The CEO's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 35

　　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 into an interview with HR, seen the huge smile on her face as she had looked around his building. That was what had made him walk into the interview room as she had been finishing up.

　　She was not the first woman to look at him with such undisguised need, but there has been something in her eyes that had turned him inside out. Evelyn had undressed him with her eyes and her lust had made his body react as if he had no control over it. In only seconds he had known that he would have her naked and underneath him as soon as he could arrange it.

　　How had they gone from that - the breathlessness, the flushed cheeks, the anticipation - to whatever the fuck that had been outside?

　　This didn't feel like a game anymore. It didn't feel like she was using this to lure him in and get him to play happy families. Maybe that was how the night had started for her, with her waiting outside the Cartright residence, but he could bet all his wealth that Evelyn hadn't expected the night to end like this, either.

　　She didn't want him there. She didn't want him to touch her. If he hadn't taken the car keys, he was sure she would have run away.

　　And that was before she'd even read the damn contract.

　　His phone vibrated and he pulled it out quickly. He didn't know why he expected the message to be from Evelyn, asking him to come upstairs, but he was disappointed to see it was his father.

　　'I hope you reconsider things, son. I'm happy. Let things be.'

　　He put his phone back and poured another drink.

　　He'd already forgotten all about Bains. It was Evelyn and all this bullshit distracting him from what was important again.

　　If Evelyn had just stayed home... If she hadn't started playing these games... If she hadn't met that boy again, then he wouldn't be here. He would have been home congratulating himself on a job well done and putting the next part of the plan into motion.

　　He wouldn't be standing there drinking too much and second-guessing himself.

　　This was a business move, and how Evelyn felt about it didn't come into the equation.

　　So why the hell did he feel like such a dick for doing what had to be done?

　　He didn't know how long he stayed downstairs, waiting for Evelyn's reaction. He paced the sitting room. Paced the kitchen. Up and down the entry hall. He even went outside to walk along the deck. Evelyn didn't call him or come down.

　　He wasn't one for emotional displays but Evelyn was an emotional person and would need to vent about this before she accepted it. Would she even do that now? After the way she has looked at him, would she react at all?

　　He was feeling drained and more than a little drunk when he finally walked up the stairway. When he reached the master bedroom, he stopped outside the door. Maybe it was better to let her process this in her own time. She had to realise by now that he wasn't planning on letting her go anytime soon. He should be happy with that and give her her space.

　　But still, he found his hand on the door handle, and he slowly pushed the door open.

　　He heard her sobs first.

　　Quiet sobs that felt like a punch in the gut. It was probably the alcohol, but he felt his chest start to hurt as the sobs and sniffles continued.

　　That didn't feel like a game either. She wasn't faking any of this.