Page 109 of Guarded King

When we get to the sidewalk, she turns to me. “What’s the emergency? Is it EcoTech?”

“I told you, I’ll explain back at the office.” I put my hand on her back to guide her toward where Phillip is out of the car and waiting for us.

She digs her heels in. “You’re acting weird.”

I dip my chin to hide my amusement. She won’t appreciate it. But I don’t want to get into it here.

Not where everyone can see.

Leaning toward her, I’m careful not to touch her. Once I do, there won’t be any going back. “Fine,sweetheart. I’ll explain in the car.”

Her eyes flare wide and her soft pink lips part. Rather than argue like I thought she might, she spins and walks briskly to the car.

Phillip greets her with a warm smile. “Nice to see you again, Chloe.”

She squeezes his arm. “It’s nice to see you too.”

When he grins at me over the top of her head, I tamp down my newly developed sense of possessiveness and merely give him an unimpressed glare.

He earns a little of my good will back when he slips into the driver’s seat and, without waiting for me to ask, he presses the button to raise the barrier between us.

As soon as it’s up, Chloe pins me with a glare. “Sweetheart?”

“You have a problem with the name? You didn’t seem to mind last week when you were?—”

She puts her hand up. “I thought we were pretending that never happened?”

“That’s not working for me.”

Brows furrowed, she slants her head, examining me. “Why not? I thought that’s what you wanted.”

Unable to help myself, I curl a strand of loose blond hair around my finger, then trail it down her neck. “So did I. But it turns out that’s not the case.”

Her ocean eyes search mine. “Hold on. Did you pull me away from my date because of a work emergency, or because you didn’t want me to go out with another man?”

“He’s not right for you.”

She crosses her arms, chin jutted in defiance. “Who says?”

I smirk a little. “I do.”

“Youdo?” She lets out a huff. “Then tell me. Who is the right man for me?”

She thinks I’ll back down. She doesn’t realize who she’s dealing with.

I lean toward her, reveling in the way her pupils dilate and her pulse flutters at the base of her throat. “I am.”

A breath stutters out of her. “You?”

“You say that like you don’t already know it’s true.”

She blinks, then scowls—a cute little downward curl of her lips. “Why should I? We agreed it would be over when we got back. And now that someone else is interested, you’ve changed your mind? I don’t want to be a plaything, Roman. I have too much respect for myself.”

I give my head a sharp shake. “A plaything is the very last thing you are, believe me. And I didn’t change my mind because someone else is interested. The way it felt, knowing you were out with Ethan, only clarified what I want. And maybe sped up the process of figuring out what I need. That’s you in my life. And I’m not talking about as my assistant.”

She swallows audibly, her eyes darting between mine. “So what about you being my boss?”

I clench my jaw. It’s a reminder I don’t need. “It’s not a perfect situation. I’ll figure out a way to make it work.”

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