and only this once."