Page 32 of My Forbidden Boss

Me: It’s wrong

Maddy: It’s only wrong if he forces you. Is he forcing you?!?!?!?!

Me: It’s not like that. I’ve never felt this way before

Maddy: I’m with you one hundred percent, but you look after yourself

Maddy: ?? what your dad wants you to do. What if you came clean and told David about Max. Would he help you?

If David found out what I’m really here to do, there’d be no more kisses. No more touches. I don’t want to go back to the way I was, the shell of a girl who didn’t know better. This lie is the only thing keeping me at Blue Sky and with David.

Me: Ask him to house me and Mom? I don’t expect anyone to do that. I’m not his problem

Me: He’ll be happy to see me go if he finds out why I’m here

At the very least.

Maddy: You can stay with us. Have you found anything out yet?

It’s nice of Maddy to offer, but her family doesn’t have endless space and I can’t ask them to let us stay with them indefinitely. It would be a stopgap, and that’s all. I need long-term solutions.

If I can get the information Max wants, he’ll sweep us aside and forget about us. It suits me. I’ll want to disappear when all this is over. Somewhere David and the police will never find me. Out of everyone’s lives forever.

I open my inbox and see an unread email from Sophie. My stomach bottoms out when I read the subject line: Moss Creek Tender, and open the document. It’s the proposed contractual arrangement from Blue Sky in relation to the legalities and policies of the tender.

Shit. Fuck. Damn. Max will want this.

I save the document to David’s private hard drive as he asked me to do, slip a USB into my computer and save another copy.

My gut churns and my skin freezes.

Me: Can you please check on Mom. Will call soon

I run to the bathroom, stagger into a stall and slam the door shut behind me. My stomach cramps and I bring up the high-price lunch David and I shared.

Chapter 12

David

Tristan strolls into my office and flops into the chair opposite my desk as though he owns it. I finish my call and place the phone on the receiver. “I didn’t think you were coming over.”

He gives me that carefree smirk that, combined with his blonde curls, makes women crumple. I lift my brow. He’s here for a reason.

“It’s been a week and you haven’t called me back. That’s unheard of,” he says.

“It’s been busy,” I say. It’s been brutal in the office, I have several building projects with teams that need organizing, and I’ve taken Adeline out every night for dinner. It has left little time to return his calls.

“I came to see what’s so important you missed the game,” he says. “And to tell you about Max Bourke.”

I’d forgotten about the Vikings game. Forgotten about anything but work and Adeline.

I’m consumed by her.

I’m at the point of madness and I can’t bring myself to care.

It’s Friday afternoon. Every night I drive her to that dive of an apartment and each day it’s harder to take her back there. Every day I kiss her. Touch her. Taste her. In my office, the breakroom, the emergency stairs, my car. My cock is diamond hard, bordering on painful. The ache never goes away. I don’t want it to.

I’ve decided she won’t be going to her apartment tonight.

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