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“Zayn,” Lorelay greets me as I walk into the conference room.

No one else is here, and I came alone too. She’s supposed to handle the food and beverage distribution for the entire chain of casinos and clubs we’re about to open, so I only came to get the contracts signed.

Then I’m heading to the last casino we still have left to finish, where Selene is waiting for me.

But Lorelay kept insisting we meet for dinner or at her place under one excuse or another, so I had no choice but to come to her office.

“Good morning,” I greet her calmly, taking a seat across from her desk. “I need you to sign the contract, Lorelay,” I tell her professionally. “There are only two weeks left until opening day, and you won’t have enough time to supply every location if you keep dragging this out.”

She studies me carefully before lowering her gaze to the folder I placed in front of her.

“I thought we were meeting for dinner or…”

“No. We’re meeting at the office because we’re discussing business,” I cut her off bluntly.

She needs to understand that this is my only intention. The last thing I want is for her to behave inappropriately around me in front of someone else. Especially Selene.

“Maybe I wanted to discuss more than business,” she says, her tone sharpening slightly.

Exasperated, I drag a hand through my hair and lean back in my chair.

“Lorelay, we can’t keep doing this forever,” I tell her firmly. “I don’t want to end our collaboration with Dynasty, but these conversations aren’t professional.”

Her eyes widen, but she remains silent for a moment.

Sighing quietly, I tilt my head back and stare at the ceiling.

“We already established before anything happened between us that it was just for fun and nothing more,” I remind her for what must be the hundredth time. “My opinion hasn’t changed, and it’s not going to. I want you to understand that so we can at least have a decent conversation whenever we’re forced to see each other.”

This is exactly why you never mix business with pleasure.

By now, her eyes are already glossy with tears, and she’s looking at me as though we’ve been together for years and I betrayed her in the cruelest way possible.

“Please don’t make a scene,” I tell her more gently. “I’m sorry things got to this point, and…”

“I let you…” she cuts me off, yet she’s unable to finish the sentence.

But I know exactly what she means, and guilt twists heavily in my chest.

Even if it was her idea. I wasn’t the one who suggested it.

“Lorelay,” I try again with a sigh. “If you don’t want to keep working together, or if you want someone else handling negotiations with Dynasty from now on, I can ask one of my brothers to take over for me.”

I’m still speaking when she snatches the folder off the desk, flipping it open, and signs everything without reading a single page. When she’s finished, she throws me a furious glare.

I’m already used to her moods.

I wish I could say this was the first time something like this happened, but it isn’t.

“Happy now?” she asks coldly.

Without answering, I rise from my chair and shake my head in disapproval.

On my way to the door, with my back turned to her, I say, “You have one week starting today to supply all my locations.”

Then I walk out, shutting the door behind me as I finally exhale in relief.

Hopefully, this time I made myself clear enough for all of this to finally stop.