All Chapters of Don't Love Me: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Friday morning, I have a bit of a freak-out and barge into Mr. Conti’s office saying, “I don’t know if this is a good idea. Don’t you have a sister or cousin you could take?”“Most of my family is in New York and will already have plans,” he explains.He must sense that I'm being pushed beyond my comfort zone. He's a good businessman for a reason, so he says, "Don't worry, I have no romantic interest in you."He stands slowly to approach me and it’s like he’s approaching a skittish animal.I must visibly sigh in relief at his words because he watches me with an amused look and says, "That's not the normal reaction I get to those words.""Look, I'm sure you have women throwing themselves at you like Jessica was, but I need to make one thing clear. I need you to promise not to fall in love with me. I know it's silly of me to ask and I'm under no illusion that you would, but I would be a lot calmer about this arrangement if you said the words out loud," I say, with what I'm sure is a desp

"I'm sorry if I overstepped. I know kissing wasn't part of the deal tonight but I didn't know how else to deal with her. I've made it clear on a ridiculous number of occasions that I have no interest in her," he says, seemingly completely unaffected by the kiss.I just nod and joke, "It's fine, but now you might owe me a silent auction item."I want him to laugh at my lame attempt at a joke because that would shake away the sexual tension I'm feeling from the kiss but instead he says, "Sure, pick whichever and keep up with the bidding.""Mr. Conti, I'm joking! You don't owe me anything for one kiss," I say, like he's crazy for making the offer."I don't ever owe people, so come up with something and let me know," he says, getting distracted by someone he sees in the distance.I look in the direction of his eyes and see an older couple by the bar. I look back to Cass and say, "Well, don't let me stop you. I'll find Annabelle while you go talk to them."He looks frustrated and says, "I c

The limo door shuts, and the quiet feels eerie after a loud night and a light buzz rings in my ear from the music.Cass immediately pulls out his phone and is typing away. I'm exhausted, yet here he is getting back to work. I don't understand people with his drive. I understand being motivated and hard-working, but he is on another level.The car drives through the city and I enjoy the view in companionable silence, but I'm a bit surprised when we drive past Mr. Conti's building."Where are we going?" I ask."We're dropping you home obviously," he says without looking up from his phone."Um... no, it's not obvious," I say, slightly caught off guard. "I've been staying at your place all week because of some unknown threat from the car chase. I've been given no updates, so I'm confused and I don't have my keys."He looks at me for a moment with a blank look, then to the driver and says, "Swing by my place and grab Alexa's keys so you can take her home."He looks back to his phone and con

I wake up to the sun shining into the room and I take a moment to enjoy the view one more time. I don't know how many guest rooms are in this condo but this one is particularly beautiful. It's hard to think a cold man like Cass lives in such beauty. No doubt, he isn's the slightest bit aware. I'm sure someone else designed the interior.I take a shower, get dressed and do one final check of the room in case I forgot to pack something the night before. I put my socks on in my room so there isn't anymore talk of my feet with my boss. I quickly dry my hair because early November in Chicago is no joke, it's freezing.I'm in jeans and a tank with a hoodie over top. I don't think I've ever been this casually dressed around Cass and it feels weird but I'm not going to dress in work clothes on a Saturday.I take my duffel and head to the main living area. I plan to leave the keys with the housekeeper and leave but when I arrive in the kitchen area I find a beautiful woman sitting there being r

That morning, I receive a call from my mother. We have a no news is good news type relationship, so when I see the voice mail on my phone I'm immediately on edge. My parents are the type of people who shouldn't have had kids. They had kids because that's what you do, but they basically stopped raising us the moment their careers took off. They're both professors and think themselves highly important. I'm pretty sure they would die of embarrassment before they told their colleagues what I do for a living. They have no idea that working as an EA for a billionaire CEO means I'm at the top of my profession. I'm not wasting my degree as they would say.My mother's message is short. "Call me," is all she says. I've explained so many times not to fill my voicemail with such a useless message, that a text would suffice, but they continue anyway. During my lunch break I find a quiet room so I can call her in private. She picks up on the second ring which has me on edge even more. Normally, w