Primal Instincts_ Volume 2(29)
Author: Nicole Edwards

 

“You will,” he said with a chuckle. “But that’s not what I’m asking.”

 

I sighed, wishing he didn’t have this strange hold over me.

 

“When you get out of bed, I want you to look at the woman in the mirror. I want you to see her the way we do.”

 

“We?”

 

“That’s not the point, Journey.”

 

“Fine. How do we see me?”

 

“Strong and beautiful, with a light that comes from within. Sassy and smart, driven by desires most people don’t recognize.”

 

Again, I hated that he seemed to know me. He shouldn’t. I’d had only a few conversations with him and nothing in-depth. It didn’t make sense that I felt like he was looking into my soul.

 

“What if he leaks the video?”

 

“He won’t.”

 

“You can’t know that.”

 

“I do. Men like Wayne want leverage over you. If he leaks the video, he won’t have it.”

 

“So I have to let him blackmail me?” The thought of that was even worse than facing people who’d seen me flash my tits.

 

“He won’t. I’ll make sure of it.”

 

I didn’t tell him he couldn’t make such a promise. I knew Creed believed he was invincible, but Wayne had the upper hand here.

 

I sighed. “I don’t want that video getting out, Creed. He’s going to know that.”

 

“Then make him think otherwise.”

 

“Pretend I don’t care?” I snorted. “And how do you suggest I do that? Give him the link to a website he can upload it to? Maybe Whores Are Us? Or How-to-Seduce-Your-Boss-dot-com?”

 

“Don’t ever let me hear you talk like that.”

 

I swallowed hard, taken aback by the harshness of his tone. It made my ire rise and put me on the defensive. “He called me a whore, Creed. He’s using you and Hawk and now Garrison against me. He accused me of fucking all of you to get what I want. But he’s not the only one. My entire team thinks I’m sleeping my way to the top.”

 

“Fuck them, Journey,” Creed hissed. “Goddammit.”

 

I could practically feel his fury coming through the phone.

 

“I’m coming back today,” he declared.

 

“No,” I snapped. “You are not coming to my rescue, Creed. I don’t need your help on this one.”

 

I heard his rapid, deep breaths.

 

“I don’t,” I said with less heat. “I can handle Wayne. I just … I need to do it on my own. But thanks for the offer.”

 

“Journey—”

 

“I’m serious,” I bit out, worried he would make me cave. I didn’t want to cave. I wasn’t weak, dammit. And I damn sure didn’t want to be known as the woman who needed Creed Granger’s protection. “I don’t need you to fight my battles for me, Creed. In fact, I think it’s best if we pretend that none of this happened in the first place.”

 

With that, I disconnected the call.

 

As soon as I did, my chest felt like it caved in on itself, and pain, unlike anything I’d known, consumed me. I didn’t know how I could ache for something I never had. It didn’t make sense.

 

 

 

 

 

It took tremendous effort, but I managed to make it to work. Yesterday, I had allowed Creed to knock me down a notch, and I’d succumbed to the dark cloud looming over me. I wasn’t going to let that happen again. So, like my mother had taught me to do, I dressed for my mood.

 

Today’s theme: fierce.

 

The fire engine red midi dress had a floral pattern embroidered on the sheer overlay of the bodice and skirt. The asymmetrical ruffles on the skirt were layered to look like a wrap dress, complete with a sash over the high, banded waist. The long sleeves were sheer with the same embroidered pattern, as well as thick cuffs at the wrist. I paired it with red strappy sandals that crisscrossed over my ankles and higher up on my legs. I even took the time to paint my toenails the same brilliant red.

 

Fuck Wayne. Fuck him and the fucking horse he rode in on.

 

Yeah, it felt good to let those four-letter words loose sometimes, and as far as I was concerned, he deserved them. I refused to let him knock me down. I wasn’t the one who’d done anything wrong.

 

I held my head up high as I strolled through the building, past both security desks and up to the sixth floor. I kept my chin up, not looking around. I didn’t know if I could handle seeing Garrison first thing. I wasn’t sure why he’d disappeared, and since he hadn’t left a note, I didn’t even know if he would ever talk to me again. However, I didn’t have time to debate the status of my love life. I needed to hold on to my anger if I intended to make it through the day.

 

That lasted until I learned that Garrison wasn’t sitting with my team today. My fury turned to apprehension, which soon became wrapped in anxiety. Was he avoiding me? Did he regret what we did last night? Needless to say, I was an emotional mess, so I fortified my ire, keeping the anger and letting the doubts and insecurities simmer until I could deal with them privately.

 

To my utter shock, Wayne acted as though nothing had happened yesterday. He was as cocky as usual but not confrontational. Well, as long as you didn’t count the smarmy grins he passed me whenever he saw me. I ignored him, making it through the day without speaking to him. It helped that I had back-to-back meetings with the Reflect team as we reviewed the project timeline for the next nine months, tightening up each phase until they were happy enough to sign off.

 

At five o’clock, I packed my things, ready to end the day. As I was walking out of my office, I found Wayne waiting for me. He had one shoulder propped against the wall, a cocky smile on his face.

 

“We need to talk.”

 

“I’ve got an appointment to get to,” I lied. “It’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

 

“Not unless you want your co-workers to see your tits.”

 

The words hit me like a two-by-four to the chest. “What do you want from me, Wayne?”

 

“I’ve got a list of demands,” he said, his tone smarmy and entitled.

 

“Well, you should send it to my lawyers. I’ll let them handle it.”

 

“Don’t pretend you’ve got a legal team to back you on this.”