Page 59 of Spooked

But then she pushed him.

Hard.

“I can’t do this.”

Fuck. “You can. The decision’s final; I’m getting a divorce.”

“Okay, Iwon’tdo this.”

As the car slowed to a smooth halt outside the hotel, her jaw set, and there was that backbone he both loved and hated. The fiery determination.

“Meera, it’s okay.”

“No, it isn’t. I’m not going to be responsible for you losing your business.”

“I’ve come to terms with it.”

“Maybe you think you have, but I’ve seen what the company means to you. In a few months, you’d regret giving up everything for me. I’m not worth it.”

“Yes, you are.”

“If you knew more about me, you’d change your mind.”

“Then let me get to know you.”

“This…this…it won’t work.”

“Tell me one thing—if Carissa wasn’t in the picture, would you be in my bed tonight?”

She wanted to lie. He saw it in her eyes. But she couldn’t, and as she snatched up her bags, she whispered one word.

“Yes.”

Then she was shoving open the door, stumbling out of it, and fleeing toward the lobby. And Brax could do nothing but watch. As soon as she’d disappeared inside, he picked up his phone and texted three words to his lawyer.

Brax

Get it done.

CHAPTER23

THE ASSISTANT

“So let me get this straight…” Meera said. “You’re in love with your boss, and he feels the same way, but you can’t have wild monkey sex because his ex-wife will take all his money? Indi, that’s seriously messed up.”

“I don’t know if he loves me. He didn’t say anything about that.”

“He stuck his tongue down your throat in a limo, and he’s willing to give up everything to be with you. Trust me, that’s love.”

It was all so confusing. On Monday, Mr. Vale had spent the day in his apartment while I took his mother to the botanical garden, and the flight back to LA on Tuesday morning had been one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life. And considering I’d suffered through an engagement party beside Karam Joshi, that was a pretty big statement to make. In the end, I’d put on a pair of headphones and pretended to watch an in-flight movie while Mr. Vale stared at his laptop screen.Mr. Fucking Vale.He’d had his hand between my legs, and I still didn’t have permission to use his first name.

And now we were back to emails. He’d cancelled our morning catch-ups—thank goodness—and the lunches I used to look forward to, and changed the settings on his inbox. I couldn’t even read half of the messages now. How was I meant to do my job? But at least he hadn’t fired me. Although it might not be a bad thing if he did, because catching glimpses of him as I delivered his coffee and his lunch was unbearable. This morning, I’d made the coffee cold just to see if he’d talk to me, but he didn’t. He simply drank it without a word.

And those glimpses, they were also a drug. A fix to get me through the day. I was a love junkie, and I’d gotten hooked on the wrong man.

“Even if itislove, I can’t let him lose everything he’s worked for. He doesn’t even know my freaking name, Meera. He thinks I’m you. And what if you decide to come home? I can’t keep your identity forever. I mean, what would you tell your parents?”

“Oh, relax. I can just fly home for Christmas and Thanksgiving, borrow some of your fancy clothes—I still can’t believe he bought you Louboutins; no, actually I can—and tell them all about my splendiferous job as an executive assistant in LA. And when you marry your boss and I marry a sexy eco-warrior who is definitelynotAlfie, then we can come clean.”

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