The list of names blurred before my eyes.I blinked hard, forcing myself to focus. Angelo had asked me to review the guest list for the annual De Vito Ball—cross-reference RSVPs, check for updates, and ensure there were no duplicates. It was simple. Tedious, but simple.And I welcomed the tedium today.Anything to keep my mind from replaying what I saw in that office.That woman. On his lap.Mr De Vito gripping her hips.My stomach churned. I shook my head.Not my business.It wasn’t.I was here to work, not to pine over my boss like some desperate woman. I had a job to do, a role to play. And after everything that happened with my fall, with him insisting I stay in his room—I didn’t need complications. I didn’t need him.But my chest ached anyway.I adjusted my pillow, propping up the laptop better. I was halfway through the "R" section when the door suddenly burst open.I didn’t flinch.Honestly, I expected it. I figured it was Mr De Vito, coming up to… what? Apologize? Explain? My
The moment the door flung open, the tension in the room shifted—morphed into something electric and volatile.Camilla.Of course it was her. No one else would enter without knocking, without hesitation, without an ounce of consideration for boundaries she never respected. She wore entitlement like a second skin, and the smug curve of her lips told me she thought she still had a place here. But she wasn’t smiling today. No teasing tilt to her mouth, no come-hither gaze. Just sharp eyes and sharp heels, storming across the room like she owned it."I went to your office. You weren't there," she said, voice clipped, eyes narrowing at the screens behind me. "Imagine my surprise when I found out you canceled everything today. No meetings. No calls. Not even a message.”I didn’t answer. I just leaned back in my chair, jaw tight, trying not to snap. The image of Emily tumbling down the stairs still lingered on the screen. Her body, her limpness, that haunting silence after the fall—it was et
I don’t know what made me turn the car around this morning. Maybe it was the way she looked when she tried to storm out of the house—all fragile defiance wrapped in bruises and stubborn pride. Or maybe it was the fact that I couldn’t stop picturing the moment I found her crumpled at the bottom of the stairs, like a broken doll someone had discarded. Either way, I canceled every meeting, snapped at my assistant, and found myself back in my home office with more questions than answers. Emily Ross was under my roof now. That made her my responsibility, whether she liked it or not. And no one—not a soul—was going to harm her while she was. I rolled my shoulders and tapped the spacebar on my keyboard, eyes fixed on the grainy footage from the hallway security camera. The screen flickered before settling. The familiar image of the staircase. The moment in question. There she was. Emily. Covered with a robe after her swim, hair tied back in a messy knot. She descended the staircase with
The ache in my body was a slow, stubborn burn that flared with every breath. I hissed as I peeled the blankets away and forced myself to sit up. My ribs protested immediately, sending jagged pulses through my side. I touched the bandage just under my arm and winced. Nothing was broken, they’d said, but my body hadn’t gotten the memo. I stood on shaky legs, gripping the edge of the nightstand for support. Every inch of me felt like a bruise. My elbow was scraped raw, my head was pounding, and my pride had taken the worst hit of all. I still couldn’t believe someone had pushed me. That someone had been there—close enough to touch, close enough to shove me down a flight of stairs. The thought made my skin crawl. But even worse was him—Mr De Vito—insisting I sleep in his room like I was a glass doll he had to babysit. No, thank you. The fall was bad, but not enough to make me desperate enough for that kind of arrangement. I wasn’t moving into his space like some helpless waif. Not beca
The light was too bright.Or maybe it wasn’t the light—it was the throbbing behind my eyes, dull and persistent, that made everything feel oversaturated. My lids fluttered open, lashes sticking together. The ceiling swam in and out of focus.For a second, I couldn’t remember where I was.Then the pain came in soft pulses. My head. My side. My elbow. Reality surged back like a slap: the stairs, the fall, the darkness.A figure hovered above me.Dark hair. Shadowed eyes. A sculpted mouth I’d come to memorize far too well.Mr De Vito.His face was unreadable. For a moment, I thought I was dreaming. The pain blurred my vision and his expression was just soft enough that it didn’t match the version of him I knew—the cold, collected man who has been giving me the cold shoulder.His voice broke through the fog, low and steady. “You’re awake.”I blinked, trying to focus, but the edges of him kept blurring. “Am I... dreaming?”“No.” He leaned slightly closer, just enough to confirm he was real
