Bet On It: An Age Gap Billionaire Office Romance(56)

"Those were his exact words."

It was only then that I could tell that Analyn was trying to be strong and stoic, but underneath, she was rattled. I couldn't blame her. Gino—and I suspect anyone working for Gino—was the type of person to intimidate.

"What is Paradise Limited, and why are you working with them?” she asked.

I rounded my desk with the intention of touching her. Of wrapping my arms around her and comforting her. It was only when she tensed upon my approach that I realized what I was doing. It wasn’t something I should be doing. It certainly wasn’t something I was allowed to do. I stopped at the edge of the desk.

"I'm not working with Paradise Limited. They want that, but I’ve been blowing them off. But by approaching you, they've made a very costly mistake. One that I promise I'm going to take care of. I'm sorry that you've been put in the middle of this. It shouldn't have happened."

I realized I had another concern. If Gino knew about my hooking up with Analyn, who else knew? Had anyone at the office found out? Had Analyn’s fears come true? Had the performance report meant that they believed Analyn was using her relationship with me to get what she wanted?

No. Surely, Clive would have hinted at it. And Catherine would've come right out and bluntly said something about it if she knew.

Analyn took in a deep breath as if shoring up her strength. Her dark eyes looked at me, and in that instant, the only thing I wanted was to hold her again.

"I don't know what my performance report said because I haven't gotten a copy of it."

Oh, shit. We always gave staff a copy of the report so that they could review it, and in particular, work on the areas that were suggested could be improved.

"But the things that you said to me about it are absolutely false. You probably think I told these Paradise Limited people about us, but I didn't. I don't want anyone to know what I've done with you, especially now. Especially knowing that you would think I would play you like that."

Jesus fuck. I'd been wrong. Somehow, I had misinterpreted that report. Maybe it was because my anger was clouding my judgment. Maybe it was my frustration at not having something I wanted so badly. And as result, I said heinous, horrible things to Analyn.

I dropped my head in shame. "Analyn, I'm sorry."

It now made sense why Analyn was acting the way she was at work. Yes, I told her she hadn't done a good job of working with her team, but I'd also accused her of using our relationship to get what she wanted at the office. By withdrawing and limiting her communication to email, she was trying to avoid looking like she was making a power play.

"I spoke with Clive this morning. He’s concerned because apparently, you've become withdrawn."

She stared me in the eyes. "Are you going to fire me?"

"No. The quality of your work is good. Clive and your team are happy with your work. It appears that I misinterpreted their review. For that, I'm sorry."

She stared at me like she had expected me to push back harder. To argue with her. She gave a curt nod. "Thank you."

"I'm hoping that when you return to Clive and your team, things will go back to the way they were before your performance report. Clive says you and your team work together very well. He likes your ideas and your enthusiasm."

She blew out a breath. Clearly, she thought I was going to fire her.

"Okay, then."

I leaned against the desk, trying to look relaxed even though what I wanted to do was take her in my arms and make her forget Bo.

"Does that mean you don't think I'm using sex to get what I want from you, while at the same time pushing you away so that I can look professional? You do know how crazy that sounds, right?"

My lips twitched up slightly. "When you say it like that, yes, it sounds a little crazy. But around you, Analyn, I'm ripe for manipulation."

Her eyes flashed with heat. "Manipulation? You think I'm manipulating you?"

I shrugged. "One minute, you and I are having spectacular sex, and a few minutes later, you're on the arm of Bo Tyler. And if social media is to be believed, you’re his new woman. What is that all about?" I hoped that my voice sounded nonchalant, like I didn't care about the answer when in fact, the answer felt like it could be the end of the world for me.

She bit her lower lip. "The thing with me and Bo, that's not real."

I cocked my head to the side. "What do you mean, it's not real?"

She looked down, her fingers fidgeting. "It's fake. He wants to get his mama off his back. Apparently, she's about ready to send some woman out here for him to marry. If it looks like he's seeing someone, then she'll stop hassling him."

"And you agreed to that, even though you and I were . . ." I didn't know how to define what we were. We weren't in a true relationship, but we were fucking on a fairly regular basis.

"I figured if there was any question about you and me, seeing me with Bo would eliminate that. Clearly, with that Paradise Limited person, it didn't work." She lifted her head, and again, her eyes were clear as she stared at me. "I enjoy Bo's company, but we’re just friends. That's all it is."

"What were we?"

She gave a little shrug. "I don't know. More than friends, but . . ." She didn't finish.