Free Uncut (Unexpected Book 4) by Claudia Burgoa

thought he’d be capable of. His entire body straightens. Matthew fills the entire room with his presence. I narrow my stare, trying to defy the commanding stance he’s taken. But it is hard for me to defy him when almost on a daily basis I submit to him. Most days, his dominant nature calls to me. The submissive in me needs to be taken care of and in some primal way, I know he does, when and if I let him.
    I inhale before giving my explanation. “Jacob chose certain shit for the new club. I thought it’d be best to discuss a potential replacement with him.” I take a few steps backward leaning against the wall. “Clearly I have no idea what the two of you discuss and how things are handled.”
    He combs his hair with both hands, places them on the side of his hips, and gives me a serious look. “I’m the behind-the-scenes person. I research and make some decisions that would normally go to Jacob. He’s the voice of the three of us. Sometimes AJ takes the lead. That’s how we work.”
    His threatening look makes me want to apologize. Still not sure about what exactly. Pissing him off, insulting him last night, contacting Jacob instead of communicating with him . . .
    He leans closer, leveling his gaze with mine. “The speakers are on order and should be delivered next week.” And with that, Matthew leaves.
    I clamp down the urge to grab him. To demand that we finish this conversation, to clear the air.
    “Matthew,” I call after him, “it was never my intention to hurt you.”
    “Dude, it’s cool.” He pivots around to face me and then shrugs. “I hate drama. Hate it. I get it. You had a shitty day. I’m not gonna lie though, you pissed me off.”
    The air has changed. It’s as if whatever pull we had has completely disappeared. My lungs are having a hard time functioning. His spine straightens, his arms cross, and he gives me a look that says, I’m done. I’m done . . . with you . Fuck.

I had escaped, refusing to bend to my parents’ wishes to be part of the big plan for Cooperson Corporations. One day I packed up and left. However, I always look back when they call. Not only do I look back, I fly home to please them. Like this weekend. Against my common sense, I boarded a plane from Seattle to Hartford, Connecticut, to follow my parents’ wishes.
    On Thursday, I attended the fucking board meeting, just as Father had ordered me to do on Monday. They only needed my vote for some stupid expansion. I said yes and ignored the rest of what every member had to say. Following the meeting, I got to play the part of being a peon for my father by having lunch, dinner, and then breakfast with clients. Friday afternoon, I had lunch with Mother and her committee of trophy wives. We had dinner at the house with Victoria Hudson, her parents, and Lucas. Lucas wasn’t alone. His bride-to-be, Mildred Rhoades, and the Rhoades family were in attendance too.
    My brother is a fucking idiot. He broke up with Winnie, his longtime girl, because they no longer cared for the same things. Idiot. In truth, Mother never liked her and this Mildred is the one she wanted for her son. The daughter of a famous plastic surgeon. Of course, my brother now plans to become a plastic surgeon. Because “That’s where the future of medicine is,” as my parents would say. A laughable statement.
    Now I stand in the middle of the large patio within our Hamptons home, avoiding Victoria at any cost. Yesterday’s dinner with her and her family was enough contact for me. I don’t care that she’s the creative director at her father’s company. Nothing she talked about interested me. Maybe she’s not so bad, but if she is anything like my parents, she’s not the person I want to be attached to for the rest of my life. Nonetheless, my father has been dropping hints about me using my grandmother’s engagement ring and making today a double engagement party.
    He has also spent time reminding me that once we consummated the marriage, the