Act Like You Love Me (Jessica) novel Chapter 195

Chapter 195

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Daphne’s POV

I felt the heat climb up my neck, but I refused to back down. My pride was already wounded; I might as well go all in.

“Well, I wouldn’t have to threaten you if you’d just say yes to my request,” I countered, my hands gesturing wildly as I paced a small semi-circle in front of his desk.

“Besides, this would be such an important move for me! The growth potential there is exponential, sir. I need the money, and I need the experience of working directly under the CEO. If you don’t put me on that list, I… I might as well just give up on everything.”

I was rambling, and I knew it. I was pitching a life in Suzhou just to avoid the reality of a life in his guest room, but I had to make him believe the lie was my only truth.

David leaned back in his leather chair, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

He didn’t look fazed at all. He looked like he was watching a particularly strange episode of a sitcom.

The pay you’d get there is the same as what you get here, Daphne,” he said, his voice dropping into that deep, resonant frequency.

“If it’s just about the money, I’ll just give you a raise. A significant one. And I hope you put it to good use instead of whatever this performance is.”

I felt my face heat up. I rolled my eyes, a reflexive defense mechanism against the fact that he’d just solved my financial problem while simultaneously calling me out.

“It’s not a ‘performance. It’s about being valued.”

“You’re valued,” he said simply, though his tone was clipped.

You’re valued.’

The phrase looped in my mind until I almost reached out to kiss him.

He didn’t say anything for a long time. The silence in the room stretched out, thick and heavy.

I felt like a fool, standing there pleading for an exit strategy while my heart was secretly begging him to tell me who Julie

was

“Go to work, Daphne,” he said finally, his voice soft but absolute,

Bur-

I said

go

to work.” He reached for a folder on the edge of his desk, but as he did, a single sheet of paper fluttered off and landed on the floor. It settled right by the toe of his shoe.

He didn’t move. He just looked at me, his gaze expectant.

I glared at the paper. It was six inches from his hand. He was dog this on purpose.

He was asserting hus dominance, reminding me exactly who was the boss and who was the assistant

and there for a second, debating the merits of uning on and walking out, but then i thought of Lois.

De pf the surgery money I thuaight of the recommend I needed for Aarons

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Chapter 195

I swallowed my pride-it tasted like bitter gall-and stepped forward. I leaned down to retrieve the paper.

As I started to straighten up, my heel caught on the edge of the plush rug.

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I lurched forward, my hands instinctively reaching out for something to steady myself. That “something” ended up being David’s shoulders.

The impact sent his chair rolling back a few inches, and before I knew it, I was stumbling into his lap.

My palms were pressed against his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin through the fine cotton of his shirt.

My face was inches from his, so close I could see the golden flecks in his blue eyes.

The room went silent. The only sound was the thudding of my heart, which felt like it was trying to break through my ribs.

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even breathe. I was trapped in the gravity of him.

David didn’t push me off. His hands came up, hovering near my waist before he slowly raised one to my face.

His thumb traced the line of my cheek, the movement so light it was almost a whisper. I felt a shiver run down my spine that had nothing to do with the air conditioning.

“If you want to say something to me, Daphne, say it,” he said. His voice was deep, dropping into a register that made my toes curl.

“Stop going through the comer, Stop the theatrics about China and the resignati

I stared at him, my brain short-circuiting.

Say what? That I’m jealous of a woman I ‘think’ is his partner, and was in his wondering if you’re thinking about me?

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. I felt like I was drowning in his

Signation letters. Just say it.”

Shirt a few nights ago? That I stay up at night

gaze.

A ghost of a smirk played on his lips. It was a knowing, arrogant, maddeningly

attractive look..

He gently gripped my waist and stood me back up, releasing me as if nothing had happened.

He turned back to his laptop, his fingers hitting the keys with clinical precision.

“Go to work, Daphne. You are not resigning anytime soon. I’m not processing that letter.”

I stood there, my legs feeling like jelly, my face probably the color of a ripe tomato.

“And if you really want to work in China,” he added, not looking up, “you have to give me a reason to pitch it to Aaron. A real reason. Not a tantrum.”

“I wasn’t throwing a tantrum,” I whispered, though it lacked any conviction.

“I’ll see you in the boardroom,” he dismissed me, his tone final.

I turned and walked out of the room, my mind a complete wreck

I didn’t know whether to be angry that he’d called my bluff, or happy that he wasn’t letting me go. But as I walked down the hallway toward my office, his words kept looping in my head.

If you want to say something to me, then say it, Daphne.

Did he know? Did he see right through the “silly silent treatment and the China excuses? The thought made me want to

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Chapter 195

crawl into a hole and stay there forever.

If David Tyrone knew I had feelings for him, I was in more trouble than a move to Suzhou could ever fix.

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C