All Chapters of Tempting Playboy: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Chloe stared at their linked hands.The silence stretching between the three of them felt thick enough to suffocate on. The lively orchestra music and the chatter of the legacy donors faded into a dull, meaningless hum. Gia tried to pull her fingers back, suddenly hyper-aware of the flashing cameras near the entrance.Leo did not let go. His grip remained ironclad."What was that?" Chloe asked. Her voice lacked its usual bright, bubbly cadence. It was sharp. It was calculating. She looked up from their hands and stared directly into her brother's eyes."A courtesy, Chloe," Leo replied smoothly. His tone was a masterpiece of aristocratic boredom. He finally lowered Gia’s hand but kept his fingers lightly laced through hers. "The press is watching the new Chairman. A gentleman treats his guest of honor with respect. Stop glaring at us. You are going to attract the photographers."The deflection was brilliant. He used her own elite conditioning against her. Chloe instantly checked her po

The double doors of the Vance Foundation executive boardroom were solid mahogany, polished to a mirror shine that reflected the exhaustion burning behind Gia’s eyes.She stood in the corridor, smoothing down the front of her modest, rented charcoal blazer. The emerald silk gown from the gala was safely hidden away in the penthouse closet, but the phantom weight of Leo’s touch against her bare shoulder blade still felt raw, like a fresh burn.Today was Monday. The day of reckoning.In less than five minutes, she had to pitch her senior macroeconomic research project to the full board of directors. If they approved it, she would secure a prestigious summer fellowship at Vance Enterprises alongside her existing scholarship. If they rejected it, she would remain financially exposed, entirely dependent on the blank signature line Leo held hostage."You're going to crush it, Gia," Chloe whispered beside her, squeezing her elbow. "Just ignore my brother. He's been in full corporate monster m

Gia stared at the fountain pen resting on the mahogany desk. The black ink on the contract was still wet, the signature line gleaming under the soft, recessed lighting of Leo’s campus office.Special Assistant to the Chairman."You are asking me to step directly into the crosshairs," Gia said, her voice dropping into a quiet, calculated cadence. She didn't sign the paper yet. Instead, she leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. "Arthur Sterling already looks at me like an invasive species. If I bypass the entire student analytics lab and take a desk right outside your door, he won't just see me as a charity case. He will see me as a target.""Sterling already sees you as a target because you walked into the gala on my arm," Leo said smoothly. He rose from his leather chair and walked back to the stained-glass window, his broad shoulders silhouetted against the fading campus daylight. "In this building, neutrality is an illusion, Gia. You either stand behind my shield, or you let

The ivy-covered walls of the Vance Foundation building always felt a little suffocating, but at ten o’clock at night, the place was downright ghostly.Gia rubbed her tired eyes, the blue light from her laptop screen reflecting off the polished mahogany table of the campus archive room. Everyone else had gone home hours ago. The university grounds outside the stained-glass windows were pitch black, silent save for the occasional distant shout of students heading back to the dorms.She was supposed to be cross-referencing the foundation's annual donor registry, trying to figure out why Arthur Sterling was suddenly pushing for a full audit of the academic scholarship funds. But it was hard to concentrate when the air in the room felt so thick.A shadow fell over her table.Gia didn't even have to look up to know who it was. The scent of sandalwood and expensive cologne gave him away instantly.Leo stood there, his tailored jacket draped over the back of a nearby chair, the sleeves of his

The campus clock tower struck ten. The heavy oak doors of the foundation boardroom closed, sealing the executive committee inside.Arthur Sterling sat at the opposite end of the long marble table. He looked entirely too pleased with himself. His silver-tipped cane rested against the leather armrest, his posture radiating the smug confidence of a man who believed he held the winning hand.Gia sat to the immediate right of the Chairman’s seat. She wore a tailored black blazer and a crisp white blouse. Her heart pounded a frantic rhythm against her ribs, but her face remained a mask of pure, academic detachment. Resting on her lap, hidden beneath the lip of the table, was the leather-bound folder from the basement archive.Leo sat at the head of the table. He wore a flawless navy suit. His expression was a sheet of impenetrable ice."Let us bypass the formalities, Chairman," Sterling began, his accented voice projecting across the silent room. "The legacy alumni faction has reviewed the