Off-Limits: The Billionaire's Deal

"You're staring again."I jerked my head away from the floor-to-ceiling windows of Moretti & Associates, my cheeks burning as my best friend Nadia appeared beside my desk with two coffee cups."I wasn't staring," I lied, accepting the latte she offered. Through the glass, I could still see him, Kai Westbrook, all six-foot-three of expensive suit and controlled power, standing on the sidewalk below talking on his phone."Right. And I'm not about to tell you that your brother just texted asking if you're coming to dinner tonight." Nadia perched on the edge of my desk, her nurse scrubs a stark contrast to my paint-stained jeans. "Which means Mr. Tall, Dark, and Emotionally Unavailable will be there too."I took a long sip of coffee to avoid responding. Kai had been Marco's best friend since their college days, which meant he'd been a fixture in my life for seven years. Seven years of polite nods across dining tables. Seven years of him looking through me like I was invisible. Seven years

My parents' backyard was cold in the October evening. Kai followed me out, closing the sliding door with a soft click."What did you need to talk about?" I wrapped my arms around myself, watching him through the dim patio light.He held out his phone without a word.I took it, my stomach dropping as I saw the photo. Me. Walking home from the subway. Taken from a distance. The timestamp showed today at four thirty.The text below made bile rise in my throat."He's been following me." My voice sounded distant. "He's been watching me.""How long?" Kai's voice was controlled, but something dangerous simmered underneath."I don't know. I thought I was being paranoid." My hands were shaking. "Sometimes I'd feel like someone was there, but I'd turn around and see nothing."Kai took the phone back, his fingers brushing mine. "Why did he send this to you?""I don't know.""Kai." I met his eyes for the first time in years. "Why would Brandon send you a photo of me?"He looked away. "Because I t

The construction site was chaos at eight forty-five AM. Workers shouted over machinery, cement mixers rumbled, and somewhere a drill screamed. I stood at the entrance in my new clothes, clutching the portfolio Kai had delivered at seven, trying to remember how to breathe."You ready?" Kai appeared beside me, two coffee cups in hand."No." I took the coffee. "How do we do this? Do we tell people we're engaged now or….""Not yet. Today you're the lead designer. I'm the client. Professional only." His eyes flicked to my lips before he looked away. "Last night was….""A mistake?""Complicated."A black SUV pulled up and Derek Stone climbed out, carrying a briefcase. "Kai. Isla. We need to talk before the meeting."Inside the construction trailer, Derek spread papers across a table."Background check on Brandon Mitchell came back with some interesting information." Derek pulled out a file. "His company, Mitchell Properties, is connected to Richard Crane's firm through several shell corpora

Nadia was sitting on my bed when I walked in, eating cereal and scrolling her phone like the apartment hadn't been violated a dozen times by a man with a camera and no boundaries.She looked up. "Why do you have security guys in the hallway?""I need to pack a bag." I went straight to my closet. "Maybe two bags.""Isla." She set the bowl down. "What happened?""Brandon has been breaking into the apartment. Cameras. Kai's team found them this morning." I pulled a duffel from the top shelf. "I'm staying somewhere else for a while."Nadia was off the bed in seconds, standing in the doorway of my closet. "Cameras where?""Bedroom. Probably the bathroom. I don't know the full list and I don't want to." I started pulling clothes from hangers without thinking too hard about what I was grabbing. "The police are being notified. A restraining order is being filed.""Okay." Nadia's voice had gone quiet and steady, the tone she used at work when things were serious. "What else aren't you telling

The restaurant was Marco's favorite, which meant dark wood, loud Italian-American energy, and a waiter who knew his order before he sat down. Neutral ground, Kai had called it. It was about as neutral as a courtroom.Marco was already there when we arrived. Nadia beside me was the only reason I walked through the door without hesitating.He stood when he saw us. His eyes went to Kai first, then to me, then to the gold band on my finger. His jaw tightened visibly."Sit down," I said, before he could open his mouth.We sat. The waiter appeared immediately with water and bread. Bless him.Marco looked at Kai across the table. "You want to explain yourself?""Marco." I kept my voice level. "I asked you to listen.""I listened on the phone. Now I want to hear it from him."Kai met Marco's stare without flinching. "Everything happened fast. Brandon escalated to a level that required immediate action. The marriage protects Isla legally and practically. I made the call.""You made the call."