Page 27 of Seduced by Her Billionaire Fake Fiancé

“I believe you,” Dante said quickly. “I think I’m a good judge of character, and I can tell you’re an honest and decent person.” He paused a long time, so Andie wondered if he was still there.

“I hope,” Dante said, eventually. “That he has changed. I hope that he’s become someone who deserves you.”

“He does,” she answered without delay.

“About the company—,”

“I’m sorry.” She cut him off, grimacing. “I can’t sell it to you. Particularly not now.”

Silence crackled down the line. “He’s buying into it?”

“Yes,” she murmured. “Just half of it.”

“Like you wanted us to do.”

“Yes.”

Dante sighed. “Andrea,” his voice was heavy, each word chosen carefully. “Be careful with Massimo. His bite is worse than his bark.”

She grimaced. “Thank you for your concern.”

“If anything should change, do let me know.”

She nodded. “Of course.”

“Very well. Take care, Andrea. And be careful.”

Andie’s relief at having made the dreaded phone call was palpable. True, it was just business, but she had liked Dante Santoro, and any of the family members she’d met with. She had no doubt they would have done her parents proud.

But that wasn’t their job.

This was her business, her legacy, and she had to defend it, no matter what. Even if that meant getting into bed with the devil himself.

Calm waters lastedfor all of two days. Calm waters at home, where he kept enough of a distance for things to almost feel easy and natural. Calm waters at work, where he spent days immersed in understanding the running of the company.

But by the end of the third day, Max was apparently done with being a silent observer and ready to go at things, like a bull at a gate.

“This whole department is top heavy,” he said, passing a report to Andie where she sat at the kitchen table, a well-deserved glass of red wine in front of her, mobile phone showing mindless videos of hair tutorials on Instagram. She wasn’t really watching, just staring at the pixels, her mind numb from everything she’d been navigating in the office.

“Huh?” She blinked up at him.

“Look. You have four managers overseeing a similar workload. They all have multiple assistants. There are too many staff department-wide for its output. We need to make cuts.”

She frowned, taking the report, running her finger down the page. “Some of these people have been at Acto since the very beginning.”

“Is that a response?”

“It’s an explanation.”

“Not a very good one.”

Her eyes widened. “I suppose you don’t see any place for loyalty?”

“Not at the expense of the company,” he said with a shrug. “What about your loyalty to the thousands of other staff who lose their jobs if Acto goes bust?”

“You promised the executive team nothing would change. Are you already going back on your word?”

He pressed his palms to the table. “I said nothing would change without a lot of consideration. I’ve considered this.”

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