Roman downed another shot of whiskey as he tried to wash down what he was feeling.
He had expected anger. He'd expected fireworks. But for Evelyn to be so scared that she didn't even want him to touch her? It never even crossed his mind.
Everyone who did business with him did so with a healthy amount of fear. Even the women who threw themselves at him approached him with caution. He never apologised for the things he had to do to stay ahead.
But Evelyn had never looked at him like that, not even once. It was probably the reason he had approached her with the contract to start with.
No fear. Just pure lust.
He had seen her going
Eve looked down at her phone as it rang again for the millionth time. It was Brendan again.He has been messaging and calling since the early hours of the morning. Besides replying with a quick 'I'm okay, I'll call you later,' just so he wouldn't think she was in a ditch somewhere, she'd ignored everything.Even Miranda and Josie had texted to ask where the two of them had disappeared to last night but she hasn't bothered to reply to them.What could she say?She'd just found out she was fucking the devil? She had given her mind and body to an evil bastard who liked to own people like property?He'd used her body's responses to him against her t
Roman pushed away the paperwork he'd been trying to do all day and looked at the food that had been sitting on the table since lunchtime.Evelyn didn't trust him? Really?Wasn't she the one who'd flaunted her boyfriend in his face? Wasn't she the one who'd started playing these games because she wanted him?Well, he was here so what was the fucking problem?He'd gone out of his way to find out what her schedule would be like so he wouldn't disturb her when she was busy with her academic work. He'd given her a date night. He had essentially guaranteed that he would be the one who was available for her, not the other way round.Like a boyfriend.
Eve watched the car drive away and released a shaky breath.Where was he going? Had he listened to her and realised it was over? Or was he going to come back?She felt the numbness leave her body as her fear of him returned. She'd spent all day in the bedroom wondering if he would come up and demand that she did 'her job'.And she'd also been terrified that despite what she knew and how she felt, her body would respond to him anyway. He had a hold on her physical responses that she would never understand. He had been right about that part but she had to let go anyway.As the car turned into the road and the gates slid closed behind it, she stood up and grabbed her phone. Her first call was the taxi
"Sir, Mr. Lloyd is still waiting in the conference room."Roman looked away from the report on his desk to see his timid personal assistant, Penny, at his door. He had no idea how she hadn't quit yet. It had been a couple of months of him acting like a bastard for no reason so she was well within her rights.He looked down at the report again."Is John here?""Yes, sir.""Tell him to take over the meeting. I have something I have to do."John was the Chief Operating Officer and had more than earned his salary lately. He'd kept Ashfield Construction going.
Phillip parked the car in front of the restaurant's glass walls. He had an uninterrupted view from here.It was already dark as it was colder lately, so Roman didn't feel inconspicuous sitting in the car. Not like when he had gone there before. The first time had been in broad daylight and his car had stuck out so much in this neighbourhood that he hadn't been able to stop long enough to see Evelyn.Now he could sit here for however long he wanted like some love-struck teenager waiting to catch a glimpse of his crush.This was so stupid.He was a grown man and should have been able to just walk in and ask to talk. Maybe this was a mistake. Evelyn had put their time together behind her so he had to
Eve walked into her parents home and hung up her coat. Then she took a deep breath and fixed a smile on her face before she walked down the narrow hallway. She stopped at the doorway to the lounge and her smile slipped a little.Her father was in his hospital bed, watching his programs and looking more depressed than she had ever seen him. Most of his equipment surrounded him in the small room, a constant reminder of what his life was now.And it was all her fault."Hey, dad."As always, the moment he heard her voice, the mask he always wore around her appeared as the fake smile formed on his lips."Hey, baby girl," her dad said with that smile
Evelyn walked up the driveway of the house she almost bought for her parents. It looked so different. The shrubs and trees had been trimmed back and the driveway widened, and there were workmen at one side of it. It looked like they had extended it.Roman was so insensitive to bring her here. How did he expect her to feel?But of course, Roman never cared about anyone's feelings.She walked further up the driveway and saw her car parked in front of the construction trucks. Has it been repainted? It looked brand new, even the tyres.A man in a high-visibility and hard hat came out of the front door holding a clipboard. She walked up to him quickly.
