The Rule I Never Agreed To
He looked at me like I was a mistake he hadn’t planned for.
Not angry.
Not annoyed.
Worse.
Controlled.
“You’re late,” he said.
I checked my watch. Then looked back at him.
“Seven minutes,” I replied. “That’s barely a crime.”
His jaw tightened.
Interesting.
“You signed a contract,” he said. “Punctuality is mandatory.”
“So is reading the fine print,” I smiled. “We all fail sometimes.”
That’s when he finally stood up.
Tall.
Close.
Dangerously calm.
“There will be rules,” he said.
“No personal conversations. No touching. And under no circumstances—”
His eyes met mine.
“—do you want me.”
I laughed.
Actually laughed.
“Oh,” I said softly, “you should’ve put that one in bold.”
Because the moment he told me not to want him—
I absolutely did.
