The silence between us was suffocating. Cole’s stare burned a hole through me as we lay on the hotel bed, the weight of Blackstone’s no-relationship rule crushing us.
The balcony s*x, the Peterson deal, the thrill of it all— it didn’t matter now. My job, my dream, was on the line. His career, too. What the f**k were we going to do?
We didn’t speak for hours. I showered, changed into sweats, and pretended to review client notes on my laptop, the words blurring. Cole sat by the window, scrolling on his phone, his face hard. Dinner came and went without us saying a word to each other.
Finally, Cole broke the silence, his voice low. “We need to talk, Sierra.”
I closed my laptop, not looking at him. “What’s there to say?”
He stood, pacing. “This. Us. The f*****g stupid handbook.”
“I know