Roman heard the soft sound of the door closing as he walked back to the kitchen and let out the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.Step two was done.She was here, breathing the same air as him after so long.But she was still looking at him like the piece of shit that he was. He deserved that. He'd expected it. He just hadn't expected it to stab him in the chest like that.He walked to the coffee maker without looking back and pulled out two mugs. As he was stirring the hot liquid, he heard the shuffling behind him indicating Evelyn had returned to her seat.When he turned back to her, she was gripping her car keys so tigh
Roman opened the door before the doorbell could ring and ushered Phillip inside quickly. “Did you bring it?” He ignored Phillip’s eye roll as he handed him a bag. “I said to hide it!” he hissed as he hid the bag in his coat, “You made me drive all this way for this,” Phillip said. “It was an emergency,” he said. “And I don’t know why you’re complaining. There’s food here, you were going to find an excuse to come, anyway.” He walked to the stairs quickly. “Everyone’s outside. I will be there as soon as I can.”
Evelyn didn’t say anything after his life-altering confession. He could see the unshed tears in her eyes and her mouth dropped open.But no words.“Say something, Evelyn,” he whispered.The rest of his life depended on this conversation. Had he made the right choice? He’d put his heart on the line again knowing that he would never recover if she left him. But was it enough to just tell her he loved her?“There has been no one else for me since you walked into my building for your interview. No one. I saw your face that night when you saw me with Vivian, I know that’s when I lost your trust,” he said. “But I haven’t kissed anyone, I haven’t hugged anyone, I
Evelyn was falling for it again.She didn’t know why she had extended the invitation to him instead of just coming clean to her parents. Now he was taking the role of devoted boyfriend too far. He’d joined in and fit in so easily because that was what he did. He could charm the socks off anyone.And she knew this so why was she falling for it again?Just because they’d danced for the first time? Because he’d looked so vulnerable as if for a change they were having a real conversation?But he had done the same when he’d made her sign the contract. He was good at pretending to be what she wanted. Good at pulling at her heartstrings and making her forget who he was under all of that.
Did he buy enough presents?Roman looked back at the back seat full of wrapped presents, the ones he couldn’t fit into the boot.Fuck. It was too much. Would they think he was trying to buy their affection?The gate slid open and it was too late to pull away and dump the presents somewhere. He drove up the driveway with his nerves playing havoc with him and stopped the car next to Evelyn’s.He could do this. He could meet the parents and tell Evelyn how he felt. Just say it and let the chips fall where they may.He saw the front door open and realised he had been sitting in the car for a while. When he got out, he saw it was Evelyn who&rsq
Roman sipped his drink and looked around the club. There were a few couples just holding each other and swaying rather than dancing. By the looks on their faces, he doubted they even knew what song was playing, they were lost in each other.It made his chest ache.He turned back to his drink and the woman beside him. At least the music was low enough to allow a conversation.If he could open his fucking mouth.“How have you been?” he asked.“You could have asked me that when I came to your apartment earlier,” Evelyn snorted.“I know. But I think you’v
He’d done the right thing.Maybe for the first time in his life.So why did he feel like shit again? Like she’d stomped on his dead heart again?He’d poured himself another drink the moment she had left but he still had it in his hand fuck knew how long later. It had taken everything in him to let her walk out that door, so now he had nothing left.The sound of the door closing pulled him out of his thoughts. He gulped his whiskey down and set the glass down before Phillip walked into the room. Phillip looked at the empty glass and then at him. He was now like an annoying, nagging aunty more than anything.“I&
When the elevator stopped in the basement, Evelyn felt like a fool for assuming too many things. Maybe because the things she had read in Pam’s article had stuck in her head. Why had she even thought he would try to explain his actions? Or maybe tell more lies to try to get her back?She’d been so confident he would do that that she’d been thrown off track when he hadn’t. And then all the things she had wanted to ask had escaped her mind. Now she still didn’t know if her parents’ house was really a done deal or she would have to move them again.And if she was honest with herself, she was gutted that he hadn’t even tried. She’d expected something that would have at least allowed her some closure.What did he mean by saying he n
Eve stopped the car at the barrier and rolled down the window. There were two intimidating security guards in the guardhouse that made her want to turn back instantly.This was a mistake.“Um, I’m here to see Mr. Ashfield,” she said to them.She saw the look on the man’s face before he said, “Mr. Ashfield doesn’t accept visitors,” and then shut his window.Did they get this all the time? Women trying to see Roman without an invitation? Though she had washed her hands of him, it still hurt to think about him moving on.She could have called or messaged Roman to tell her she had arrived but maybe this was a sign
Roman slammed the phone down and ignored Phillip as he looked through the paperwork in front of him. He knew Phillip would have something to say about his behaviour but he was tired of hearing that shit.“Are you going home tonight?” Phillip asked.“Yes, when I finish all this. I’ll drive myself so you can do whatever you want.”“I can order some food_”“I’m fine, Phillip,” he said firmly.“You’ve just shouted at Penny for no reason,” Phillip pointed out.He’d been shouting at her a lot. He was surprised his PA hadn