Page 25 of Substitute Bride

She gave him a sultry smile. She wore heels and a belted coat, and her hair was pinned up with a clip. “Is that any way to greet me?”

His confusion was now paired with annoyance. “What are you doing here?” he asked again, a little more gravel in his voice.

“I wanted to say I was sorry.” She smiled again, this time looking apologetic, although James didn’t really believe it was genuine.

He stayed behind his desk. “Sorry for what?”

“For pouting the way I did. I was just upset. You know I don’t normally act that way.”

In fact, he knew very well that she always acted that way. She had a whole routine she used to get her way, and pouting was one of her strategies. He’d never put the pieces together this way before, but he could see it all now. She’d always been that way.

Whatever she was doing here was part of a strategy too.

“Okay,” he said. “You’re sorry. I accept the apology, but it doesn’t change anything.”

She came over closer to the desk he was still standing behind. “I think it changes a lot.”

He shook his head. “What exactly does it change?”

“I don’t think you really wanted to break up with me, and I’m telling you that you don’t have to.”

He almost groaned in frustration. This was not what he wanted to be dealing with at the moment. He wanted to go home and see his girls. And maybe brood about Rose a little more. “I think I made myself perfectly clear two nights ago. It wasn’t working, and it’s time for us to just call it quits. I’m sorry if it hurts you or if this isn’t what you want, but I don’t know how else I can say this. I just don’t want to marry you.”

He felt bad for the words since he didn’t actually like to hurt people, but it was as if they didn’t even penetrate to Genevieve’s brain. She didn’t stop smiling and giving him her sexy eyes. “I think you do—you just need a little refresher.”

“I don’t need a refresher. I just need⁠—”

He didn’t have a chance to finish the sentence because Genevieve unbelted and then dropped her coat to the floor.

She was completely naked beneath it.

She’d always had an attractive body, and he didn’t mind that her breasts were almost certainly surgically enhanced. Men didn’t tend to be too picky about that kind of thing. But he was so tired of her and frustrated by her behavior that his body didn’t even react to the sight of her naked body in front of him.

“This kind of refresher,” she murmured.

“Genevieve,” he said, blowing out a breath, “put your coat back on.”

“You don’t want me to.”

“Yes, I do. I’m not going to have sex with you. I’m not going to stay engaged to you.” He walked around the desk and picked up her coat, handing it to her. “I didn’t want to be mean, but you’re not giving me any other choice. It’s over between us, and I don’t want to see you again.”

She stared at him, disbelieving. He wondered if she really couldn’t understand that she couldn’t manipulate everyone the way she normally did.

She’d manipulated him plenty of times before. He could see it now. He’d been clueless enough to fall for it. But the blinders were off now, and he wasn’t going to be led around again.

Since Genevieve wasn’t moving, he wrapped the coat around her and then urged her to the door of his office with a hand on her back. “If you don’t leave, I’m going to call security,” he said, finality in his tone.

“You can’t do this to me,” she whispered, still clearly shocked.

“I can, and I am. Please leave.” He closed the office door to shut her out.

He smothered a groan and ran a hand through his hair, feeling like he needed to shake off what had just happened. He waited about ten minutes to make sure that Genevieve had cleared out of the building, and then he headed down to his car and drove home.

“What do you mean they’ve broken the engagement?” Deanna asked, her voice sounding confused over the phone line.

Rose stretched out on her bed, making herself comfortable for the talk with her sister. “I mean they broke up. James—Mr. Harwood finally got a clue, and he broke it off with her.”

“When did this happen?”