Chapter 20 – Memory Lane

I watched her stumble back, cheeks flushed, lips pressed tight like she was holding back everything she wanted to say.

Her eyes met mine for a flicker of a second before darting away, and I saw the tension in her shoulders stiffen again.

She was embarrassed.

Good.

But more than that—she was flustered.

Off balance.

Which meant she wasn’t as unaffected as she liked to pretend.

I tucked that piece of knowledge away like a treasured card in a deck.

Behind me, David chuckled under his breath.

"That was smooth," he whispered, clearly enjoying the show. "You sure you weren’t trying to seduce her instead of scolding her?"

I ignored him. For now.

Just a few feet away, behind a column near the cafeteria entrance, another pair of eyes had been watching. Sharp, narrowed, and filled with jealousy.

My secretary.

Vivian.

The same woman who'd stormed into my office, thinking Mannie was giving me a blowjob. She had been stewing in silent rage since then, and now—seeing me this close to Mannie again—her temper exploded.

She stormed across the cafeteria, holding a plastic cup filled with water. Her heels clicked loud and sharp, each step fueled by fury.

"You little slut!" she screamed.

Heads turned.

Conversations stopped.

Before Mannie could even process the words, Vivian hurled the water in her direction.

But I moved a little to fast.

My body reacted before my brain did.

I stepped in front of Mannie and took the hit.

Cold water splashed across my chest and face, soaking into my shirt.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Mannie gasped behind me.

David looked like he couldn’t believe what just happened.

And Vivian stood there, chest heaving, eyes wide now with panic instead of rage.

I slowly turned my head.

"Go to HR," I said coldly. "Collect your salary. Then leave."

"W-what? Sir, please—I didn’t mean—I just saw her…"

"You saw me doing my job. Warning an employee. You reacted like a child." My voice dropped. "And you embarrassed yourself."

"She’s using you!" Vivian snapped. "She doesn’t belong here. I know her type. She’s beneath you."

I raised an eyebrow. "And yet she has more sense than you."

Vivian’s lower lip trembled. "My parents are shareholders. You can’t just fire me like that."

I let out a short, cold chuckle. "Then maybe they should have raised a daughter who understands basic etiquette."

She stared at me, stunned.

"Leave, Vivian."

She opened her mouth again, but the weight in my voice silenced her.

Without another word, she turned and fled.

The whispers in the room returned, but now they were different. Nobody looked at Mannie the same way. If anything, they looked at her with wide eyes—like someone protected.

David whistled low. "Damn. That was brutal."

I didn’t respond right away. I turned to Mannie.

She looked pale and her hands shook a little.

I stepped closer, lowering my voice. "One more word about me in this company, and I won’t be this gentle."

She blinked up at me, then nodded quickly. "Got it."

"Because next time, it might cost you more than a joke. Understand?"

"Understood," she said again, this time firmer, though her eyes still held that nervous flicker.

I gave her one last look, then turned and walked away.

------

As soon as we stepped outside the cafeteria, David fell into step beside me, grinning like a fox.

"That didn’t look like a warning to me," he said. "That looked like flirting. And not the subtle kind."

I didn’t look at him. "It wasn’t."

"You sure? Because from where I stood, you looked ready to devour her."

"I wanted to see how thick her skin really is. She likes to talk—let’s see how she handles a little pressure."

David snorted. "Dominic, come on. You were all up in her space like a man starved."

"I was annoyed. She spread a rumor."

"And yet you looked like you wanted to kiss her."

I sighed. "You're reading too much into it."

He crossed his arms. "You forget I know you. I’ve seen you deal with a lot of women. Let me refresh your memory."

I groaned. "David."

"No, no. Let’s walk down memory lane, shall we?" He counted on his fingers. "Sasha Hemsley. Famous p**n star. She sat on your lap at that fundraising gala. What did you do?"

"Moved her off."

"Nope. You spilled champagne on her dress and excused yourself before dessert. Then there was Charlotte Grant. The biggest socialite. Modeled for three biggest International fashion brands. She had your picture in her bedroom."

"She sent me lingerie as a gift."

"You returned it with a handwritten note saying 'You are not my type.' You didn’t even use your hand to write it, you had your secretary do it."

I shrugged.

"And don’t forget Amelia West. Daughter of the Prime Minister."

"She tried to blackmail me."

"She also tried to kiss you. You threatened to expose her family’s offshore accounts."

I looked at him, deadpan. "And your point is?"

He grinned. "That’s not all of them and…”

I looked at him, prompting him to change his words, “You don’t let women close. You never have. And yet this one? You let her touch you. You let her joke. You chase her into cafeterias like you’re in a romantic comedy."

"I didn’t chase her."

"You practically prowled, Dom."

I exhaled through my nose, sharp and slow. "It doesn’t matter."

"It does to me. Because I’ve never seen you like this."

We walked in silence for a few seconds.

"She doesn’t remember me," I muttered.

David turned to me, surprised. "You knew her before?"

I didn’t answer.

He whistled. "Oh, this just got juicy."

I looked ahead, trying to keep my thoughts straight.

Mannie Twain was trouble.

Soft-skinned, sharp-tongued, wide-eyed trouble.

And I couldn’t stay away.

It wasn’t just attraction. It was like a pull, like some heat under my skin that only grew the longer I looked at her. My wolf recognized her in ways I couldn’t explain.

Ways I didn’t want to.

"You’re still thinking of teasing her, aren’t you?" David said, clearly reading my silence.

I didn’t answer.

He laughed. "Of course you are. This is going to be fun."

I glanced at him. "You stay away from her."

"Why? She’s single. I’m curious."

I stopped walking.

He looked at me, brows lifted.

I didn’t speak.

But he chuckled again. "Got it. She's off-limits. For now."

I looked out the window as we passed one of the side halls.

She was still in the cafeteria. Still recovering from what just happened.

I could tell from the way she hadn’t moved. Her back was turned now, but her shoulders hadn’t relaxed.

She was thinking.

And I planned to give her more to think about.