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He chuckled and sat back in his chair. “When you were a teenager I would’ve given anything to hear those words.” With a sigh, he shrugged. “But I think this is something you have to decide for yourself.”
She groaned.
Vero came up behind her and massaged her shoulders. “Listen to your heart. It knows what to do.”
Mila snorted. Her mom would say the opposite. She’d been avoiding her for that very reason. Maybe part of her wanted her dad to tell her to go for love. Maybe because part of her wanted to keep Atlas.
No. That was a lie. All of her wanted to keep Atlas.
People said love could overcome all obstacles. Why wasn’t it overcoming this? If she loved him so much, why wasn’t the answer clear?
Vero worked a knot from her shoulder and Mila started to relax. “You’re good,” she said on a sigh. “You should be getting paid for this.”
She chuckled. “I think you’re afraid,” she said quietly.
Afraid? “Of what?”
“I don’t know. But it seems like this guy has reached a part of you no one ever has and you’re afraid to give him too much.”
Mila blinked, stiffened.
“I’ll make tea.” Vero moved away and started to fill a kettle with water.
Was that was this was about? Her being a submissive?
If she were honest with herself, parts of it were terrifying. It was one thing to play around, knowing the relationship wasn’t forever, just enjoying the sex for the sake of fun. But could she . . . marry someone like that? Could she submit to someone forever? Atlas didn’t seem like the type to turn it on and off depending on Mila’s whims. If she stayed with him, their roles, at least in the bedroom, were pretty set.
But he made her feel so good. Even giving up control felt strangely right. With him. Only him. It scared her but also freed her.
Mila sat forward and rested her elbows on the table and her head in her hands. “Worst-case scenario . . .” She wasn’t sure whether she was talking to her dad and Vero or herself. “Roberts finds out, I lose my job.” Could Atlas support them with his computer business, assuming he took her back? It didn’t seem as if there was an issue with money there, but did she want to be dependent on a man?
“You could always work as a security guard,” he dad said.
She grimaced but acknowledged it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. She lifted her head and looked at her dad. “Worst-case scenario the other way around . . . I lose Atlas.” Tears prickled her eyes. “I . . . I can’t live with that.”
“I think you have your answer,” her dad said.
***
“You look like shit,” Joel said as she dragged herself into the office that morning.
She nearly decked him. “You have a stain on your shirt, you haven’t had a haircut in weeks, and you think I look like shit?” Stupid sexism.
“Whoa. Touchy touchy.”
Mila dropped her bag by her desk and sat down, hoping Joel had the brains to recognize when he should back off.
A moment later, he was at her side, his rolling chair right up against hers. “So what’s going on?”
“Fuck off.” She started up her computer. “I’m not in the mood today.”
As usual, he didn’t take the hint. “Is this about the car-theft ring? Do you need to ask Roberts for a partner?”
She ignored him, and logged on to her computer instead.
“Because . . . I could help you out,” he continued. “You and I were a good team back in the day.”
She scoffed. “Back in the day was a year ago, and we were a terrible team.”
