Page 30 of Boss With Benefits

Because his thoughts had been so wrapped up in other things, it took Adam a moment to process the information. Once he had, he went very still. His pulse spiked and his blood ran cold. White noise rushed through his head and his stomach heaved.

‘Send it to me,’ he said, his voice sounding to him as though it came from deep under water.

‘I just have.’

Numbly he switched apps and opened up the picture. He and Ella were walking down the steps of the plane. They weren’t touching. They weren’t even looking at each other. But something about it nevertheless suggested intimacy. They were far too close to each other for him to ever be able to pass it off as anything professional. And there was no mistaking it was them. The focus was that sharp.

As the implications of what he was looking at sank in, an icy sweat coated his skin. His breath stuck in his lungs. He felt sick. Dizzy. As though he were about to pass out. With superhuman effort, he forced himself to exhale and get a grip. ‘Put a stop to it.’

‘It’ll be pricey.’

‘Whatever it takes.’

‘Consider it done.’

He cut the call and put the phone down, and it was then that the numbness vanished and all hell let loose. His vision blurred and his heart crashed wildly against his ribs. The strength drained from his limbs, and he had to sit down before he collapsed. All he could think was that if this photo had appeared in the public domain and caught the eye of Cade and Zane he’d have lost Helberg in an instant. Montague’s would have been gone. Redemption would have been history. Everything he’d been working so hard for recently, over.

How the hell could he have let it happen?

How could he have lost control of the situation so badly?

Because he’d been overwhelmed by chemistry so powerful he hadn’t been able to resist its allure, that was how. Because he’d been arrogant and reckless in assuming he could have both Helberg and Ella. Because somehow he’d managed to forget that from the moment they’d met, the second their eyes had met in that bar, she’d repeatedly had him throwing caution to the wind.

At what point had he completely lost his mind?

What the hell had he beenthinking?

This affair shouldneverhave happened, he thought, his breathing harsh and choppy. He should never have succumbed to temptation. Fourteen years ago, in the aftermath of his mother’s death, he’d sworn to avoid the kind of desire that wreaked destruction and ruined lives, and he’d stuck by it. But he’d broken those rules, and bent many more for the sake of a fling with a woman who he’d even recognised was dangerous.

And as for extending it, was he mad? How would that even have worked? How had he thought they’d be able to continue seeing each other under the radar in a city of twenty million? Labor Day was still three weeks away. They’d have eventually been caught bysomeone.Blushmagazine would have had a field day. To the world at large, he’d have cheated on Annabel and his reputation would have taken a huge hit, which would have displeased both his board members and the Helberg shareholders. And it wasn’t as if he could have simply fixed up a three-way meeting between Annabel, Cade and Zane to clarify the situation. They’d never have let him get away with it, even if they had believed him.

The truth was, since he and Ella had arrived on this island, he’d barely given the bet a second thought. He’d barely givenanythinga second thought. His laptop had been gathering dust. He’d let numerous calls go to voicemail. For the first time ever, he’d put the executive team he’d created in charge, and he hadn’t even wondered whether they were doing a good job of running the company in his absence. He’d been wholly wrapped up in Ella, in some sort of a make-believe bubble with her, so far from reality that they might as well be on another planet.

Well, that bubble had burst. Reality had stormed in like a horseman of the apocalypse, and here was the chaos he’d feared. He’d put a stop to this particular photo, but he couldn’t riskanother. He’d had a very close shave, and he wouldn’t put in jeopardy everything he was trying to achieve again.

When he thought of Montague’s in the hands of Zane or Cade, his heart practically stopped. If that happened, he’d never get justice. He’d be carrying the guilt he felt over his mother’s death for the rest of his life. His sister would remain at a distance forever, and he simply couldn’t allow it.

So forget how much he liked Ella. Forget the incredible sex and the appreciation he had for their conversations. She turned him into the man he’d fought hard to erase, the man he didn’t wish—and could not—afford to be. She had to go, and she had to go for good.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

ELLAWASCLIMBINGout of the pool when she saw Adam bearing down on her like a thunderstorm. What could possibly be wrong? she wondered with a frown as she picked up a towel and wrapped it round herself. She’d left him in bed, limp, sated, with a huge smile on his face, but that was nowhere to be seen now.

He came to an abrupt stop in front of her, the tension radiating off him in waves that were so huge she felt buffeted. His jaw was set and his face was as dark as night, and great big fat alarm bells started ringing in her head because, whatever it was, it had to be serious.

‘I’ve just been sent a photo of us getting off the plane in Aruba,’ he said grimly and without preamble. ‘It was scheduled to appear inBlushmagazine online. I don’t know who took it, but there’s enough detail to suggest that we’re more than just colleagues. Take a look.’

He thrust the phone in her direction. Stunned, unable to quite comprehend what he was telling her, Ella took the device from him and glanced down, her mind instantly spooling back to nearly three weeks ago. She recalled the moment only too well. The two of them had just stepped out of the plane and onto the steps. A second earlier he’d reminded her of what he was planning to do to her when they got to the house, and she was wearing a secretive sort of a smile that somehow managed to imply that she couldn’t wait to get her hands on him.

‘How did this happen?’ she said, her mouth dry, her heart thudding while she struggled to absorb its implications.

‘I don’t know, but I intend to find out,’ he said with such icy steel that for a second, she felt sorry for the perpetrator. ‘I’vestopped it going public. However, it was an extremely close call. We got lucky this time, but I can’t risk it happening again and putting into jeopardy everything I’ve worked for. You know what that means to me.’

‘I do.’

‘This island is not as safe as I assumed. We could be discovered any moment now.’

As that observation hit her brain, Ella’s blood drained to her feet. No. God. That couldn’t happen. What if her colleagues found out what she’d been doing? The gossip would be unbearable. They’d never trust her again. And if the picture reached her boss? She’d be fired in an instant, because an auditor and a client in cahoots on a Caribbean island the day after winding up a job was about as big a conflict of interest as there could be. The audit would have to be redone. Her reputation would be trashed. She really would never work again.

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