Page 52 of Sinclair Duet

“Around three years.” I shrugged. “I made the mistake of falling for my boss.”

Niles made a face.

“I hadn’t seen him since I broke it off and quit Sinclair until the day of the gala.” I went on telling Niles about the issue with the flight, seeing Damien at the restaurant. Niles laughed when I told him about paying for Damien’s lunch. “As luck would have it, my new seat in first class was next to him.”

“You hadn’t seen him in two years, and you ended up sitting beside him for a four-hour flight. Damn, girl. That is definitely fate stepping in.”

“I don’t know if it was fate. I mean, the universe has bigger problems than my love life.”

“Since you’ve barely dated since we met, I’d say your love life is a rather monumental problem.” He lowered his eyebrows. “Has it improved?”

We stopped talking as our food was delivered.

As I cut the grilled chicken in my salad, I looked to my friend. “Will you do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Damien isn’t an awful man. Yes, he’s intense and manipulative, arrogant and cocky…”

“You’re definitely selling him.”

Grinning, I let out a breath. “The reason I left him two years ago was because after we were together for a while, I began to disappear.”

Niles pouted. “Honeeey.”

“I want you to promise me, if you see me disappearing, tell me. I pushed him out of my life and worked to make a life away from him. After having him back in my life for only a few days, I feel out of control and at the same time…I’m positively buzzing. His intensity is contagious.”

“Your smile at this moment makes me think that you don’t hate all those things you said about him.”

Inhaling, I lifted my face toward the sky. “This is going to sound stupid.”

“Let me be the judge of that.”

“Damien is like the sun—the center of the universe—the glue that holds it all together. His gravitational pull is impossible to resist. He shines bright, giving you what you need. And if this is going to work—him and me, not the campaign—then I need to learn how to be close without being burnt.”

“You took the campaign manager position, right?”

I nodded. “I did.”

“Do you want it, or did you feel forced to take it?”

“I wasn’t sure what I would do or how I felt. Even this morning, heading into Millie’s office, I was still debating.”

Niles’s hazel eyes glistened. “Even after all yournegotiationsyesterday and last night?”

Warmth filled my cheeks as I nodded. “It was something Millie said that made it feel right. She said I was the right choice for the position because of my experience with Sinclair.”

“Wait,” Niles said with a grin. “She meant the company not the man, right?”

“Right. She doesn’t know about the private side. It’s why I’ve kept my connection to him quiet. And now I don’t want people thinking I got the position because of my past relationship with Damien.”

“But you’re not workingforhim. You’ll still be employed by the fraternity.”

“Right. This will be different.” I reached for Niles’s hand. “You must come visit me. My office is to die for.”

“If he isn’t your boss, what difference does it make if you had a relationship? Or is it that you’re now back in one?”

“That shouldn’t matter.”

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