Gabriel’s POV
From: Gabriel Storm
To: Clairessa Hartwood
Subject: Project Update
Clairessa,
How’s the Gemia project going? Have you and Nicole come up with a solid plan yet?
Best regards,
Gabriel Storm
I leaned back in my chair, waiting for her reply. The tension in my chest grew. I shouldn’t be this eager, but with her, I couldn’t help it. A soft chime broke the silence.
From: Clairessa Hartwood
To: Gabriel Storm
Subject: Re: Project Update
Mr. Storm,
I apologize for the delay. I haven’t met with her since the boardroom meeting.
Regards,
Clairessa
Her short, unbothered response frustrated me. Of course, she was being vague. She always tested my patience. My fingers flew across the keyboard before I could stop myself.
From: Gabriel Storm
To: Clairessa Hartwood
Subject: Re: Project Update
CLAIRESSA,
My orders were very clear. You need to put whatever issues you have with her aside and work together. Get it done.
Best regards,
Gabriel Storm
I hit send, hard, my pulse quickening. I wasn’t in the mood for this. Not tonight. She knew how to push me to the edge.
From: Clairessa Hartwood
To: Gabriel Storm
Subject: Re: Project Update
Mr Storm,
I’m trying. We have a meeting scheduled for tomorrow.
Regards,
Clairessa
I could feel the indifference in her words. It only fueled my irritation. Why was she always so composed when I was losing it? I clenched my jaw, but I wasn’t done.
From: Gabriel Storm
To: Clairessa Hartwood
Subject: Re: Project Update
Clairessa,
Good to hear. So it’s the weekend. Do you have plans?
Best regards,
Gabriel Storm
As soon as I sent the message, I regretted it. What was I doing? Why did I care what she was doing in her free time? But deep down, I knew the answer. It was clawing at me, burning beneath my skin.
From: Clairessa Hartwood
To: Gabriel Storm
Subject: Re: Project Update
Mr. Storm,
What I do in my personal time is none of your business.
Regards,
Clairessa
Defiant. As expected. She knew exactly how to trigger something inside me-something I hated to admit was there. My pulse quickened again, anger and something darker coursing through me.
From: Gabriel Storm
To: Clairessa Hartwood
Subject: Re: Project Update
Clairessa,
Have you reviewed your latest contract update?
Best regards,
Gabriel Storm
I needed to pull this back into something more professional, something I could control. I couldn’t let her know how much she was affecting me. Not like this.
From: Clairessa Hartwood
To: Gabriel Storm
Subject: Re: Project Update
Mr Storm,
I was just going through it before you emailed.
Regards,
Clairessa
I smiled. Of course, she was. She wouldn’t miss the raise and benefits I’d included. But I knew she wouldn’t accept it easily. She always pushed back.
From: Gabriel Storm
To: Clairessa Hartwood
Subject: Re: Project Update
Clairessa,
Good. Review it thoroughly and get back to me.
Best regards,
Gabriel Storm
I waited, my fingers tapping the desk with every second that went by. Why was I so restless? It wasn’t like I hadn’t dealt with tougher negotiators. But there was something about her response, something in her that had me gripping the edge of my desk.
From: Clairessa Hartwood
To: Gabriel Storm
Subject: Re: Project Update
Mr Storm,
I reviewed it. Most of it looks fine, but a 400% raise? That’s way too much. Why?
Regards,
Clairessa
Of course, she’d question it. She always challenged me, pushing me to explain myself. She didn’t understand, though. This wasn’t about the money.
From: Gabriel Storm
To: Clairessa Hartwood
Subject: Re: Project Update
Clairessa,
Because over the course of the coming months, I’ll be requiring a lot more from you.
Best regards,
Gabriel Storm
I hit send, knowing it would provoke her. She would take the bait, and sure enough, her response came almost immediately.
From: Clairessa Hartwood
To: Gabriel Storm
Subject: Re: Project Update
Mr Storm,
I can’t accept a 400% raise. It feels like you’re trying to pay me off for that night at your house.
Regards,
Clairessa
Her words hit me hard. Was that really what she thought? That I was trying to buy her? The heat rose inside me, my fingers hitting the keys harder than necessary.
From: Gabriel Storm
To: Clairessa Hartwood
Subject: Re: Project Update
Clairessa,
If I wanted to pay you to become one of my sexual partners, Clairessa, it wouldn’t come through your official salary. Don’t insult me.
