Page 14 of Billionaire Dragon King’s Rejected Mate

And even then, even as he made that deliberate choice to create distance, he knew it wasn’t enough. Distance didn’t solve the problem, it only delayed it. The truth sat there, no matter how undesirable it was. He couldn’t fire her, well, wouldn’t fire her, not for something as selfish and avoidable as his own attraction. That left the responsibility squarely onto him to end whatever this was before it became something neither of them could easily step away from.

Which meant he had to push her away.

And there also lay the possibility that he wouldn’t even have to try that hard, because when she eventually found out the truth that he wasn’t just another employee drifting through the same corporate current, she may run far, far away. As the CEO of the entire operation whose name sat at the top of the hierarchy she worked within, that revelation alone might be enough to build the distance he was already failing to maintain.

Once he was showered and dressed more appropriately, Chance headed to talk to the one man he could tell anything to.

Professor Edward “Eddie” Leonard taught at the local university, and Chance had met him totally by accident soon after he relocated to Tampa. A leading authority on the Iskara Northlands and all the lore and mystique that went with it. A simple conversation had turned into a long, trustworthy friendship. Chance suspected that while Eddie didn’t know the whole story, his suspicions were high but never pushed.

The tavern was dim and familiar in a way the rest of his life rarely managed to be. The low hum of conversation and the clink of glasses settled around him as he slid onto a stool and spotted Eddie already halfway through a beer at the far end of the bar.

“Well,” Eddie said as Chance approached, his voice rough with age and amusement, “you look like a man who made a bad decision or is about to.”

“Good to see you too,” Chance muttered and flagged down the bartender for a drink before taking the seat beside him.

Eddie gave him a long, assessing look, the kind that had unnerved him when they’d first met and now felt more like being seen than judged. “So which is it?”

Chance exhaled and dragged a hand through his still-damp hair. “Neither. I just… met someone.”

Eddie snorted. “That’s worse.”

“It’s not like that,” Chance said quickly, though the words felt thin even as he said them. “She works for the company.”

“Ah,” Eddie said and leaned back slightly. “There it is.”

“It’s not there it is,” Chance insisted and took a long sip of his beer like that might anchor him. “It’s a problem. She’s in marketing.”

Eddie raised a brow. “And?”

“And I can’t get involved with an employee,” Chance said, sharper now, because saying it out loud made it real in a way he couldn’t sidestep. “That’s not complicated.”

Eddie took his time finishing his drink and sat the glass down with a soft thud before glancing over at him again. There was something distinctly entertained in his expression.

“You could just fire her.”

Chance choked on his beer. He coughed as he shot Eddie a look. “I’m not firing someone because I’m attracted to them.”

“Seems efficient,” Eddie said mildly.

“It’s insane,” Chance shot back. “And unethical. And no. That’s not even an option.”

Eddie studied him for a second longer this time, the humor fading just enough to let something more perceptive take its place. “So what are you going to do?”

Chance leaned back and stared at the worn wood of the bar, his reflection faint in the glass behind it. “I don’t know,” he admitted, though the words felt like a lie even as he said them, because he did know, he just didn’t like it. “Keep my distance. Let it… fizzle out.”

“And you think it will?” Eddie asked.

“It has to,” Chance said, quieter now. “Because if it doesn’t, it gets complicated in ways I can’t fix.”

Eddie huffed. “Everything worth anything is complicated.”

“Not like this,” Chance said, shaking his head. “She doesn’t even know who I am, not really.”

Eddie knew Chance’s real identity and most of the royal drama, minus the dragon part.

“And whose fault is that?” Eddie asked.

Chance didn’t answer, because they both knew.