Page 61 of What Comes Around

I certainly hadn’t expected… this.

Aware of the cameras, I forced myself to walk toward my desk, trying to look composed even though I felt anything but. My blouse was ruined, every button gone. My hair was a mess, and my thighs trembled with every step. I grabbed my bag and my coat, wrapping the coat tightly around me to hide the state of my clothes.

My phone buzzed as I ordered a car. Three minutes.

The elevator ride felt endless. When I caught my reflection in the mirrored wall, I winced. My lips were swollen, my makeup smudged, my hair completely undone. I tried to smooth it down, wipe beneath my eyes, make myself look even remotely presentable, but it was useless. I looked exactly like someone who had just been thoroughly wrecked.

When the doors opened, I stepped out carefully, fighting the urge to walk bow‑legged. Everything between my legs throbbed and burned, like my body had been rearranged from the inside out. Knox had been big. Rough. Overwhelming.

And I didn’t hate it.

The moment he had pinned me down, something in me had shifted into place. I had actually felt something. More than something. If it had lasted longer, I probably would have come.

Still, I hoped he had finished quickly only because he had been too worked up. The idea of having to fake it in the future didn't sound appealing at all.

My car pulled up, and I slid into the back seat with a small wince. By the time I reached my apartment, the adrenaline had finally begun to fade, leaving behind nothing but soreness and a mind that refused to stop replaying the last hour.

I spent most of the weekend recovering, soaking in hot baths, catching up on sleep, and trying not to think too much about what Monday would feel like.

By the time the new week began, I had decided exactly how I wanted to walk back into the office.

I dressed with intention. A white dress, light makeup, heels of course. And for the first time since I started at Sinclair, I left my hair down.

Soft. Innocent. Virginal.

Every detail chosen to get under Knox’s skin.

I sat at my desk staring at the spreadsheet in front of me like it was written in another language. I couldn’t focus. My whole body felt strung tight, humming with anticipation. It was already mid-morning and he still hadn’t shown up, which was completely unlike him.

How dare he not show up.

He’d made me bleed, for God’s sake.

I shifted in my chair, trying to find a position that didn’t make me wince. I was still sore, but it didn’t bother me. If anything, it grounded me. It reminded me of what had happened. Of what I wanted to happen again.

Knox finally arrived in the afternoon, striding into the office in a suit, looking like he’d been in meetings all day. Titan padded silently at his side. He didn’t look at me. He went straight into his office and shut the door.

Twenty minutes later, my desk phone rang.

“Come to my office,” he said.

My pulse jumped.

When I stepped inside, Titan barely lifted his head from the bed in the corner. His tail thumped once against the floor before he settled again.

Knox’s eyes moved over me the moment I stepped inside. My dress. My hair, loose for the first time. The change did not escape him. Something flickered across his face before he could hide it. Surprise first. Then a flash of something hotter.

Just as quickly, the familiar control returned.

Up close, he looked tired. There were faint shadows beneath his eyes, the kind that suggested a weekend without much sleep. The kind that suggested he had been thinking.

He cleared his throat.

“Ashley,” he said. “Friday should not have happened. I crossed a line. If you want to report me to HR, you have every right. If you want to resign, I will understand, and I will make sure you receive a generous severance package. I am… sorry. It will not happen again.”

I almost smiled.

Instead, I folded my arms and kept my voice light, as if Friday had been nothing more than a stressful meeting.