Best regards,
Gabriel Storm
I didn’t care if my words were harsh. She needed to understand. This wasn’t about ownership or power.
From: Clairessa Hartwood
To: Gabriel Storm
Subject: Re: Project Update
Mr Storm,
I am not for sale, Mr. Storm.
Best regards,
Gabriel Storm
My jaw tightened. She always knew how to provoke me.
__________________________________
From: Gabriel Storm
To: Clairessa Hartwood
Subject: Re: Project Update
Clairessa,
I never said you were. If you have any more concerns about the contract, share them now.
Regards,
Gabriel Storm
__________________________________
I needed to end this back-and-forth. But she wasn’t done yet. She had a way of getting under my skin, and I hated how much power she had over me. I needed to stay calm, stay in control, but she made it nearly impossible.
From: Clairessa Hartwood
To: Gabriel Storm
Subject: Re: Project Update
Mr Storm,
Everything checks out. I’ll sign it soon.
Regards,
Clairessa
That wasn’t enough. It felt dismissive, incomplete.
From: Gabriel Storm
To: Clairessa Hartwood
Subject: Re: Project Update
Clairessa,
Why not sign it now?
Best regards,
Gabriel Storm
The pause before her response felt like an eternity. When her email finally came through, it was like a punch to the gut.
From: Clairessa Hartwood
To: Gabriel Storm
Subject: Re: Project Update
Gabriel,
Because I’m getting ready to go to a club. You asked about my weekend plans-there it is.
Regards,
Clairessa
A club. The thought of her at a club, surrounded by other men, drove me mad with jealousy.
From: Gabriel Storm
To: Clairessa Hartwood
Subject: Re: Project Update
Clairessa,
The Gemia project should be your priority. Clubbing seems like the last thing you should be focusing on right now.
Best regards,
Gabriel Storm
Her reply came fast and sharp, as if she had anticipated my reaction.
From: Clairessa Hartwood
To: Gabriel Storm
Subject: Re: Project Update
Mr Storm,
I’m fully aware of my priorities, Mr. Storm. But since you’re forcing me to work with Nicole, I need to blow off some steam first.
Regards,
Clairessa
Blow off steam? I couldn’t stand the idea of her needing an escape-especially one that didn’t involve me.
From: Gabriel Storm
To: Clairessa Hartwood
Subject: Re: Project Update
Clairessa,
Which club is that?
Best Regards
Gabriel Storm
I waited, anticipating her answer, but of course, she didn’t make it easy.
From: Clairessa Hartwood
To: Gabriel Storm
Subject: Re: Project Update
I don’t think that’s relevant, Mr. Storm. It’s my personal time, and I’m not obligated to share those details with you.
Regards,
Clairessa
I could feel the tightness in my chest. She was testing my limits, and I was dangerously close to losing it.
From: Gabriel Storm
To: Clairessa Hartwood
Subject: Re: Project Update
Clairessa,
I forbid you.
Best Regards,
Gabriel
I typed with all the jealous emotions I was feeling as though she could feel how angry I was through the words I sent.
From: Clairessa Hartwood
To: Gabriel Storm
Subject: Re: Project Update
Mr Storm,
You can’t forbid me! You don’t have that right. My personal time is protected under the contract, as you well know..
Regards,
Clairessa
That was it. She’d crossed a line, and I no longer cared about keeping boundaries.
From: Gabriel Storm
To: Clairessa Hartwood
Subject: Re: Project Update
Clairessa,
I’m sending Dario to pick you up. I need you here.
Best Regards
Gabriel
I didn’t care how desperate it sounded. I couldn’t stand the thought of her being anywhere else.
From: Clairessa Hartwood
To: Gabriel Storm
Subject: Re: Project Update
Mr Storm,
You can’t do that. I haven’t signed the new contract yet, so I’m taking advantage of my freedom while I still can.
Regards,
Clairessa
She was pushing me further, and I was on the verge of damning all the consequences to hell and driving over to her house and ordering her to follow me home.
From: Gabriel Storm
To: Clairessa Hartwood
Subject: Re: Project Update
Don’t test me, Clairessa.
Best Regards,
Gabriel
Minutes passed without a response. The silence was deafening, my anger was growing by the second. She was toying with my emotions, and I was at my breaking point.
Slamming my laptop shut, I stood, pacing the room. She was playing with fire, and I was ready to burn everything down just to have her.