MasukJennaI ran down the hospital corridor so fast my heels were clicking like crazy on the floor. My heart was pounding against my ribs, and I could barely get enough air into my lungs.When the sitter had called me on the phone two minutes ago, she barely got the words out before I took off out of Dante's office.She said Marie was in the emergency room.The emergency room. My two-year-old baby girl was lying in a hospital bed, and I wasn't there with her because I was busy arguing with Dante about a stupid business lunch.I rounded the corner near the pediatric emergency ward and spotted Chloe sitting on a metal bench outside the double doors.She looked terrible. Her face was pale, and her posture was slouched like all the energy had been drained right out of her."Chloe!" I screamed, sprinting over to her.She flinched and looked up at me."Where is she? Where is Marie?" I asked, grabbing her shoulders. "What happened? Chloe, talk to me!"Chloe didn't say anything. She just stared at
Sixty TwoDanteI stared at my computer screen and gritted my teeth until my jaw ached.Jenna was on another video call with Daniel, and she was smiling. She actually laughed at something he said, a real smile that made her eyes light up.I hated it. I hated every single second of it.She never smiled at me like that. Whenever she looked at me, her eyes were cold and full of walls that she deliberately put between us. Jamie was in the room with her, handling the presentation with Daniel's team. He was doing all the talking, but Daniel kept directing his questions to Jenna.And Jenna kept answering him with that soft tone she never used with me.I sat back in my chair and squeezed my pen so hard I thought the plastic would crack. My heart was pounding in my chest out of pure frustration.Why was she being so nice to him? She barely knew the guy.Daniel was just a new client who showed up. He was young, rich, and charming, and I wanted to punch him straight in the face.I didn't say a
JENNAMy phone rang right as I walked through the front door, making me drop my keys onto the counter with a loud clatter. I took a deep breath before answering because my heart was already racing from the chaotic day at the office.Luckily, it wasn't an emergency. It was just the Dean's concern.She clocked that Marie had been acting rather weak lately, and that got her worried enough to call me directly during pickup time."She's just been resting during playtime, Jenna," the Dean said over the line, her voice filled with genuine warmth. "I thought you should know so you can keep an eye on her tonight.""Thank you so much for telling me," I said, leaning against the kitchen island. "I'll make sure she rests."Back at home, she gave Marie some fruits to eat while on call with Chloe. I chopped up some apples and strawberries, placing the small plastic bowl on the coffee table right in front of Marie.Chloe's face popped up on my phone screen a second later, her hair wrapped in a messy
DANTEI stared at the computer screen until the words started blurring together, but none of it mattered anyway. I was trying to control my anger, but I couldn't do it no matter how hard I tried.Jamie was keeping a considerable distance away from me, a smart move from him actually, standing near the edge of the rug like I might explode at any second. First, I didn't know why I even bothered to keep an eye on Jenna like some psychotic stalker. It wasn't in my nature to obsess over any employee, let alone one who drove me out of my mind every day.I also didn't know why I called her to my office in the first place. I had plenty of people who could deliver files, but I needed her in front of me.Worse of them all, she had held my fiancée by the neck just minutes ago in the hallway. I was supposed to warn her, to lecture her about boundaries and keeping her hands to herself, but I didn't give two fucks about what happened between her and Barbara.Barbara could handle herself, or maybe s
JennaI was still pissed as I returned to my office, slamming the door shut behind me.I sat down at my desk, my hands folded tightly over my chest as I stared blankly at the wall.Who did he think he was anyway?He thought he could just order me around, tell me who I could talk to, and control my personal life like he owned me.I remembered the look on his face when he said he didn't like it.His dark eyes had been so intense, so full of raw, unfiltered emotion that it literally made my head spin.I could swear I had felt two distinct emotions at the exact same time back in his office.Anger, pure unadulterated anger, and a sudden skipped heartbeat that made my lungs pull in a sharp breath. I brushed it away immediately, rubbing my temples with my thumbs.I wasn't going to let him get under my skin or make me feel confusing things ever again. I had actual work to focus on right now.I had a job with Daniel regarding his new offshore investment, and I was handling it through Jamie to
DanteThe glass walls of my office felt less like a sanctuary and more like a high-altitude prison cell.For the past week, I had done nothing but sit behind my massive desk, my eyes burning a hole through the blinds as I watched Jenna work.She was constantly on video calls with Daniel.Jamie was supposed to be the buffer.Jamie was supposed to sit in on those meetings, convey the team's creative information, and run the logistics so Jenna didn't have to be on the front lines.But Daniel kept insisting on direct communication, and Jenna, to my fury, was complying.I didn't just dislike the interaction; I despised it with a dark, primal intensity that terrified even me.I would pull up the internal network logs, watching the timestamps of their video conferences stretch from thirty minutes into an hour.Sometimes, I would quietly step out of my office, standing in the shadows of the executive corridor just to watch her through the glass of her door.I saw the way she smiled at the com







