Because He Steals Me (Because He Owns Me #6) Read Online Free PDF Page B

hand tightened around her coffee cup. Her words echoed through my brain. If I find out there’s anything going on between the two of you, you will be fired immediately.
    I wanted to deny it, but I was afraid that would just make me look more guilty. It would be Aubrey’s word against mine. Who would Kiersten believe? A quick look at her face told me she would for sure believe Aubrey. Kiersten might have been done with Aubrey as an author, but she’d always had her suspicions about me.
    Crap, crap, crap.
    My mouth went dry and I licked my bottom lip.
    Aubrey’s expression was morphing from disinterested to shocked, her face displaying the kind of dazed disbelief of a girl who was used to getting exactly what she wanted.
    “Yes, well,” Kiersten said, straightening her shoulders. “Aubrey, you have somewhere to be, you said?” Her voice was even, but I could hear the tiniest crack breaking through, the smallest chink in her carefully controlled façade.
    “Yeah. I have an appointment with my stylist.” As Aubrey spoke, her bright green eyes never left mine. Her look of shock was turning to one of anger. People who were used to getting what they wanted didn’t handle it the well when they didn’t get their way.
    From down the street a ways, a limo was waiting, and a harried looking woman, most likely Aubrey’s assistant, popped her head out of the window. “Ms. Zane?” she called. “You’re going to be late.”
    “I’m coming, Sheila,” Aubrey said. She was still staring at me, her eyes shooting daggers.
    “We’ll see you soon, Aubrey,” Kiersten said.
    But Aubrey didn’t answer.
    Instead, she slid her gaze from mine and began to walk past me toward her waiting limo.
    As she brushed by, she stuck her arm out, elbowing me hard in the ribs. I stepped back, trying to move away from her, but Aubrey pushed into me harder, squeezing her paper coffee cup until the top popped off, dumping an entire twenty-four ounces of French roast all over my carefully chosen outfit.
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    “ T his is unacceptable, Adriana,” Kiersten fumed a few minutes later as we stepped onto the waiting elevator and she pushed button for our floor.
    I swallowed nervously and pawed through my bag, searching for a napkin or a tissue. My sweater and blouse were soaked with coffee, and the fabric clung to my skin, hot and sticky. The coffee hadn’t been warm enough to leave a burn, but it was definitely enough to sting.
    “Kiersten, I’m so sorry, it’s not…” I took in a deep breath. I was discombobulated, the thoughts spinning around my head. I had no idea what to do. Lie? Tell the truth? I decided to go with a half-truth, and play up the sympathy angle. “I was going to tell you about this,” I said, hoping my voice sounded calm and confident. “The truth is, see, there’s this man, Jason. He worked at a company that Callum took over.”
    Kiersten was staring at me as the elevator soared up the floors. Usually the elevator made at least one stop for someone else to get on, and I was praying that would happen now, that someone would get on and give me at least a few seconds to collect myself.
    “He found me last night at a Barnes and Noble,” I continued, realizing that I was beginning to sound like a babbling idiot.
    “Callum found you at a Barnes and Noble,” Kiersten repeated incredulously. Her eyes wrinkled around the edges as she frowned at me, and I wondered if perhaps she was older than I’d first thought, or if it was just the fact that she was scolding me that made me think that. Her eyeliner was done in a sharp black, slightly pointed at the ends. It was obviously coordinated to go with the outfit she was wearing, a black flared suit jacket with a matching skirt. But all it did right now was make her look more terrifying than she already was.
    “No, Jason found me at Barnes and Noble. See, he wanted Callum’s number because – ”
    “Save it,” Kiersten snarled, holding her hand up. “Just save it.”
    The