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And now here he is, doing the exact same thing. Seducing a woman for financial gain.

I’m going to be sick.

“…can count on you for this, right?”

I think I stop breathing as I wait for Lucas’s answer.

Please don’t. Please don’t do this.

When he answers, my heart splits into two.

“Yeah, I’ll do it.”

I turn away from his office, wondering if I’m actually going to be sick right here in front of his door. I have to get out of here. I can’t be here anymore.

I debate making a run for the elevator, but when I look down the hallway, I realize it’s packed with people. The whole office is packed. I need to compose myself somewhere I can be alone.

I make a mad dash for the conference room where I’ve been working. I’ll just hang out there for a few minutes, wait until I can breathe without feeling like there’s a knife in my gut, and then I’ll slip out of here. Lucas works late on Mondays anyway, so I can probably pack my stuff up and be out of his apartment before he gets home. I’ll still finish this case, but I don’t need to be anything more than a contractor in the process. I never should have let those lines blur.

I whirl around when there’s a knock on the door.

And Lucas steps in.

“Hey,” he greets, the biggest smile on his face. “Samantha told me you were here. This is a pleasant surprise.”

Before I can think about doing anything about it, he steps forward and presses a kiss to my lips. His arm goes around my waist, and his forehead drops to mine, a big exhale of relief falling from his lips.

“God, I’m so happy to see you,” he says quietly. When he straightens, his arm still around me, he smiles again and asks, “What brought you in here? I thought I got you all the white boards you needed at home.”

Because he bought me white boards for the apartment. Three giant ones, all because I made one comment about working better with them. He said he wanted me to have what I needed both at the office and at his place.

Why did you have to turn out to be such a piece of shit?

I still can’t believe it. I feel frozen in shock.

“I, um… I brought you food,” I say woodenly, gesturing stiffly at the mac ‘n’ cheese visible in my open backpack. “I figured you probably missed lunch.”

Impossibly, he looks even happier at that. “You brought me mac ‘n’ cheese? How did you even figure out that it’s a guilty pleasure?”

I can’t find the words to answer him. But he doesn’t seem to notice because he’s too busy grabbing the food from my bag and then tilting my face up for another kiss.

I suspect he’s about to deepen it, but to my surprise, he doesn’t. Instead, he pulls back and rests his hand on my neck.

“Speaking of food…” he starts. His eyes dart to mine, looking the tiniest bit nervous. “I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner with me tonight.”

My eyebrows lift in surprise.

He clears his throat and says more clearly, “Or if a dinner date isn’t your thing, we could do something else. Anything else. I just…” His thumb brushes over my jaw. “Go out with me, Charli. Officially. Please.”

And all the shock, all the hurt and fear and confusion, it all fades away. And a calmness settles over me.

“No.”

His brow furrows. “I— What?”

My gaze stays steady. “I said no, I don’t want to go out with you.”

He takes a step back, his frown deepening as he tries to make sense of my rejection. A flash of hurt appears in his eyes.