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.

　　When the door was fully open, he saw her little frame on the bed, facing away from him. Her whole body was shaking as she continued to cry. Had she been crying all this time?

　　His feet were moving towards her before he'd even thought about it.

　　There was a lump in his throat that wouldn't go away no matter how many times he swallowed. He just wanted her to stop crying, shout at him if she needed to, then get back to normal. This wasn't forever, surely they could work this out like adults. No games, no bullshit. It wasn't as bad as she thought.

　　He wasn't a monster; family was important, so he wasn't going to kick her parents out of the house. They could agree and he would honour it.

　　"Evelyn," he whispered.

　　The sobs stopped as Evelyn sat up on the bed and scrambled as far away from him as she could.

　　He stopped moving.

　　The fear was still in her swollen eyes and the pain. It cut him deeper this time. Would she ever look at him the same?

　　"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

　　Evelyn shook her head and got off the bed. She walked to the bathroom without another look at him.

　　He should have respected her wishes and left the room, but he found himself sitting on the bed to wait. Something in him didn't want to leave her like this. It didn't feel right.

　　When Evelyn came out she stopped in her tracks, clearly surprised to see he was still there. Her face looked freshly washed but he could see the tears were still close to the surface.

　　"Let's talk about it, Evelyn."

　　Evelyn bit her lip and avoided his gaze. He could feel it on his bones that she didn't want to even see him right now.

　　"What did I do to you to make you hurt me like this?"

　　"I'm not trying to hurt you," he said as he stood up.

　　Evelyn took a step back. He stopped moving and tried not to react to that but fuck, that was messing him up in ways he hadn't expected.

　　"I'm just trying to stop all the games. We can just go back to how we were and enjoy each other."

　　"Games? You're the only one here playing games, Roman."

　　He wasn't going to start arguing about that now. They could put all that shit behind them and start fresh from today.

　　"Your parents will be okay. I'll sell you the house at a discount when we're really done with each other," he confessed. "I can put that in writing."

　　Something he said made her tears start to fall again.

　　"Can't you just let me go now?" she whispered.

　　Was that what she really wanted? To leave?

　　He frowned as he studied her body language. Yes, she wanted to leave now. But he still needed more time with her. If she left when things were so explosive then they would never really be done with each other. She just needed time to accept that.

　　"I can't," he answered, and then turned away from her quickly to walk out of the door.

　　But he'd already seen the look on her face and he felt like an even bigger dick.