Broken In Pieces: Billionaire Stepbrother Romance (Wounded Hearts Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

while he’s talking. It’s like he is looking through me or deep into me. There is so much intensity in the room that I feel myself holding my breath. I try looking down at my notepad, as I’m jotting things down, to break the tenseness. But each time I do, he raises his voice and my sees shoot back up to his.
    “Did you get all of that,” he says, motioning to my notepad.
    “Yes, sir,” I reply as I rise from my seat. He releases me back to my desk and I’m so glad to be out of his presence. I don’t know what the hell that was but I didn’t like it at all. He is so domineering that I lose myself around him.
    The rest of the week is a whirlwind of becoming more acquainted with the people and systems in the office and trying to please His Highness to the best of my ability. I think he has called me into his office more than a hundred times for the most obscure and petty things conceivable. He is tiring, and at any other time in my life, his amazing good looks might make up for it.
    On Friday, Caroline comes by my desk, “Several of us usually get together and go out on Friday nights. We always take the new person, our treat. So, should I pick you up?”
    “I don’t know. It’s been a long week,” I resist.
    “All the more reason to go out and relax a little,” she insists. I end up agreeing because I know arguing will get me nowhere with this strong willed woman. But I insist that I will drive myself so she gives me the address of the nightclub.
    When I get home, I pull up the Sip & Fly nightclub on the internet just to see where I’m going. It’s very ritzy looking and not a place I imagine enjoying. I begin going through my closet to find something to wear. With each outfit I try on, my inner witch quips her sarcastic disapproval. I remember I still have the red dress I wore on my twenty-first birthday. It was way too tight then so it will probably fit just right now. Not sure how I feel about ever wearing it again but I try it on to see. When I look in the mirror, a chill runs through my body. My inner witch insists I have to let it go, leave it in the past. Move on and stop letting it paralyze me. She’s right and I know it. I pool all my inner strength. Going out in this outfit will be my first step in getting past this.
    When I arrive at the club, Caroline and the others are already there and she’s waving to make sure I see them. I’m almost to the table when a man approaches me, gently grabs me by both arms and says, “I just have to tell you, you are fucking gorgeous.” I’m taken back a bit. I don’t know if it’s because he is so forward or because he put his hands on me. All I can muster is a quiet thank you and I continue on my way.
    I must have had a strange look on my face because as soon as I get to the table, Caroline seemed concerned. “Do you know that man?” I shake my head no. “What did he say?” she almost yells because the music is so loud.
    “He said, I just have to tell you, you are fucking gorgeous,” I respond. Everyone around the table is looking at us now. I shrug it off with, “Well, folks, looks like they’re getting drunk early tonight.” Everyone laughs and returns to their conversations. I look up and Mr. Hawthorne is looking directly into my eyes with a smug half smile on his face. I flush and look down.
    Caroline brings me back to earth, “What do you want to drink, Sheridan, honey.”
    I’m a little out of my element here because I’ve had very few drinks in my life. To try to cover my inexperience I ask what’s good here. Instantly, Mr. Hawthorne calls the waitress over, “The lady will have a sex on the beach and put it on my tab,” he orders.
    I’m caught a little off guard, but I usually am around him, “That’s not necessary but thank you.”
    Just as I’m finishing my drink, the DJ starts ‘Funk You Up’ by Bruno Mars. Caroline grabs me by the hand and practically pulls me out of my seat, “I love this song! Come on, let’s hit the