AN: 🙌😘 Literally a solid 10k reads in a MONTH and we've reached 1k votes. At the end I have a proposition for y'all and I'm letting the readers decide a coarse of action for the book.

Phoebe's POV:

I lean against the door confused. One second I'm ready for the horizontal tango and the next I'm by myself with an angry Mr. M a couple of feet away.

What changed?

Not that I should be complaining, I did tell him to back up before the kiss. That amazingly unexpected breathtaking kiss-no, I need to focus on the reason why I'm here.

......Why am I here again?

'Think Phoebe!' I command and accidentally look straight at Mr. M's dick.

I know damn well I didn't imagine him getting hard mere seconds ago. I may not know much, but I do know that there's only a limited number of reasons why a man would stop cold in the middle of a seduction that was working in his favor. And I can easily guess Mr. M's reason.

'He must be back with his ex wife.' I feel my previous anger and raise my eyes to glare at Mr. M, who's already glaring at me.

My eyes start to burn after a couple of seconds because I know it's the truth. I break eye contact and look at my feet, at least the floor isn't giving me a reason to cry. Mr. M shifts his weight trying to get me to meet his eyes again but I refuse.

"Sit down Phoebe." Mr. M commands. His voice is a bit gruff, I knew I wasn't the only one affected! He has an excellent poker face but the rest of his body gives him away.

Mr. M then walks over to his desk and sits down. When he looks up and sees that I haven't moved, his eyes widen slightly. In response I lift an eyebrow at him, obviously defiant.

In truth, the only thing holding me up right now is this door. My legs feel like jello and moving will not look good in my favor. I want to look as unaffected as Mr. M but mainly I don't want to fall on my face if my legs give out.

There's also the slight problem of where to sit.

I refuse to sit in front of his desk like I'm some employee, but getting close to Mr. M has two possible outcomes. One, I start crying over the fact that Mr. M chose the other woman. Two, we can't stand the distance and get closer- with no clothes on.

Both aren't favorable.

I should know better than to lie to myself because option number two sounds fantastic.

"Phoebe." Mr. M snaps.

I startle forward on instinct. At least my legs feel sturdy now.

"What?" I respond. My guard instantly up.

"Are you going to stand there staring at me all day or are we going to talk?" The irritation is clear in his voice. He looks like he wants this over with so that I can leave.

I weigh my options carefully.

Then on instinct I walk around to Mr. M. I'm tempted to sit on his lap but refrain and lean on his desk instead. I immediately cross my arms and ankles, like they're really going to stop him from getting closer if he wants to, like they're going to block his break ups words from hitting me directly in my chest.

Mr. M pushes back his chair and we just look at each other. Maybe I'm supposed to be the first to speak, but what exactly left is there to say? I could lie and say that I'm happy for them but I'm not. Besides, the words refuse to leave my mouth.

I've never been very good at giving out falsehoods to others.

I study Mr. M's profile and I'm reminded of the first time I showed up to his office unannounced. I'm reminded of what we did here too. Oh shit, I'm leaning on his desk.

Mere inches away from where I lost my virginity.

I feel heat rising up to my cheeks and I thank the melanin goddesses once again because I'm sure that my blush is hardly noticeable. Now is not the time to be shy and cute.

Clearing my throat, I decide to give the falsehoods another try. Maybe they'll distract me from wanting to repeat moments from our past.

"I'm happy for-" My voice breaks so I have to clear my throat, again. "I'm happy for you-"

I break off the rest so now Mr. M thinks that that's all I wanted to say. For the life of me I just can't say, 'I'm happy for you both'.

"Thank you? I've been doing exactly the same thing since we've met, nothings changed." Mr. M states while relaxed back in his desk chair.

"Except now you're with her." I blurt aloud. I tried as hard as I could to avoid confrontation but I'm at my last straw. My wits have scattered and I can't be here anymore, I want to go home.

Mr. M's jaw drops. "Is that what you think?" He chuckles to himself and shakes his head. "Of course, it's what you've been assuming this entire time!" His words are meant to hurt me but they also sound self deprecating.

"What else am I supposed to think?" I almost yell, I unfold my arms and my hands grasp the desk on either side of me.

"You could try to have some sort of trust in me Phoebe. Like I trust you not to screw around with that friend of yours. Or at least I did."

"Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean? Ross is my best friend and the difference between us is that I never married him! You have an ex-wife!" I want to yell the rest of my insecurities but pride is a dangerous thing.

