Page 13

“Yes, sir. It turns out they're traveling together for a meeting.” Frank kept his eyes on the road. “Mr. Herrera took a few days off from Bristen Hospital to accompany Ms. Herrera. They're looking into purchasing a new product.”

Silas nodded, his attention returning to his phone. A moment later, he looked up again.

“Tell Shane to send me his and Allison’s locations personally, three times a day.”

Frank frowned slightly. “But, Mr. Black, Mr. Herrera already sends his location regularly to the security team assigned to protect him.”

Silas lifted his eyes from his phone and shot Frank a sharp glare through the rearview mirror.

Frank's words died on his tongue. He stiffened in his seat, his fingers tightening around the steering wheel. He quickly looked away, started the engine, and pulled away in a hurry without saying another word.

“So you just want Miss Herrera's location three times a day while she's in Paris. Why didn't I figure that out sooner?”

Frank shook his head slightly, suppressing the urge to sigh. His employer had always been calculating, but when it came to Miss Herrera, he seemed to have lost all sense of subtlety.

Still, Frank had no intention of saying any of that aloud. One more look from Silas had been enough to scare the living daylights out of him. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel and kept his mouth firmly shut.

***

Allison settled into her seat on the plane and waited patiently for takeoff. With only a few minutes remaining before the flight departed, her phone vibrated with a text message. She picked it up and glanced at the screen, only to find a notification confirming a transfer of two million dollars into her bank account from Silas.

Confused, she frowned and immediately opened their conversation.

‘Why did you send me money? You transferred two million dollars into my account.’

She waited for his response, expecting him to take some time to reply. Instead, his message arrived within seconds.

‘It's for your trip overseas. Since I'm pursuing you as your future boyfriend, I want to cover your expenses, Miss Herrera.’

Allison bit her lower lip, a deep frown creasing her forehead as she typed her reply.

‘I don't want it. I'm sending the money back to you. Please don't send me money again. I don't want it.’

She immediately opened her banking app and began the process of returning the money. Before she could complete the transfer, another message from Silas appeared on her screen.

She opened it, and her expression darkened as she read his response.

‘If you don't accept it, I'll send the money to Shane instead, and I'll let him know exactly what it's for.’

Allison gritted her teeth, her fingers tightening around her phone.

The stubborn man knew every one of her weaknesses, and he knew exactly how to use them against her. Worse, he could do it so effortlessly that she barely had a chance to fight back.

She drew a long, frustrated breath before typing her response.

‘Fine. I'll keep the money for now, but I'll keep it safe and return it to you after six months if we don't continue this relationship.’

After sending the message, she waited for his reply. Minutes passed without a response, and she began to wonder if he was deliberately ignoring her. Then, just as she was about to put her phone away, another message appeared.

‘Sure.’

Allison let out a deep breath of relief and placed her phone beside her.

As frustrating as Silas was, she couldn't stop thinking about him. His messages kept bringing her mind back to the way he had smiled at her, the way he had looked at her, and the way his eyes had followed her as though she were the only woman in the world worth looking at.

She pressed her lips together, trying to shake off the memories, but her thoughts only wandered back to the kiss they had shared. She could still remember how he had held her close and refused to let her go, along with the sound of his voice as he spoke to her. There had been something both soft and threatening about it, a strange combination that left her unable to decide what to make of him.

Before she could stop herself, the corners of her mouth lifted into a small smile.