Chapter 48

SEBASTIAN

The door clicked shut behind her, and the weight of the moment settled in like dust in still air. Loren was still standing there, arms crossed, chest rising and falling in sharp annoyance, like she’d just won some stupid little game she didn’t even know how to play properly.

“What the hell was that?” I asked, my voice low but boiling.

“What was what?” She raised a brow, all innocence now. “Did I interrupt your little bonding session?”

“Don’t do that,” I snapped. “Don’t act like you don’t know what you just did.”

“I did what you didn’t have the guts to do,” she said, chin lifted defiantly. “She’s too close to you, Seb. It’s getting out of hand.”

“You don’t get to decide who walks into my office,” I said, stepping forward. “You sure as hell don’t get to humiliate her in front of me.”

“Oh, please,” she scoffed. “You were the one who humiliated her by staying silent. Don’t pin your guilt on me.”

I ran a hand down my face, trying