Chapter 16. Deal Is Back On

Julie

I let out a short, humorless laugh. “Excuse me?”

The words leave my mouth before I even think it. I know what he said. I just needed him to say it again. To confirm I wasn’t hallucinating the audacity.

“You heard me,” he says, stepping closer, his eyes blazing with fury. “Whatever you’ve started with Luke—it ends. Now.”

I meet his gaze head-on, refusing to back down. “I don’t tell you who to date, Ryan. So what gives you the right to dictate who I see?”

“This is different, Julie!” Ryan shouts, his voice booming through the room. “He’s my business partner! This could ruin everything!”

“Everything?” I repeat, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “By ‘everything,’ do you mean your business, or your little arrangement with Emily?”

Ryan’s face flushes with anger, and I can see the veins in his neck bulging. “Don’t you dare bring her into this.”

“Oh, why not?” I fire back. “She’s already here, isn’t she? I mean, she’s right