Late that night, Milo was still at the office hours after he’d sent Constance home. He’d seen that she had a good dinner and then fucked her until they were both breathless, but then he’d insisted she go home for the night.

He’d had to.

He didn’t trust himself not to give into the urge, the instinct to take her back to his house.

And he couldn’t do that, because if Constance was ever in his bed, he’d never let her leave.

Whatever this was between him and Constance was growing, and he was fighting desperately to keep it in check, maintain the unspoken but vital boundaries around what he and Constance were doing. It was that, or risk losing himself to her completely, a battle that he worried he’d already lost.

When his office door opened, he looked up, hoping it was Constance, saddened when he saw that it wasn’t, but also relieved because he didn’t know what he’d say if he saw her right now.

“You work hard for someone so rich,” his friend Valentino Harper said as he strolled in and sat in the chair across from Milo.

“How do you think I stay rich?” Milo replied.

Val chuckled and rocked back in the chair, his sweats and bruised hands completely at odds with the office furniture Constance had picked.

He paused at that moment, wondering if there was anything in his life Constance hadn’t had a hand in. How had he overlooked how involved she was, how much he had come to rely on her, for so long?

“Want to tell Val all your troubles?” Val said.

Milo started scribbling on a piece of paper but knew that wouldn’t deter Val. They’d been friends for decades, and no matter how busy he was, Milo was at Val’s boxing gym at least once a week. That he’d missed three weeks in a row was no doubt the reason for Val’s visit.

“You gonna make me guess? Did Constance finally quit on your ass? That would explain why you’re still here. Probably can’t find your way to the elevator without her,” Val said.

Milo looked up sharply, his heart pounding at the thought. He glared at Val but then tried to hide his anger. But he realized it was too late when Val nodded at him knowingly.

“No, Val. Constance hasn’t quit,” Milo said tightly.

Val lifted a brow. “Okay, so you’ve finally told her how you feel?”

“Why are you interested in Constance all of a sudden?” Milo asked, his anger rising.

“It’s worse than I thought,” Val said.

“What the fuck are you talking about Val?” he said through gritted teeth.

“Even a dummy like me could see that you’ve been in love with the woman for years. She must love you back or she wouldn’t put up with your shit. So did you guys seal the deal?”

“Fuck off, Val,” Milo muttered.

“Don’t tell me you’ve fucked it up already?” Val said.

Milo bit back the anger that was building and glared at Val. “Constance is not your concern. And not that you deserve an answer to that stupid question, but there’s nothing between us. She’s simply my assistant. Nothing more,” Milo said, wishing he could believe his own lie.

Movement at the doorway made him look up, and in an instant, he saw Constance standing there, face white with shock.

He wanted to go to her, but he stayed put.

If he gave in to the impulse that told him to go to her, he would be admitting that there was something more between them, admitting how much he wanted that.

But he couldn’t.

He blinked, and Constance was gone.