Page 86 of Sexting His Assistant

People begin to disperse slowly, quietly, with the nervous relief of those who have been told to go back to normal and know normal no longer exists. Meredith approaches with follow-up notes. Pavel leans in to mention a security briefing. A board member tries to catch my eye from the aisle.

I ignore all of them for one second too long.

Because Nina is leaving.

She slips away from the wall, turning toward the side exit with her phone in one hand and her bag over her shoulder. She does not look back.

Something ugly and impatient moves through me.

“Nina,” I say.

She stops. Slowly, she turns.

The room continues moving around us, people pretending not to notice the exact thing they are noticing.

Her expression is polite when she faces me. Polite. “Yes, Mr. Kazan?” she says.

The title is a slap delivered in silk.

My shoulder throbs.

My temper, which has survived worse than bullets, nearly does not survive that.

I step down from the stage and walk toward her, aware of every pair of eyes pretending to look elsewhere. She watches me approach, chin lifted, mouth calm, but I can see the pulse at her throat.

When I stop in front of her, she looks first at the sling, then at my face.

“How is your shoulder?” she asks.

“Manageable.”

“That is not an answer.”

“It’s the only one you will get in this hallway.”

Her gaze narrow. “Then perhaps you should not have asked for me in this hallway.”

“Come with me,” I say.

Her brows lift. “Where?”

“Somewhere quieter.”

“I have work.”

“You have five minutes.”

Her mouth tightens. “Do I?”

I hold her gaze.

For a moment, I think she’ll refuse simply because she knows I expect obedience. Then she exhales through her nose, turns, and walks ahead of me toward the alcove near the side corridor.

I follow her.

The alcove is not private, not truly, but it is shielded from the main hall by a dark marble column and a wall of decorative glass. Anyone determined enough could see us. No one intelligent enough would try.

Nina stops near the wall and folds her arms. “Well?” she asks.