Silence—that's all there is as I stroll out of the elevator, my footsteps echoing across the hall as I head toward the receptionist’s desk. She’s not there, and it seems like the whole floor is deserted as well.

The last time I was at the Union Airlines offices there was a certain busyness about the whole place. Employees went back and forth, folders clutched to their chests, and everyone seemed to be on edge, which wasn’t surprising, since they were just reeling from a major scandal. All hands on deck.

But now it’s just this eerie silence nd I. What the hell is going on? Daphne told Ares nd I to be at her office this Sunday afternoon, but it seems like I’m the only one on the whole floor. I feel like the last man on Earth right now.

I walk straight to her office and rap my knuckles against the door. I wait to hear her voice coming from the inside, but that doesn’t happen.

"For God’s sake," I whisper under my breath as I grab the handle, turn it, and push the door open.

The same silence that blankets the whole floor fills Daphne's’ office as well, the leather chair behind her desk is empty. I look at my phone, trying to make sure that I’m not early, but no, I’m exactly on time. I try and call Daphne’s number, but all I get is that repetitive tone.

Ding!

I turn on my heels as I hear one of the elevators at the end of the deserted hall make a shrill noise, its doors patiently sliding to the side. My lips start taking the shape of a smile when I realize that it’s not Daphne coming in; it’s Ares.

Great. Just what I need right now.

I tap my fingertips on the top of Daphne’s desk, trying to make sense of the whole situation; why isn’t she here? Is this some wicked plan where she intends us to fight to the death? Yeah, no.

"Where the fuck is everyone?" Ares asks me, stepping inside Daphne’s office with his hands in his pockets. He’s impeccably dressed, even more than usual, his Tom Ford suit making him look more like James Bond than a high-powered executive.

"Beats me. The whole place was already deserted when I got here," I tell him offhandedly as I sink down in one of the chairs flanking Daphne’s desk.

"And Daphne?" I just shrug at that, although I can’t help but feel some satisfaction creeping in; just like me, he has no idea about Daphne’s whereabouts. Sighing, he takes his phone out from his pocket and taps his thumbs a few times on the screen; he then brings the phone up to his ear and paces around the office, looking like a caged tiger. "She’s not picking up either."

"We wait then," I tell him, following him around the office with my eyes. The atmosphere in the room is fraught with tension, but I guess that as long as we don’t start arguing there’ll be no need to trade fists again. And that’s for the best; without anyone around to break a fight, I guess we’d just punch each other to an early grave.

He takes the chair by my side, sits down, and folds his legs. He looks at me and our eyes lock for a second; the tension around us seems to grow but, the moment we avert each other’s gaze, it fades down again. I keep looking at him from the corner of my eyes, though, watching as he drums his fingertips against the armrest of the chair.

I grit my teeth as I imagine what must've happened when he met with Daphne at the airport, right after she destroyed the bug I had planted on his jacket. I never held any illusion about what happened; they fucked, much like what happened between Daphne and I in the limo.

Images flash behind my eyes—his naked body on hers, their lips pressed together—and I find my heart racing. My blood starts to boil as I think of her growing wet, her body craving Ares’ cock, and even though I try to stop this train of thought … it’s almost impossible.

My cock twitches, reacting to all these images, and I stare at my feet. What’s happening with me? I take a deep breath, trying to stop my cock from growing hard, but that just makes it worse; more images dance behind my eyes, Ares’ naked body moving as he slides his cock inside Daphne. Before I know it, my cock is as hard as it has ever been. Why am I feeling like this? I should be angry … not hard.

"You know we’ll have to settle this, don’t you?" Ares says, finally crushing the oppressing silence that's settled between the two of us.

"Settle what?" I turn to him, careful to cross my legs so that he doesn’t see my cock tenting my pants.

"Daphne. This can’t go on forever," he states, looking straight into my eyes, his lips a thin and enigmatic line.

"You’re right … for a change."

"I am. And I’m also right when I tell you to give up on her. No good will come out of this. You never learned to separate business from everything else, and you’re making a fucking mistake by going after Daphne while you try to buy out Union Airlines." His words hang in the air between us, and I feel anger welling up inside my mind once more. Who the hell does he think he is?

"Maybe you should take your own advice, Ares. What do you even know about Daphne? She’s just another woman to you, isn’t she? You don’t care about anyone, and you sure as hell don’t care about her … so why do you want her? Just to snub me?"

"Snub you? For fuck’s sake," he scoffs. "I have more important stuff to do than care about you. And, despite what you may think, Daphne isn’t just another woman. And she’ll be mine, you can write that down and take it to the fucking bank, Lucas."

"Yours? She isn’t a piece of real estate!" I tell him, my hands already balled into fists. I guess it’s inevitable; it always comes to this when the two us are together. "She’ll never be yours. And if you want to turn this into a competition, you can rest assured that she’ll choose me over you any day of the week."

"You’re getting ahead of yourself," he whispers, slowly getting up from his seat and staring me down. I do the same and take one step toward him, my fingernails digging deep into the palm of my hands. We’re just a few inches away from my each other now, the air around us burning up as the tension in the room rises and rises.

"You look like boys arguing over a toy," I hear Daphne’s voice, and both Ares and I turn on our heels to look at her. She’s standing by the door, leaning against the wall with an amused look on her face; a tight black dress hugs the curves of her body tightly, and my cock responds to the sight by twitching inside my pants and threatening to go hard again.

We stare at her in silence, and a quizzical smile spreads over her lips. She walks toward us with a confident gait, and stops right between Ares and I. "Let me assure you: I’m not a toy. And none of you get to decide who owns me."

"Then choose," Ares tells her, his eyes betraying the anxiety inside him.

"Choose, Daphne," I repeat after Ares, but she only smiles at us, and remains silent for what seems like an eternal heartbeat.

"Oh, I’ve made my choice already."