Page 16 of Feral King

Julian cuts him off. “She was incompetent. You promoted her because you were fucking her.”

“How the hell would you know?” Alexander fires back. “You’ve been gone for three years!”

“You’re a damn fool if you think I haven’t been keeping a close eye on this company. That’s how I know how you’ve been running it into the ground.”

Alexander narrows his eyes into hateful little slits. He sweeps his hand toward me. “I don’t care what you say. She’s only here because you want to humiliate me.”

Something about him standing there, pouting like an immature little kid, pushes buttons I didn’t know I even had. I open my mouth to fire something back, but Julian gives me a pointed look, one that says to close it.

“Once again, you’re making the mistake of thinking the world revolves around you,” Julian says. “It doesn’t. Thismorningdoesn’t even revolve around you. Now, if you’d?—”

“Bullshit!” Alexander shouts. “You’re lying to my face, trying to tell me that bringing Lyra back is some noble business-centered decision. You did it to get to me, and I don’t appreciate the game?—”

Before he can finish, Julian rises from his desk and strides over, closing the distance between them in an instant. He stops a foot away from Alexander, looming over him. The height difference is glaringly evident.

“I brought Lyra back because she’s the best event coordinator this company has had since my mother died. And you drove her away because your ego couldn’t tolerate a woman who outperformed you.” His tone is low, steady,and merciless. “You never deserved her, not for a single day.”

The air between them feels like it’s going to combust at any moment. I can see the vein throbbing in Alexander’s temple, the slight tremor to his hand. For one long moment, I think he might take a swing.

But he doesn’t. Instead, he takes a step back.

“This isn’t over,” he says quietly.

Julian says nothing.

“A board meeting’s been called,” Alexander says with a sneer. “I know you love the idea of being able to stride back into this place and take your seat on the throne, but that’s not going to happen. Your reinstatement isn’t ratified, and I’m going to make sure that it never is. Enjoy the corner office while you still have it.”

He snorts, then casts one more pissy little glance in my direction before striding out.

Julian stands motionless for a long moment. Then he turns, steps over to the window, and looks out in silence. A tense few moments follow before I break the silence.

“He’s bluffing,” I say.

“He’s not.” He doesn’t turn to face me as he slips his phone out of his pocket. “But a board vote requires a quorum, and Alexander doesn’t have one. Not yet at least. I need to make a few calls. What Alexander can accomplish with a few social media posts, I can counter with hard facts and some pointed reminders.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“It should.”

He sets the phone down and regards me with a strange look. The wall that he put up when Alexander arrived seems to be coming down. The room feels smaller—in a good way. The atmosphere is lighter.

He comes over to the other side of the desk and sits down on the edge.

“Lyra.”

“Julian.”

“You should go back to your office. I’m sure you’ve got quite a bit of settling in to do.”

“Yeah, I should. I do.”

But neither of us moves. His gaze drops to my mouth—just for a second, but it’s impossible to ignore. The tightness in my body that’s been a constant since I walked in amps up until it’s a full-body pull, magnetic and irresistible. I want to lean forward into his arms, close my eyes, and?—

The door opens again.

“Julian.” A man’s voice, clipped and professional, fills the room. There’s an undercurrent of urgency to his tone.

I stand and step back, putting distance between Julian and myself, as if I’d nearly been busted in the act of doing something I shouldn’t have been doing. Turning around, I see a tall, sharp-featured man in a dark suit standing in the doorway. I’m guessing he’s in his mid-thirties, and he’s built like someone who knows how to handle himself.