Chapter 55

(Mike's POV).

“Next time, if she comes and just brings flowers or any other stuff, throw it in the basket. And if she asks or gets mad at you, tell her it’s my command.”

I leaned back in my chair as I said this to my secretary. She nodded without a word, her eyes widening slightly before she turned and left the room.

I knew she didn’t want to get in the middle of whatever was going on, but it couldn’t be helped. Ellen had to understand that showing up unannounced with gifts wasn’t going to work. Not anymore.

I sighed, rubbing my temples as the door closed behind the secretary. Why couldn’t Ellen just give up?

After all this time apart, she still showed up like nothing had happened, as if we hadn’t both moved on. Well, I had moved on—clearly, she hadn’t.

I thought what we had was just… limited to the bedroom. There were no emotions, no strings, just a mutual understanding. Or so I thought.

But Ellen had been around longer than anyone else. I couldn’t deny that. She knew me in ways m