Page 155 of For the Sub

Brandy sank onto the bench behind her.

Purposefully, she had shoved aside flashes of images of him dominating other women—sexy, beautiful models and actresses.

Even though she suspected he wouldn’t get involved with any of them, it was always a possibility, and the idea tortured her.

“So this is about him.” It wasn’t a question, it was a certainty, from a man who knew her so completely.

“You’re right. Is that what you want to hear?”

“Damn it, Brandy.”

The tears she’d been holding back, emotion she’d pretended not to feel, rushed to the surface, and tears filled her eyes.

No matter what, she wasn’t going to let them spill over.

She’d been foolish.

Now she had to deal with the consequences. “I shouldn’t have seen him.”

“Oh, honey.” He swore in some foreign language. At least, the emphasis on the syllables told her it was a curse word. “You’ve got the biggest heart of anyone I know.”

“Dumb, aren’t I?”

“No. Never.” He shook his head. “After you scened with him, it was bound to happen.”

“He’s…caring.”

“Broken,” he corrected flatly.

“Because his wife died.”

“Partially.”

His response shocked her. “What does that mean?”

“There’s more to the story.”

Intrigued, she waited, but he didn’t go on.

Still, Gregorio hadn’t glimpsed the wonderful moments when pain had momentarily vanished from Master Niles’s eyes.

“I never wanted to be right,” Gregorio said.

“Next time I’ll listen to you.” She went into his arms and gathered strength for at least a minute.

“For the record? He hired someone else to emcee the scene. He didn’t participate in the video. Told Master Damien he was going to be stepping back to pursue other interests after he gets some people trained, said part of it depends on his redesigned website going live.”

Breath froze in her lungs.

Stunned, she stepped away from Gregorio and looked at him to see if he was teasing. “Are you serious?”

But he didn’t need to answer.

Gregorio might joke with her, but never about something this important.

For a moment, she processed what he said.

Master Niles was no longer working in his own company?

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