The shower was scalding hot, just how I liked it—burning away the day’s grime, tension, and the lingering scent of him. I stood under the spray longer than necessary, letting the water pelt my skin like a punishment I somehow deserved. Maybe I thought the steam would wash away the shame, the confusion, the ache. But it didn’t. It never did.By the time I stepped out, my skin was flushed, raw, and I still didn’t feel clean. I wrapped a towel around myself, wiped the fog from the mirror, and stared at the woman looking back at me.She looked... hollow.Tired eyes. Bruised pride. A smile that hadn’t been used all day.I should’ve gone to bed. I should’ve forced sleep upon myself with chamomile tea and mindless television.But my body wouldn’t rest.So I slipped into a black one-piece swimsuit and wrapped a silk robe over it. I padded barefoot through the silent halls of Mr De Vito’s sprawling mansion—the kind of place designed for echoes and secrets. The pool was at the far end, through
The morning sun streamed through the windows of my room, far too cheerful for the mood I’d carried out of bed. I dressed without fanfare—no lace, no red lipstick to seduce, no silent hoping that Mr De Vito might look at me differently today. Just black slacks, a crisp white shirt, and a ponytail so tight it could’ve held back tears if they dared show up again.This morning, I had one mission: professionalism.No matter how many times I replayed last night in my head—the heat, the gasps, the silent ache that now curled cold in my chest—it didn’t matter anymore. Not here. Not now.I walked down to the dining area, my heels clicking on the marble floor like a drumroll for a performance I was no longer interested in playing.Mr De Vito was already seated, a newspaper in one hand and a steaming cup of espresso in the other. He looked... well, exactly like the man who’d left me naked and humiliated in my bed a few hours ago. Immaculate. Composed. Unbothered.He didn’t look up."Good morning
The soft weight of his arm was still wrapped around my waist when I blinked awake. The room was quiet. The air, thick with the scent of sex and sweat, wrapped around me like a second skin. My body ached—in the best way—and a slow, lazy satisfaction spread through my limbs. For a moment, I let myself believe. Believe that this—us tangled in the sheets, skin against skin, heartbeats syncing—meant something. But then the bed shifted. The warmth of his body disappeared, and my eyes fluttered open just in time to see Mr De Vito—Lorenzo—swinging his legs off the mattress and standing. I watched as he silently reached for his pants on the floor. His movements were practiced, efficient, detached. Gone was the hungry man who had devoured me like I was the air he needed to breathe. In his place stood someone cold. Distant. My stomach twisted. He didn’t even look at me. “Mr De Vito?” My voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. I sat up, clutching the sheet to my chest. “Where are you g
The silence stretched between us like a live wire, thrumming with tension so thick I could barely breathe.He stood at the edge of my bed, his hands fisted at his sides, jaw ticking like he was at war with himself. I sat up, sheets slipping off my chest, leaving me exposed in my flimsy tank top. My nipples tightened beneath the fabric, and I didn’t know if it was from the cool air or the fire blazing in his eyes.“Mr De Vito…” My voice was a whisper, shaky and uncertain, but laced with need. “What are you doing here?”He didn’t answer.Instead, he stared—his gaze slow, deliberate, and searing. My breath hitched as it roamed over every inch of me. I could feel the way he was drinking me in, from the slope of my shoulder to the bare skin of my thighs peeking out from beneath my shorts.“Strip,” he said.One word. Commanding. Low. Dangerous.Not a request.I froze, eyes wide. My heart skipped, then pounded faster. “W-What?”His gaze sharpened. “Take. It. Off.”Something inside me uncoile