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Chapter 40

Author: Luna Hills
last update Last Updated: 2024-12-26 15:05:12

Connor

"Take the day off and come somewhere with me," I hold Evelyn's hand to keep her from leaving.

She hasn't looked at my face since she walked into my office, but the worrying aspect is that I haven't seen her one-on-one since the party two days ago. It might have been forty-eight hours for her, but it feels like forever to me.

"The project," she complains. "There is a lot to be done."

"A lot that you haven't done yet? You are the hardest working person I know, Evelyn, which means that whatever you want to do, you have done it already. Maybe ten times already."

She pulls her arm, but I don't let go.

"Please? I'm worried you're overworking yourself, and I need you. My company needs you. Take the rest of the day off. Let's go somewhere fun."

"Where is somewhere fun?" she asks.

***

Two hours later, we arrive at an old industrial building. I rush to her side to open the door and offer my hand.

"You don't have to do this, you know," Evelyn comments. "This place is very cool but I doubt
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    Evelyn"You look ravishing," Connor says as I get out of the car, with him holding my hand, "but I wish you had come let me get you."I shake my head. "You wouldn't have wanted to see my parents, trust me. I spared you from getting an interrogation this evening when they dropped by my apartment unannounced."It was an hour before the non-profit, tech-related event that Connor and I decided we would use to announce our relationship—precisely two weeks and five days before the unveiling, that my parents showed up.My mom said she was worried because I wouldn't let her help me and getting them out of my apartment came with me promising that I would tell her all the details later, and telling my father that if my career failed, I would join him. I lied through my teeth, of course, but it got them out.Which was why I texted Connor to leave without me.He kisses the back of my palm. "If you asked me to, I would walk on hot coals for you."My cheeks lit up at the sexy drawl of his tone, and

  • I Hate you Mr. BILLIONAIRE    Chapter 37

    Connor"I didn't think you were going to get engaged before I did," Ken says jokingly when we meet at a bar later that evening. "But congratulations, my man."I take a shot and relish the slight burn as the liquid slides down my throat. "Congratulations? Did you hear a word I just said?"He nods. "Yup, I did. Loud and clear. To avoid a scandal that you didn't tell me about, even though I am your right-hand man, you are now in an official relationship with Evelyn. Your neighbor and the woman you are in love with."I groan. "I am not—""You're going to say you're not falling in love with her?" Ken does not hesitate to call me out. "Come on, I've seen the two of you. The double date we were supposed to go on was a chance for you two...to bond or something.""Mira wasn't sick?" I ask.He shakes his head, grinning slyly. "Nope, she wasn't. It was her idea to give you guys an opportunity to go on a date because you were too chicken to ask Evelyn out, and Evelyn has no idea how you feel even

  • I Hate you Mr. BILLIONAIRE    Chapter 36

    ConnorI might wear a path in the carpet of my office floor if I keep pacing, but I cannot stop. My mind is on edge, and my body isn't cooperating, so the best thing to do is keep walking.I am also wondering why Evelyn hasn't come around since she said two days ago that she needed time to think.Of course, she would need some time. I mean, I asked her to get engaged. Of course, I clarified after the initial shock passed that it was a ploy to distract the media so the reporter and everyone involved would stop digging into my life, but I understand an engagement is a serious thing nonetheless."Did I scare her off?" I wonder aloud.For a brief moment, I imagine Evelyn walking in and handing over her resignation letter."I don't know why you would ask me to do such a thing after all I've done for this project. It is your problem to solve, not mine," she would rage.Or would she? God, I'm going to lose it.The second I hear the doorknob I turn my head around.There is no smile on Evelyn'

  • I Hate you Mr. BILLIONAIRE    Chapter 35

    Evelyn"We were starting to think you had forgotten about today," my mom says when I go to the house the next day. "I was going to call, but your father decided against it.""He probably wanted something to hold over my head," I mutter as I walk in, holding a gift bag.If I hadn't set a reminder, I would have forgotten that today was my dad's birthday. So, I'm not mad that he didn't call me. I'll let him stew in his guilt when he realizes he thought badly of me."Darling," my mom calls out, "your daughter is here."My father's footsteps down the stairs are deliberate, as though he's trying to meet his fitness goals. But it's been like that all my life, and it was the sole reason why every time we attended an event, eyes would turn once we walked in.That, and my mother's flare for being fashionably late and her keen sense of style. As a divorce lawyer, my mother always told me there was no need to wear somber clothing in the courtroom as she wasn't trying to sway anyone's opinion in h

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    Connor"Sir," my secretary's tone carries urgency as she walks in, "someone is here to see you. He doesn't have an appointment, but he says he's a reporter, and he knows something you might want to hear."I doubt that.I've had my fair share of reporters pester me, and while none of their shenanigans have damaged my reputation over the years, our interactions have never been pretty. I should turn this one away, but I've never had one come to my office."Send him in."When the door opens again, a man in a blue dress shirt buttoned to the throat and khaki pants walks in. He flashes the ID around his neck."I'm Arnold Goldsmith," he introduces himself. "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice."I shake my head. "Don't thank me yet. I have no idea why you're here, and I might ask you to leave once you tell me."He sounds confident when he replies, "I don't think you will, sir. I came to give you a heads-up, sort of. My brother works here, Adam," he scratches his half-beard, "he ran i

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    Evelyn.As I stand in front of Connor's door, I contemplate knocking or turning away, partly because of the noise that is deafening and also because of my racing heart.I shouldn't be this nervous, as it's not my first time in his apartment. It is not the first time we've met at a party either.Yet, I am, and I know why.Because he came to my door two hours ago, caught me off-guard with the kiss that swept me off my feet, and whispered in my ear that he was hosting a party and wanted me to come."If you don't want to, then I'll cancel it. I don't want to disturb you."My heart fluttered at that, and I smiled so hard I thought my lips would get stuck to my teeth. Thirty minutes before the party, I decided to pick out an outfit. I told myself it was just a party on the floor above mine, so I didn't have to overthink."Yet my bedroom is overrun with clothes," I mutter, reaching out to knock.Why does he not have a doorbell like everyone else?Then it occurs to me that if he did, I would

  • I Hate you Mr. BILLIONAIRE    Chapter 32

    ConnorI cannot stop staring at her.I don't want to stop either, but there's no way to hide it when we are both seated in the back of the car, being driven to the testing center.I knew I should have sat up front in the passenger's seat. The need to be close to Evelyn kept me from doing so because I can't, for the life of me, figure out what she is thinking. It's been a week since we had sex, and she's said nothing about it.Perhaps I should speak up like I did the last time, but I want whatever happens next to be on her terms. I don't want to come off as clingy when I tell Evelyn that sex with her is the best I have ever had and that I'd do anything to spend more time with her.She would most likely laugh and tell me to stop teasing her, but it is the truth. It might have started as sexual attraction, but I want more of her now. I think about taking her golfing again so I can teach her to swing while standing behind her.I want to watch her roll the ball at a bowling alley and see h

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