Hard Love: A Bad Boy Fighter Romance Read Online Free Page B

asshole now than when she had dated him, something she had thought was
quite impossible. “You need to come into the office,” he instructed.

 
    Although she
assumed he was talking about his office, the fancy office that kept up the image of his thriving business, she wasn’t
entirely sure. Either way, the tone he took with her left a bad taste in her
mouth. It was as if he thought he had some sort of ownership over her. He knew
she wasn’t in a position to anger him, much less defy him, and she hated
it.  

 
    “Now?”

 
    “ Now ,” he emphasized before promptly
hanging up.

 
    Emma jerked her
phone away from her face and looked at the screen with disgust. She couldn’t
stand him, but she really thought she had no other choice but to go meet with him.
She stood up and walked into her bedroom, opting for a lavender button down
shirt and a pair of black jeans. Those were the first things her eyes fell on
and she really had no interest in dressing to impress Nick.

 
      She swung the leather strap of her purse over
her shoulder and walked out the door to head down to the parking garage of the
apartment building she lived in. She slid into the driver’s seat of her car and
took a deep breath, head leaning back against the headrest. She had absolutely
no clue what was to come of her meeting with Nick, but she was sure it was
nothing good.

 
    Emma turned on her
car and went down the familiar route to his office, trying to ignore the gross
feeling that came over her at how well she knew the way to begin with. She didn’t
want to think of the times and reasons she had gone to his office in the past.
Once she was parked, she sent him a message to let her in. His office was in a
penthouse of a big city skyscraper and, as such, she needed to be buzzed in to
go up.

 
    It took nearly ten
minutes for her to finally step into his office.

 
    “Shut the door,”
he instructed without so much as a sideways glance toward her.

 
    She did as she was
told and stood with her back against the door, hand firmly holding the handle.
He lifted his hand and motioned with two fingers for her to sit across from
him. She took a deep breath and walked over, trying to look as composed as
possible. The truth was she was very worried about what he could possibly say,
or even do.

 
    Nick continued
writing on whatever paper he was scribbling on when she had first walked in,
completely ignoring her presence. She found it dismissive, rude, and annoying.
He was the one who had insisted she visit his office immediately.

 
    Tired of waiting,
she cleared her throat and asked, “What did you need?”

 
    It was hard to
keep her attitude to a minimum. Whatever it was he wanted, she didn’t want to
risk angering him.

 
    She saw him smirk
before finally setting down his pen, which easily looked like it could cost
more than a month’s rent for her one-bedroom apartment. He tugged at the cuffs
of his suit and straightened his tie before standing up and walking around the
desk to lean against it in front of where she sat. Emma looked straight ahead,
trying to ignore the scent of his expensive cologne or how close he was to her.
It was an intimidation method and she knew it.

 
    “A very special
guest is coming to your little boyfriend’s next fight,” he informed her. It was
sickening the way the words ‘little boyfriend’ rolled off his tongue so
patronizingly. “Or fuck buddy. Hookup. I don’t know what he is to you,” he
added with a mocking chuckle. He was trying to get a rise out of her. It was
working but, for the time being, she was managing to at least keep it all bottled
up.

 
    Emma cleared her
throat, but said nothing. She wasn’t about to dignify his insults with a
response. He didn’t need or deserve any sort of clarification. It was enough
she had to bite her tongue, especially for the sake of Nathan, but she wouldn’t
give in to the extent of playing along to his gross little game.