Page 55 of Modern Romance May 2026 Books 1-4
She could lay off the anger and outrage; he would do nothing to get in the way of her work. They could handle this like adults—calmly, rationally, reasonably. The bare fact of the matter was that he’d forgotten who he was for five minutes and he’d loved it. He’d been no one—just a guy in the dark with a girl. A traveller with no responsibilities and obligations, nothing but the freedom to do what he wanted. And he’d wanted her. Maybe she thought he’d used her and maybe he had, but she’d used him, too.
‘I can only apologise for not telling you who I was sooner, but I genuinely lost track of everything when we were up there,’ he said.
‘You just wanted to get off.’
‘Yes.’ He refused to be ashamed of that. ‘Same as you.’
She stared at him, clearly waiting for more. She was right to wait—he hadn’t told her everything, but he could hardly admit he’d been trying to find out about her because he was worried about her intentions towards his teenage cousin. He’d been a fool. He did need to fix this. ‘I can assure you that this won’t affect your job—’
‘You’re right, it won’t. Because I worked hard to earn my place in P1 Global. I earned it on merit and I’mkeepingmy spot.’
That was a fair point. He’d been consumed by desire; he’d let emotions cloud his judgement. From the moment he’d seen her in that damned video, he’d acted completely on impulse—something he’d not done inyears.
‘Why were you even on a cargo flight? Why weren’t you on your fancy private jet?’ She lifted her chin. ‘How did you know my name?’
‘I know all my employees’ names.’
It was a lie, but he didn’t want to admit why he knew hers. Not confess he’d been there to quietly vet her motivations for being in the garage. That he’d considered her a threat to his cousin would only make her more angry and his suspicionwasinsulting. Even though where he came from, ulterior predatory motivations were totally common, she was hardly about to offer him anypoor little rich boypity. And he didn’t want it.
‘All five thousand of them? How very impressive,’ she drawled sceptically. ‘But you don’t give a damn about workplace ethics or abusing your power.’ Her gaze went right through him.
‘I didn’t abuse my power. You didn’t know whoIwas. I didn’t coerce you as your boss and I’m not going to now.’ Even so, Massimo hadn’t felt guilt like this in years. ‘What happened isn’t going to make a jot of difference to your job.’
‘Because I’m too low level for you to bother with?’
‘Lily—’
‘Thisdidn’t happen,’ she snarled suddenly. ‘No one willeverknow about this.’
He stared at her, ruthlessly suppressing his rising rebellion. The gulf of rejection. Who was she to dictate terms to him? He’d worked too hard for too long to gain complete control over his life, his family, his company. He’d not set a foot out of line in years. He’d been nothing but diligent and disciplined, driven to secure the family name, to recover the company, prove himself to those who’d disparaged him. Massimo owed it to his father. For all his failings, his father had fought so hard for him. But Massimo was not making the same mistakes. Only he just had—indulging in weakness for a beautiful woman.
‘I don’t want anything from you. Absolutelynothingaside from your discretion. Do you understand?’ Distress whitened her face. ‘I’m not having the last five years of hard work wiped out by a single whisper of impropriety.’
He bit the inside of his cheek, waiting for her to finish.
‘We’ll never have anything to do with each other. We’ll stay fifteen feet away from each other at all times.’
We. Her language linked them like a team, a couple.Lovers. Triumph flickered, reigniting his crazy attraction. She was a slight figure of fury and spellbinding with it.
‘We’ll never discuss it.’ Her eyes glinted suspiciously. ‘In fact, we’ll never actually speak again.Ever.’
Despite it being justified, her judgement outraged him. Even though she was insisting on a protocol that he’d have demanded from her had he spoken first, he was utterly frustrated by the harsh rules she was imposing. Fully triggered, he didn’t want to agree to her requirements. For the first time in years he wanted to rebel. To do what hewanted, not what wasexpected. But then giving in to that urge once tonight is what had him in this current untenable position.
Now she looked disturbingly pale. ‘Do you agree?’
He gritted his teeth. ‘Completely.’
‘Then I’m out of here.’
But that last little thing Massimocouldn’tagree to. ‘I’ll get out of the car. My driver will see you home safely.’
‘That’s not necessary.’
Of course she refused. Of course she was determined to have everything her own way—just as she’d had everything she’d wanted on that damned plane. But this time they didn’t want the same thing.
‘I’ve agreed to all your stipulations,’ he said softly. ‘Can’t you concede this?’
Her gaze clashed—locked—with his and they both remained immobile. The smallest satisfaction swept through him. He could spend all day staring at her. Except her lips trembled, and regret coursed through him.
