All Chapters of Taste Me Like It's Our Last Day On Earth : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Phoenix His office is massive. I step inside and just — stand there for a second, taking it in. Floor to ceiling windows, the whole city laid out beneath them like it belongs to him. Dark wood, clean lines, not a single thing out of place. There’s a framed photo on his desk and I drift toward it before I can stop myself. It’s him on a tennis court. White shirt, white shorts, racket in hand, caught mid-laugh at something outside the frame. He looks light. Easy. Nothing like the man commanding a room full of interns twenty minutes ago, nothing like the Victor Crowe I’ve watched in interviews and magazine covers my whole life. Like outside of all of this, when no one who matters is watching, he actually knows how to be happy. I stare at it longer than I should. The drawer beside the desk is half open. I should leave it alone, but I open it out of curiosity and immediately wish I hadn’t. Condoms. An open box of them. Several already missing. I pick one up. Read

Phoenix A man who keeps condoms in his office obviously keeps a fuck toy close. And I didn’t need a seer to tell me who Victor Crowe fucks in his office. Octavia Willow is going to be a problem. I knew it the moment she walked into Victor’s office this morning and looked at me like something she needed to scrape off her shoe. I knew it when Victor handed me to her team like a file he needed off his desk. And I know it now, standing in the middle of the creative floor while she addresses the team with me positioned slightly apart from everyone else, like a visual reminder that I don’t belong here. She sees me as a threat. One she believes might come between her and whatever she has going on with Victor. He invited me to his office, something he’s never done with any other female intern. “This is Phoenix Veyl,” Octavia says to the room. Not introducing me. Presenting me. The way you present evidence. “She’ll be joining the team as an intern. But unlike some of you who worked reall

Phoenix The Elysium Ridge project briefing room carries the heavy, charged weight of a battlefield. Sweeping, wall-sized displays present breathtaking 3D renders: jagged ridges meeting the vivid turquoise of the ocean below. The team is small but elite — senior designers who’ve been with Crowe Atelier for years. And me. The twenty-year-old intern who moved into the CEO’s penthouse last night. Octavia stands at the head of the table like she owns everything in the room, her gaze sliding over me with barely concealed disdain. “Phoenix will be shadowing the conceptual phase. Try to keep up.” I keep my expression neutral, even though my skin prickles under her stare. After yesterday’s coffee incident, I know better than to give her more ammunition in front of everyone. But I also know my work is good. Victor saw it. He assigned me here. So I thought. My mind, however, keeps drifting back to last night. After I left Victor in the study, heart still racing from the way he stud

Phoenix When he pulled away, immediately the heat from his breath was still warm on my skin. It was real the one second his body was right there beside mine on the glass wall, caging me against the glass with his hand nearly touching my face. He doesn't know what he is really doing to me right now. Then, the next thing I know, he was rolling up his sleeves and looked exactly as before like nothing just happened between us; chill and composed. "Return to... to the suite, Miss Veyl," he said as he stumbled on his words just a little bit, but I heard it. "We have a presentation to prepare for the board on Friday," he reminded me with a soft tone but a determined one. He turned around and walked away without even turning to look at me. I stood there for a long time with my back against the cold glass. I touched my bottom lip with my finger. It was shaking. He could pretend to be the big boss all he wanted. He could act like I was just an intern and treat me as an employee, but the

VICTOR I was pretty much the quiet one on the way back to my apartment. I didn't let go of the steering wheel even at the red light and just sat there looking at the black road. Next to me, Phoenix sat wrapped in her big coat. She only looked at the lights beyond the window. We didn't even try to start talking with each other. Actually, we weren't even supposed to talk with each other. All that had happened in that underground room was still between us and it didn't let us breathe. My cheek is still warm from the moment when Daniel's name on my phone reminded me that life was going on. My hands felt stiff from holding the wheel so hard. Daniel's name on my phone screen, that was the only reason I did not lose my mind tonight! Upon entering the apartment, I immediately headed towards the kitchen. In fact, I was in need of something hard to get my head to calm down. "Um... would you like to have a drink?" I said, as my throat felt parched. While I was waiting for her answer