Page 94 of Sexting the Billionaire

"And with him," Cassie adds softly.

"And with him," I confirm. "Six months later, he fired her. Claimed her work wasn't commercially viable. Kept the concept, discarded her."

"That's horrible," Cassie says, genuine outrage in her voice. "For both of you."

I shrug, aiming for nonchalance and probably missing by miles. "It was a long time ago. A valuable lesson in trust and loyalty."

"And that's why you're so careful now." Insight sharpens her gaze. "Why you build walls around yourself. Why you were worried about me meeting with him."

"I wasn't worried," I protest automatically.

"Roman." She gives me a look that brooks no argument. "You were practically radiating anxiety when you heard about our breakfast meeting."

"Fine," I admit. "I was concerned. Grant has a pattern of using people to get to me."

"I'm not Catherine," she says firmly. "And I'm certainly not going to leave you for that manipulative shark. Even if he did offer to double my salary."

“I know,” I say—but the tightness in my chest says I needed to hear her say it out loud.

"Relax," she says, amusement dancing in her eyes. "I turned him down flat. Told him I could spot his game a mile away." Her expression turns more serious. "I'm not easily manipulated, Roman. And I'm not going anywhere."

The simple declaration loosens something in my chest that's been tight since our fight last night. Since Catherine. Maybe since childhood, when I learned that people always leave eventually.

Without conscious thought, I pull her to me, burying my face in her hair. She comes willingly, settling against my chest as if she belongs there.

"I'm sorry," I murmur against her temple. "For last night. For doubting you. For being...me."

She laughs softly. "I happen to like you. Most of the time."

"Most of the time?"

"When you're not being an overprotective, controlling CEO," she clarifies, leaning back to look at me. "When you're just Roman."

"I'm always 'just Roman,'" I say. "The CEO part is just the outer layer."

"Bullshit." She pokes me in the chest, punctuating her point. "You switch between the two like you're changing suits. Last night at dinner with Mia—that was Roman. The man who cut me out of the board meeting—that was definitely CEO Kade."

She's right, though I've never thought of it that way. I've always considered myself an integrated whole—the businessman, the leader, the strategist. But Cassie sees the divisions I've created between those roles and the man beneath them.

"I'm trying," I say, unsure how to explain that she's asking me to unlearn habits formed over a lifetime. "To be just Roman more often."

"I know." Her expression softens. "That's why I forgive you. That, and the fact that you bring really good curry when you apologize."

The tension breaks, and suddenly we're laughing, the strain of the past daydissipating in the simple joy of being together.When the laughter fades, I find myself gazing at her with an intensity that makes her eyes widen slightly.

"What?" she asks, suddenly self-conscious.

"You're extraordinary," I say simply. "And I am completely undeserving of you."

"Well, that's definitely true," she agrees with mock solemnity. "But I've decided to keep you anyway."

She leans in to kiss me, and what begins as light and playful quickly deepens into something more urgent, more primal. My hands find their way under her sweatshirt, discovering bare skin that's warm and inviting beneath my palms.

"Are you feeling up to this?" I murmur against her lips, remembering her earlier nausea.

"I'm feeling up to anything that involves you taking off your clothes," she says, already working on my tie. "Especially since you've just shown unprecedented emotional vulnerability."

"If I'd known it was such an aphrodisiac, I'd have shared my childhood trauma weeks ago," I say dryly.

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