Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 97865 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97865 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
“I’m not done. Sit down,” he barks out but quickly catches himself again and sighs. “Please. . .” I slowly retake my seat. “As I said, the agreement would go into effect when the merger was ready. And now it is. My father gave me a deadline to propose by my birthday.”
“Well, you’re right on schedule then. Congrats, by the way—”
“I’m not marrying her!” He grabs the back of his neck. “My father is a powerful man. He doesn’t take no for an answer and always gets what he wants.” He starts to pace the kitchen. “He’s ruined everything I’ve ever wanted and destroyed any woman I’ve felt anything for. Innocent women. All to make this contract go through.” He storms over and stops in front of me. “He’s made me into this cold, heartless person. Because if I were anything else, he would destroy it.” He stares down at me, needing me to understand.
“I gave in to his demands. This lie. He won.” He pauses, holding my gaze. “But then, you walked into my office with your clumsiness and horrible work ethic. You didn’t know shit about being an assistant, but damn it, you made my heart beat again.” He cups my cheeks and rests his forehead against mine. “You made me want something I couldn’t have.”
“What?”
“You.” I feel it then—the slightest warmth in my heart. Like one of the broken pieces has settled back into place. “I’ve seen what my father is capable of. I refused to put you in his crosshairs. ”
His palm slides down and grips the nape of my neck. “I fought to stay away from you because I knew the repercussions. I thought I was strong enough to do my duty, marry Alana, and fall deeper into my work. I’d accepted that—”
“And then the awards ceremony happened.”
He nods. “I fucked up. I was weak. You, in that dress, broke me. I crossed the line. Risked everything. I told myself if I kept it to one kiss, maybe I’d be satisfied knowing what your lips tasted like. Felt like. But god, then I couldn’t stop. And fuck, I didn’t want to.”
“Why couldn’t you just be honest with me?”
“The things he’s done to people who became important to me. . . I couldn’t let that happen to you.”
“So, you broke my heart instead?”
He laces his hands into my hair and presses his lips to my temple. “I was selfish. You’re all I thought about. Saw. Smelled. Fuck, I couldn’t function without you.”
I push him away. “And, in the end, you left me in pieces. So, again, why am I here?” I stand, needing my space.
“My private meetings.”
I raise my hand, stopping him. “I don’t want to hear about those. You think that’s going to fix this?”
“Yes. Because you were wrong.”
“Oh, you two having private hookups isn’t what it looks like?”
“I told you, I haven’t touched her in seven years. It took me some time to piece it together. The day Alana showed up, I had a meeting that was marked private. You assumed it was with her.”
“Yeah, no shit. Now that we got that out of the—”
“I was meeting with Craig Stone.”
I pause. “Who?”
“A lawyer helping me find a way out of this.”
“How?”
“My father told me if I didn’t follow through with the deal, not only would he take everything from me—the company, everything I’ve worked toward—he wouldn’t hesitate to let those photos resurface.”
“He wouldn’t do that.”
“He can, and he will. Money goes a long way. But I didn’t care. I was going to risk it all.”
“But. . .”
“Then he caught wind of you, and I knew you were in danger.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. Fay, I need you to know I wasn’t hiding us because I was embarrassed. It was to keep you safe until I could figure a way out of this. I told you to trust me.”
“You also lied to me.”
“I did what was safest for you.”
“You’re engaged!”
“Damn it, haven’t you been listening? I never proposed. Never bought a ring. This was an agreement made between two power-hungry fathers. Fay, I don’t care about the money anymore. I’d rather be fucking poor than stay under my father’s control any longer. But I couldn’t do that to you.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“He would have taken everything from you.”
“What exactly do I have for him to take?” It takes me a moment to figure it out. “You.”
He takes in a deep breath. “I did what I had to do.”
“So, you had to break my heart and shatter me? You’re right. You never should have touched me.”
“I did what I had to do because I love you.” I shake my head, refusing to allow his words to affect me. “Fay, I love you.”
“Stop.”
“No. I need you to understand I did what I thought was best for you.”
“You didn’t love me enough to be honest with me. You wanted me to trust you but couldn’t trust me with the truth.”