Page 41 of It Kills Me

“You’re in better shape than I am, and you’re almost twice my age.”

He chuckled. “Thank you, sweetheart. I meant mentally. Having a woman is a lot of work, and I’m not sure if that’s something that interests me.”

“So, you like being alone?”

“Alone?” he asked, his head cocked. “I’m constantly surrounded by people. I don’t feel alone. I have you—and you’re the only thing that really matters.”

I felt the warmth in my chest. “I just want you to be happy.”

“I am happy, sweetheart. I’m rich, powerful, healthy, and I have you. No complaints.”

I watched him across the table, a man who was warm on the outside but complex underneath. He was only kind to me, but I knew there had to be more to him to run an empire like this. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything, sweetheart.”

“You’ve always said not to mix business with pleasure… Where does that come from? What made you feel this way?”

He stilled at the question and watched me, his eyes slightly narrowed. “Why do you ask?” His tone was totally different now, going from friendly to hostile in a nanosecond. The warmth of our conversation had been immediately iced.

“I—I just remember a couple years ago, you mentioned someone betrayed you. I’ve always wondered what happened that night and if that’s the reason you don’t trust people.”

“I don’t trust people because everyone is always out for themselves. And I would trust them less if they weren’t out for themselves.” His eyes hadn’t left my face, and since I’d provoked him, he hadn’t blinked. Not once.

“So…what happened?”

He continued his stare, his dark eyes devoid of their usual affection.

“Sorry, forget I asked,” I said quickly. “I didn’t mean to upset you.” I hardly ever saw my father angry. I’d been an adult for a while now, so he didn’t reprimand me like he had when I was a kid. But this kind of anger was different from the anger I was used to.

He took a breath and slowly released it. “You just caught me off guard, sweetheart. I’m not angry with you.”

Really? Because he seemed angry.

“The incident you’re referring to happened seven years ago. You’d officially become an adult and went to university, and I had a professional relationship that deepened into something more. At least, I thought it had.” His chin dropped, and he looked at the table. “I met her through mutual contacts, and in my naïveté, I didn’t think about all the possible consequences. Basically, I ended the relationship when it became more trouble than it was worth, and she decided to burn those professional relationships to the ground. I lost my distributors and connections. Her brother was so pissed off, he marked me as his enemy. Permanently.”

I was stunned in my silence. “I never knew this…”

“Another reason I’m not interested in having a relationship.” He shook his head. “To this day, it’s still a problem. I changed distributors a few times, but they weren’t as reliable, and then I decided to give Axel a try, even though he’s not ideal.”

“Why isn’t he ideal?” I blurted, knowing I shouldn’t show too much interest.

My father studied me for a moment. “Because I don’t like him.”

My heart clenched before it dropped. I wanted to press for more information, but I feared too much curiosity would tip him off.

“Keep your personal life separate from your professional life—that’s the moral of the story. I think anyone in any industry will tell you the exact same thing.”

I’d just walked into the kitchen when my phone lit up with a message.

I miss you, Pretty. I heard his voice in my head as I read the message. Then I remembered the way his thick arms felt wrapped around my body, the way they cocooned me in their warmth. He had such a powerful kiss, the one that stole my breath and made me gasp for air.

Are you talking to me or my pussy? I could picture the smirk on his face as he read that.

Both.

I typed a message back then deleted it. My father’s words had haunted me ever since he’d spoken them. The guilt was constricting, because if my foolish mistakes affected him, I’d feel like shit.

Speak your mind, Pretty. He must have seen the three little dots and expected a message, but then they disappeared instead.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com