He cuts me off. “No, we don’t.”
Rina blinks, lashes fluttering, as if she’ll splinter apart at any moment.
Hugh’s brows lift, a spark of challenge entering his eyes.
“Oliver and Rina,” I say, forcing a calm smile. “Would you mind giving us a moment?”
“Sure,” Oliver mutters, rising to his feet before slipping an arm around Rina and guiding her over the threshold.
“If you wouldn’t mind closing the door on your way out,” I add as they step into the hall.
Once we’re alone, I force myself to steady. If I don’t stop this now, Hugh will fire her, and I don’t want to see that happen.
I turn to Hugh. “Would you really throw away one of the best PR strategists we’ve had over a photo?”
He studies me for a beat, his expression hard and unyielding as carved stone. “It’s not just a photo. It’s a full-blown relationship. She knew the rules when we hired her, and she’s the one who compromised her position, Evie.”
The sound of the old endearment sliding off his tongue strikes something deep inside. Once upon a time, his voice meant safety.
Now it sounds more like a threat.
“Don’t,” I murmur. “Not here.”
Not anywhere.
But Hugh is a man who does what he wants and gets what he wants. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be living in his penthouse for the season.
He smirks faintly. “Would you prefer I call you ‘sweetheart’? Because I don’t mind one bit.”
I glare, hoping it’ll curtail the direction of this conversation. “Can we focus, please?”
“Certainly. I think you have a soft spot for the girl.”
He’s right about that, but I’ll never admit it. Rina reminds me too much of myself at that age—ambitious and determined not to bend unless forced. I won’t let Hugh be the one to break her.
“She’s good at her job,” I say instead. “Too good to lose over a discretion.”
When he rises, I tilt my chin to maintain eye contact as he circles his desk and swallows up the distance between us.
Each movement is deliberate.
Predatory.
The clock on the wall ticks steadily, unrelenting, until each second feels like a dare.
“This will turn into a scandal,” he says.
“We’ll do everything we can to keep it quiet.”
“We both know that’s nearly impossible. Cameras are everywhere now. They’re ready to catch every stolen glance, every touch you think no one sees.”
A long-forgotten memory surfaces before I can stop it. The sound of his voice the night he ended our engagement, polite and final, like a business transaction instead of the breaking of my heart.
The silence continues to stretch until it’s on the verge of snapping. His gaze pins me where I sit. What I’ve learned with him is that the quiet is where the danger lives.
I close my eyes and attempt to steady myself.
Just for a second.
