Disloyalty

- Collision course -

This was bad—really bad.

If I didn't speak to Andrew, James was going to lose it. But the last thing I wanted was to be intimidated by him. I  cant to let Andrew think he still had any power over me. 

I straightened my blazer, took a deep breath, and walked toward him. Every step felt heavier, the nerves clawing at me, but I forced myself to keep going. I needed to show him that whatever dominating aura he tried to project wouldn't work on me today.

He had stopped looking at me and hadn't noticed me approach him yet—probably thought I'd avoid him, run away. That  idiot is wrong. I tapped him on the shoulder, feeling the firmness of his muscles beneath my fingers. When did he get so... solid? Skinny, lanky Andrew was a thing of the past.

"Excuse me, Mr. Graham," I interrupted his conversation with an older man who looked like he could buy and sell my entire existence with the watch on his wrist. 

Andrew turned, and when his eyes finally met mine, I felt a jolt. Damn. He was even more handsome up close. everything was a lot more..defined? than I remembered, his eyes sharper, more intense. There was something dangerous in the way he looked at me, and for a second, I completely lost my train of thought.

He stepped forward, closing the distance between us. His gaze locked onto mine, every ounce of tension from our past crackling between us.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice low and controlled to avoid any attention, but there was anger simmering underneath.

he said "you" like he was belittling me, patronising, a way of him saying youre to broke to be here

I swallowed, forcing myself to focus and get this over and done with, my job is more important than him. "How did Clarus start?"

His brows furrowed, clearly thrown off by the question. "What?"

"I asked how your company started." My voice was calm, but I secretly enjoyed watching his confusion spread.

"I don't care about your  questions. What are you doing here?" He was agitated now, his anger rising, and I kept smiling, maybe I should just ac t like I dont recognise him.

"What's your profit margin?" I asked, my tone light and sarcastic, but his reaction was worth it. He was fuming.

He stepped closer, his voice dropping dangerously low. "Why are you here? Tell me why you're here."

I leaned in, matching his intensity. "How do you define success?" My words dripped with mockery, pushing every button I knew he had.

Andrew's face darkened. "Success will be when you tell me why the hell you're here and when you leave."

I dropped my smile. "Look, I'm just trying to do my job. Answer the damn questions, and I'll be out of your hair. Wouldn't that make you happy?" I leaned back, tired now. I just wanted this over with.

"I don't care about your job," he spat, straightening his posture. His eyes flicked away from mine, scanning the room like he wanted to be anywhere but here. "You don't belong here."

Rude. The Andrew I knew wouldn't have acted like this. Maybe he hadn't changed as much as I thought. Maybe he was always this cruel.

I stepped in closer, lowering my voice so no one would hear us. "Listen, if you don't answer my questions, I'm going to lose my job. So just this once, could you stop being a prick and help me out?"

He glared at me, then sighed. "Fine."

"How do you define success in business?" I repeated, my voice steady despite the simmering anger between us.