“I promise never to cause you unneeded stress again,” Alexander continued in that rough, low voice of his. “I know that your life is already stressful enough without me adding to it.” He swallowed, and I watched his throat bob up and down, mesmerized by that simple action. “I don’t want to be the reason you worry, Olivia. I want to bring you peace.”


    A quiet gasp escaped my lips, and my legs trembled. His words sent a shiver up my spine. What was he saying? Why did this sound like the beginning of a confession?


    Alexander let out a long, slow breath and tore his eyes away from me as he looked up at the ceiling. “I want you to know that I will never force you to do anything.”


    “I know that, Alexander,” I assured him in an unsteady voice, wondering where he was going with this.


    He looked back down at me when I said his name. Then, he took a step away from me, and my body protested at the loss of the heat that always radiated off of him. His expression changed until it was unreadable.


    “What do you say that we put all the previous…unpleasantness behind us and pretend like it never happened?” he suggested, and a tight- lipped smile crossed his face.


    “That sounds good,” I said quickly.


    When I sat back on the couch, I couldn’t help but think that Alexander had that conversation with me because he was going on a trip with


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    11:47


    another woman. Had he asked me to workte just so he could set clear boundaries in our rtionship? Because if we were being honest with ourselves, we had both blurred those lines before.


    I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I reviewed another financial report. Alexander was giving me busy work. He had only asked me to workte just so he could talk to me alone. Whatever. At least I would make more money on my paycheck this week with overtime.


    An hour passed, and if I was being honest, I barely focused on the numbers in front of me. I was thinking about Naomi Wright. Maybe her sudden appearance in Alexander’s life was a blessing in disguise. With her taking on the romantic role in his life, then I could focus on my true role as Alexander’s assistant. Once Alexander and Naomi’s rtionship went public, then the gossip about him and I would die down. Maybe I was looking at this all wrong.


    But then I imagined Naomi’s perfect face, long legs, and that suggestive white smile that she kept shing at Alexander. Without meaning to, I crumpled the corner of an important document. My stomach swooped when I looked at the damage, and I nced up at Alexander. Thankfully, he wasn’t paying attention to me. He was looking down at his phone, typing out a message.


    My hands clenched in myp. Was he texting Naomi?


    At midnight, Alexander said that it was time to go home. Thankfully, Gai offered to drive me home because I didn’t want to ept a ride from Alexander. He didn’t even look up as he wished me good night. Something that bothered me even though I wished it didn’t.


    When I got home, I hopped in the shower, then dressed in my mostfortable pair of ck sweatpants and an oversized pink shirt. My stomach was still upset, so I searched my medicine cab for stomach pills, but I didn’t have any. I tried to just go to sleep, but it felt like my stomach was on a roller coaster ride with the way it twisted and


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    11:47


    Ajeem tub


    turned


    When the clock struck one at night, I groaned. It was no use. I needed stomach pills in order to sleep. My eyelids dropped as I grabbed my car keys off the counter and drove to the store.


    After driving around for twenty minutes, I sighed in relief when I spotted a pharmacy that was open at thiste hour. But as I flipped on my turn signal, the hair on the back of my neck rose. It felt like


    someone was watching me…


    *Author*


    “I wonder where she’s headed?” Alexander asked his bodyguard.


    Alexander and Richard were in the car watching Olivia. They had been following her from a distance ever since she left work with Gai.


    In response to his boss’s question, Richard merely shook his head. “Why don’t you just go up to her and see if she’s alright?” Richard suggested and rubbed his eyes. He had gotten very little sleep ever since he started working for Alexander. It was a good thing he paid well.


    “I don’t want to scare her. She’s been on edge all night,” Alexander exined. “I can tell that something is wrong.”


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