Page 23 of The English Billionaire's Obsession

Madmakes me think of how Amelia smiled—like she didn’t even realize she was smiling—when I saidBritish mad.

“I knew it the second I saw her.”

“On video.”

“Yeah.”

George puts the tennis ball down, steepling his fingers. “I’ve never seen you like this before, but locking her up in your flat—”

“She’s notlocked up,” I snap. “She’s in the office now. I got word from my driver earlier. She’s got her cell phone on her. She could call the police, her family, or anybody, but she chooses not to because she knows I’m right. We have a connection.”

“So why not just tell her the truth, then?”

“I could walk up to any random woman on the street and, as long as they knew who I was, I could tell them,I’ve been watching you. I think you’re beautiful. I want to be with you forever, and you know what, George? Lots of them would jump at the chance for the money alone.”

“You want her to want you for you.”

“I want her to wantusforus. The future. A family. All of it.”

George sighs, nodding. “I get it, mate, but she deserves answers.”

Walking over to the desk, I force myself to sit. Every second I spend on my feet is another second I’m closer to turning, sprinting for the lift, and riding it down to Amelia’s floor to get another look at her. I couldn’t sleep last night because thoughts of her filled my mind.

Not just the steaminess—though there was plenty of that—but with visions of the future, too. My woman is sitting by a sunlit window, our baby in her arms, rocking softly, with me watching, not letting her know I’m there right away, basking in love.

“What if I tell her the truth, and she wants nothing to do with me?”

“That’s a risk you’ll have to take.”

I groan but nod.

“What about the other thing?” he asks. “The graffiti… This Oliver bloke trying to blackmail you and his criminal friends?”

“I’ve beefed up security,” I tell him, “on Amelia and me. You ought to do the same.”

“Will do, but don’t you think we should contact the police?”

“They won’t be able to do anything about a bit of graffiti. There are other options. We could pay people to force them to back off. Maybe it will come to that, but in the meantime, I’ve got work to do.”

“Think about what I said. She deserves—”

“The truth. I know.”

I meant what I said. I’ve got a lot of work to do today, but as I ride the lift down, it stops on Amelia’s floor, and somebody gets in. I don’tdecideto dart out of the lift, exactly. It’s more like my feet carry me that way before I can even think about it. People watch me as I walk across the office floor while pretending to be busy with their work.

Smiling and waving to a few people I know, I walk to the Pen, the small area where most of the interns start in this department, and there she is, my Amelia.

Her back is turned to me, but I’d know her even just by her silhouette. She tied her hair up in a no-nonsense ponytail today.

She laughs, the noise beautiful, and I hear a man laugh too. He sits across the desk from her, on the younger side, with a skin-fade haircut and a baggy T-shirt that shows the upper part of his chest.

The art department is lax on dress code standards, which I usually don’t give a damn about. Hell, I’ve only spent so much time at Realization Global because George is the CEO. It’s just one of the companies I own, but now Idogive a damn… about this bastard making my woman laugh.

I trail off, hearing my thoughts. Jesus Christ, I need to settle down. There’s too much fire in me for the circumstances, my instincts telling me to rush across the office and attack this man. Grab him and slam him against the desk.

I won’t, obviously. There’s nothing wrong with Amelia laughing with a coworker, but the desire is there. Suddenly, the man stops, his gaze refocusing as he looks past Amelia and spots me. When the color drains from his cheeks, I know I must be showing my anger, fists clenched, glare intense.

Amelia turns and spots me, eyes snapping open. She’s not wearing any makeup, letting her natural beauty shine. Her lips twitch into a reflexive smile until she purposefully pushes it away.

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