Page 150 of Guarded King

Tate leans forward, eyes narrowing. “What the hell are you calling him for?”

Before I can answer, Chloe transfers the call. “Hi, Sean. I have a favor to ask. I need you to take on one of my staff members, just temporarily. She’s familiar with our project, so she can act as a liaison.”

With Chloe working outside King Plaza, the media scrutiny will shift away from her—fromus—long enough to let things settle down. At least, that’s what I’m counting on.

My brother curses under his breath and shakes his head, but I ignore him.

Sean agrees within minutes, and I hang up.

“How is moving Chloe out of King Plaza going to fix things?” Tate asks, a rarely observed scowl on his face.

“It’s temporary,” I snap. “Once the EcoTech acquisition is done and the tabloids stop running their mouths, we can go public in a managed way. One that won’t get either of us labeled as something we’re not.”

He scrubs his hand over his face before shoving back his chair. “This won’t go well. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you can’t manage love. But I guess you’re just going to have to find that out for yourself.”

With that, he stands and strides from the room.

I sit there, Tate’s words ringing in my ears.You can’t manage love.

I give in and rub my sternum, trying to ease the tightness. I love Chloe. I’m doing this for her as much as the company.

She’ll understand.

She has to.

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

CHLOE

Sophie leans over my shoulder, both of us staring at the computer screen.

“Girl, why didn’t you tell me?” she asks.

“He just has his hand on my back.” The weakness of my voice betrays me, even to my own ears.

She snorts. “There’s a polite hand on the back, and then there’s that.” She jabs her finger at the screen, brows rising. “That screamsshe’s mine—get within three feet of her and I’ll break your arm.”

I pull my head back, widening my eyes at her. It doesn’t faze her.

She laughs, clearly not upset that I’ve been keeping this secret from her. “Come on. I know we’re only work besties, but I feel like I’ve missed out on a ton of juicy gossip.”

“We’re notonlyanything,” I say, offering her a small smile despite my frayed nerves. “I doubt I would have survived my first day here without you. But there are some things you just can’t share, no matter how much you might want to. Especially at work.”

Now that it looks like our secret might be out, I’m filled with a strange mix of relief and worry. Lying has been taking its tollon me—on both of us—but this isn’t how I wanted it to end. What will Roman do when he sees this? How will he feel?

Sophie hums thoughtfully, then nods. “I get it. So, is it serious?”

I gnaw on my bottom lip, my gaze locked back on the photo. “I think so.”

“When are you going public?”

I blow out a long breath, anxiety settling in my stomach. “I guess it’s already happened. But… there are still complications.”

God, I hope this won’t affect the acquisition. If we lose out, especially to Roger Haverscombe, Roman will be gutted.

Sophie lets out a sympathetic sigh. “Men like that always come with complications. Tell him what you want, Chloe. Your feelings are just as important as his. Don’t push your needs aside. If he cares about you, he needs to step up and show the world.”

Before I can respond, the intercom buzzes and Roman asks me to patch through Sean Prescott.