“This is a really bad idea, Enzo,” she whispered, her fingers barely resting on the sleeve of his ill-fitting jacket as he escorted her into the room.Her tone was laced with feigned concern, though she kept her expression carefully neutral.
“The only bad idea was you wearing those shoes!”he grumbled, not for the first time.His tone was sharp, almost a whine, and Lexie fought the urge to smirk.When she’d opened the door earlier, standing tall in her four-inch heels, she’d caught the flicker of panic in his eyes.Enzo, already self-conscious about his height, had tried to mask it with a poor attempt at bravado.But the truth was glaringly obvious: she stood a full three inches taller than him.
“I told you to change into shorter heels,” he growled as they crossed the threshold.His earlier attempt to demand she swap shoes had been laughable, his irritation only fueling her determination.He had glared up at her, his beady eyes narrowing as he realized how small he looked beside her.Lexie hadn’t budged.
“My legs are what Max saw first,” she’d lied smoothly, watching his face darken as she invoked Max’s name.“So, if you want an ornament on your arm to impress your boss’s boss,” she added, deliberately emphasizing just how low Enzo was in the organizational hierarchy, “then you should want me to wear these shoes.”
When he’d continued to glare at her, Lexie had shrugged with feigned indifference, pivoting as if to head back inside and leave him standing there.But Enzo had grabbed her arm roughly, his fingers digging into her skin as he yanked her out the door.The move was clumsy, more an act of frustration than control, and it only underscored how much she’d gotten under his skin.
Now, as they entered the crowded room, she could feel the weight of his insecurity pressing down on him.His hand tightened around her arm as if anchoring her would somehow keep her from drawing attention to their disparity.But the height difference was impossible to ignore.Lexie caught a few glances, the subtle smirks as they noticed the towering heels and Enzo’s futile attempts to appear confident.
“Stop towering over me,” he muttered under his breath, his voice dripping with irritation.
“I’m not towering,” she replied sweetly, tilting her head slightly so he’d have to look up to meet her gaze.“I’m just standing.If you feel small, that’s on you, Enzo.”
His face flushed a deep shade of red, and he clenched his jaw, clearly fighting the urge to snap back.Lexie suppressed a smile.This wasn’t just about the shoes or the height difference.It was about power, and Enzo’s insecurities were on full display.
Now he was clearly regretting that decision.And so was Lexie.She didn’t want to see Max.Not tonight.Not any night.She’d been swept off her feet by the man a year ago, only to have her heart shattered.She still wasn’t over him.And now she was being used as a pawn, an object to provoke him, by a slimy opportunist desperate to curry favor with Max.
Enzo’s plan was awful on every level.It wasn’t just reckless—it was disastrously stupid, a monumentally bad idea that could only end in chaos.The very thought of being dragged into this scheme made her stomach churn.
And yet, what terrified Lexie more than Enzo’s slimy ambition was the prospect of facing Max again.She was caught in a storm of emotions: fear, anger, and something even more painful—the realization that she was still madly in love with him.The intensity of her feelings for Max hadn’t faded, no matter how hard she’d tried to bury them.But standing here, forced into this charade by Enzo, only made her humiliation sharper.Enzo was a ruthless bastard, and she was disgusted she had to even breathe the same air as him, let alone be part of his pathetic attempt to manipulate Max.
Her instincts screamed that the night was going to end badly.Very badly.She could feel it in her gut.But she didn’t have a choice.She was trapped, and the only thing she could do was brace herself for whatever disaster lay ahead.
Lexie’s heart raced as the weight of Enzo’s blackmail pressed down on her like a vise.The grainy videos he’d so gleefully admitted to taking weren’t just an invasion of her privacy—they were a violation of her soul.Bathing, sleeping, and, worst of all, those private moments when she thought she was alone.The idea of those videos surfacing online, spreading like wildfire through the internet, made her stomach drop.She could already see the headlines:Scandal Rocks Local High School—Teacher Caught in Explicit Footage.
If her students—or worse, their parents—ever saw those clips, her reputation would be annihilated.She wouldn’t just lose her job as a high school literature teacher; her dream of inspiring young minds would be over.Teaching wasn’t just her career—it was her identity, her escape from the shadow of her father’s violence and the mafia ties she’d fought so hard to leave behind.Without it, what was left?How would she survive?
Enzo’s threats echoed through her head.“You’ll do what I say, sweetheart, or you’ll find yourself famous for all the wrong reasons.”The thought of having to walk arm-in-arm with him into some mafia gathering, playing the part of his devoted companion, was sickening enough.But it was the unspoken demands for later that night that twisted her insides into knots.Enzo had never been subtle, and his slimy, lecherous gaze left no doubt about his intentions.
Could she do it?Could she bear to let him touch her?Kiss her?Pretend to enjoy his advances?The very idea made her skin crawl.Her mind recoiled from the thought of Enzo running his hands over her body, invading the sanctity she’d fought so hard to reclaim.
“No!”she whispered, her voice trembling with a mix of terror and defiance.Her hands curled into fists at her sides, nails biting sharply into her palms.The small pain grounded her.She’d rather fight—rather risk everything—than give herself to someone like him.
But how?How could she get out of this without losing everything she held dear?
A single tear slipped down her cheek.She swiped it away before it could fall further.She couldn’t afford to cry.Not here.Not in front of him.If she let herself break, she’d lose her edge—and her ability to think.
Somehow, she had to outsmart Enzo.Find a way to reclaim her freedom—and her dignity—before it was too late.
“What the hell are you saying no to?”Enzo demanded, his voice rasping against her already frayed nerves.
“Nothing,” she whispered back, forcing her shoulders to sag, feigning submission while her mind scrambled for an exit plan.“I just… don’t like surprises.”
“Then you’re in the wrong business, sweetheart,” he muttered with a smirk.
He jerked his chin toward the far corner of the room.The hotel ballroom glittered with excess—crystal chandeliers spilling soft light across polished marble floors, white-draped tables crowned with towering floral arrangements, and a central dance floor where couples swayed lazily to a live jazz quartet.
“Nice, huh?”Enzo said, as if he owned the place.
Lexie forced her gaze to wander, scanning for doors, guards, anything that might give her an opening.
A waiter stopped beside her, his silver tray laden with tiny, perfect creations—caviar-topped puff pastries, shrimp skewers glistening with garlic butter, and delicate bruschetta arranged like edible art.
“Ma’am?”the waiter prompted, lowering the tray slightly.
Lexie shook her head quickly, managing a polite smile.“No, thank you.”She couldn’t risk dripping oil or wine on this ridiculous dress—not when she already felt trapped in it.