"You haven't called all week." Mr. M's mind just jumps sometimes and it's crazy how it never bothered me, until now.

"Phones work both ways! You didn't call me and I didn't call you. I figured that we both knew that our time together was over." My eyes burn again but somehow I keep my tears from spilling over.

"Over?" Mr. M whispers while looking alarmed, his poker face snaps back in place so I tell myself that I was imagining it.
"Why did you come here then if this is over between us?" His voice sounds accusatory. Like he wishes I never came here since I feel this way.

"I wanted to say that I'm happy for you both. I also wanted us to part on better terms." I lie through my teeth. None of this is going as planned but the train is already on its course, I can't stop it now.

"Oh really?" Mr. M knows I'm lying and he's furious. "I think you just wanted to make sure that your scholarship will still be in place even though I'll no longer be around. Or maybe you want to keep your place and become my mistress? Nash won't like it but after the hell she put me through, she'll have no say in the matter."

His words still my heart. My tears finally spill over but I pay them no mind, he has gone too far.

"Is that really how you think of me? You just assume I came here to secure my financial future, or worse that I'd be willing to degrade myself to become a mistress. How dare you!" I scream. I grip the desk tighter to prevent myself from attacking. It won't look good for my race if I'm escorted out by security for being loud and violent.

"I said it because you aren't the only one who gets to assume things Phoebe!" Mr. M screams back. He jumps up abruptly and stands in front of me.
"We're not communicating properly. Let's start this again, okay?"

"No! We're communicating just fine. You think I'm some money grubbing whore and I think that you were just passing the time before you and your ex got back together."

Mr. M flinches back and I can feel him reigning in his next response. He's just as angry as I am but I can see that he doesn't want this to get any worse.

"And you know what? I'm happy you did. Not only because you've given me an opportunity to finish school without stress but now I know myself better. I know what I like in a partner and what I won't tolerate. What I'm saying is, thank you." I grumble my words of thanks because I'm not feeling very grateful at the moment. I don't know where my words came from but I feel calmer.

I see the conflict in his eyes. I don't know exactly what Mr. M wants to say but before he can say anything else, I release the desk from my grasp and pull him towards me by his belt.

I really shouldn't be surprised that Mr. M's lips end up on mine, but I am.

I mean, what else am I to expect when I pull a hot man towards myself?

A hug?

I tilt my head back to give Mr. M better access. His hands maneuver my body until they decide where they want to go. One on my waist, and the other cups my neck/cheek.

His lips are soft and I can't help but trace them with my tongue. Mr. M's eyes close as he enjoys my light teasing. I pull him closer until his body rests against me and his weight makes me feel slightly grounded into place.

I tilt my head up to kiss him again and startle when my eyes lock with Mr. M's.

"I'm not back with my ex wife." He says softly, not wanting to break our fragile quiet.

"And I'm not fucking Ross." I respond.

He nods his head and sighs.
"Can we just enjoy each other now?"

"No." I snap. Surprising us both.

I can feel Mr. M tensing and I know that he wants to back away from me, but he doesn't.
I guess he doesn't want to miss any word I'm about to say. That or he enjoys holding me.

"I want a relationship. I want the boyfriend/ girlfriend dynamic. I want exclusivity even though we're already there, I just want exclusivity to be said aloud and finalized. We started as companions to each other but I'm done with that. This can't happen again, I refuse for something like this to ever happen again. Say yes and nothing will really change between us, I won't change. I want us together officially Mr. M, no more 'enjoying each other' without a set commitment between us." My rant ends with me breathless and hopeful.

I put down the gauntlet.

Now Mr. M just has to pick it up.

AN: Okay loves, I'm a bloody liar. 🤦‍♀️🤥I wanted to finish this book by the end of last month but I wrote too fast and everything was crap. Hell, this chapter infuriates me like no end because I can't get it right. We have over 600 reads on last chapter so I'm feeling pressure....not that it's the bad type.

What happens next is up to you guys. Do you want.....?

The next scene to be Mr. M's POV?

Next chapter to be hot? (How hot? Be honest.)

Another Meghan POV?

Inline comment on the one you want and after a week or so I'll choose the one with the most comments. OR someone can suggest something and if they get enough support, we'll talk about it.

I LOVE YOU ALL. Thank you for giving me a chance. ❤️😘