MYKEL'S POV (continuing):
For a second, I just stared.
My expression didn't change.
My breathing didn't change.
Nothing moved.
Then I slammed the phone onto the desk so hard the sound cracked through the office like a gunshot.
The glass paperweight rattled. A pen holder tipped sideways. My laptop screen trembled from the impact.
I clenched my fists so tightly my knuckles turned white.
Chocolate chip cookies.
A movie.
At my house.
While I was at work.
A humorless laugh escaped me, low and hollow.
How sweet.
How innocent it must have seemed in her head.
Or maybe not innocent at all.
Maybe she had known exactly what she was doing.
My jaw locked.
I leaned forward, bracing my elbows on the desk, and pressed my fingers against my temple.
Focus.
There was still work to do.
I forced myself to pick up a file, flipping it open, eyes scanning over numbers, contracts, signatures...meaningless black ink on white paper.
My mind refused to cooperate.
Every line I read dissolved into those messages.
You looked so beautiful…
If you didn't have a husband…
Come over… we can watch a movie…
I loosened my tie with an impatient jerk, suddenly unable to breathe properly.
My hand slid over my face, then through my hair.
I leaned back in my chair again and shut my eyes, inhaling slowly.
One breath.
Then another.
Control.
I needed control.
Rage was useful only when sharpened. Not when it was allowed to run wild.
I had already taken care of Percy.
That problem was handled.
He would never sit on my couch again. Never laugh with her again. Never look at her with those filthy eyes again.
But she…
A muscle ticked in my jaw.
What exactly was she thinking?
Did she truly not understand what she was doing?
Or had she gotten careless because she thought I would never notice?
The thought made my stomach twist violently.