“These three are my proposed targets,” Valentina tells me as she ces a document on my desk. “If we acquire thesepanies, we’re positioned to expand the way you intend to.”


    No pink sticky note, yet again. I always hated them, but much to my surprise, I’vee to miss them. She hasn’t given me one since I kissed her, and it’s surprising how bleak my world has be as a result of it. It’s odd how it’s the little things I miss the most.


    I wish that were the only thing she’s refused to give me, but it isn’t. She’s also been withholding her smiles and the mockery I always convinced myself I despised. Valentina no longer calls me out on things the way she used to, and she’s be careful around me. She does her work without offering unsolicited opinions, and I miss her sharp wit.


    “Tell me more about each of them,” I murmur, needing an excuse to keep her in my office, to hear her voice. We barely speak these days. More and more, she’s using thepany’s instant messaging system instead of walking into my office the way she would have in the past, and when she does enter my office, it’s always brief.


    “The document in front of you details everything you need to know,” she tells me, her voice clipped. It pains me to look at her. Having her standing so close and knowing I can’t touch her is the very definition of torment.


    “My head hurts,” I lie. “Please summarize it for me.”


    Why do I continue to torment her this way? I know better than anyone that this’ll only make her dislike me more, yet I can’t help myself. I want to keep her right here, where I can see her.


    For a moment, I see annoyance sh through her eyes, and I pray she snaps at me and gives me the sass she used to. Dull disappointment washes over me when she nods and does as I ask, her voice as calm and professional as usual.


    I never realized how much I’de to love our partnership, because that’s exactly what it was. Valentina ceased being a mere employee years ago. If anything, she should have been my Chief Operating Officer, since that’s the exact role she performed, until recently.


    “Stop,” I murmur. “Please, Valentina.”


    Her eyes widen, and she looks caught off-guard. “Of course,” she says, nodding. She gestures toward the papers on my desk. “You can find the rest of the information right there.”


    She steps back, and I shake my head. “No,” I tell her. “You know that’s not what I meant.”


    For one single moment, the same loneliness I feel shes through her eyes, and my heart starts to ache.


    “I told you I’m sorry, Valentina. I’ll say it a thousand times if you want me to. What will it take for us to go back to the way we used to be?”


    She looks away, her gaze unreadable. “I’m not sure what you mean,” she tells me, lying right to my face. “I believe I’ve been perfectly professional, and as far as I’m aware, I haven’t crossed <span id="page_60">any boundaries. Is there something you’re dissatisfied with? If you tell me what it is, I’ll improve it.”


    My heart clenches painfully and I run a hand through my hair, my eyes falling closed. “You truly do drive me insane,” I whisper.


    Her eyes sh with something that would’ve brought me to my knees if I wasn’t sitting. It was almost as though my words reminded her of that night. Pain. Lust. Longing. Loneliness. All of it blended together in those stunning hazel eyes of hers.


    “We were a perfect team, Valentina. Are we really going to let one single night ruin that? How much longer will you treat me so coldly?”


    She raises a trembling hand to her face and pushes her hair behind her ear. “I apologize,” she says, her voice soft. “It wasn’t my intention to treat you coldly, Luca. I was merely trying to act professional and abide by the boundaries you drew. I once forgot my ce, and I don’t want to let that happen again. I got toofortable, and it nearly cost me my job.” She pauses and crosses her arms, vulnerability filling those beautiful eyes of hers. “I don’t want you to feel like I’m using you, your family, or yourwork. I’m scared to do something that will make you misunderstand me, because the price for that is one I cannot pay. My family relies on me, Luca. I need this job, and I…”


    Her eyes fall closed, torment taking over her expression. Fuck. Fuck. What have I done? She inhales shakily and forces a fake smile. It’s odd how even that now makes my heart race. It’s been months since she gave me one of those. I used to hate them, yet now I crave them. “I’m sorry,” she murmurs. “I’ll try my best to change my behavior.”


    I look away and breathe in deeply. “No,” I murmur. “Forget I said anything.” I brush my hand through my hair and sigh. “Valentina, I won’t fire you so easily. I know what I said, and I’d give the world to take it back. I swear to you that the only way <span id="page_61">you’ll lose your job is if you leave me no other choice. I’ll never fire you over something trivial. I shouldn’t have let anger dictate my words, and I truly do apologize.”


    She nods at me, but it’s clear she doesn’t believe me. I lost the small amount of trust she’d given me.


    It’s been months, and at first, I thought we’d recover from this with time, but it looks like I was wrong. For years, I pushed her away and told her to remember her ce, yet now that she’s actually heeding my warnings, I wish she’d defy me the way she always has.


    Valentina walks away, leaving me staring after her. I always thought I hated her, so why does it feel like I lost my best friend? I took her for granted and didn’t even realize it.


    My office door opens suddenly, and my head snaps back up. My eyes widen in surprise when my grandmother walks in, disappointment washing over me. For a moment, I thought Valentina had walked back in.


    I frown as I rise from my seat. While she’s technically the chairwoman of thispany, my grandmother neveres to the office anymore.


    “Grandma.” I walk around my desk and hug her tightly. “What are you doing here?”


    She sighs and nces back through the ss wall, her eyes settling on Valentina seated behind her desk. She’s got her head down as she types away, her expression unreadable. “This is the only way I get to see her,” Grandma says, her tone filled with usation. She looks back at me and raises her brows. “What did you do to her to make her stay away? She hasn’te home for dinner in months. Even Sierra and Raven are worried. This goes beyond the petty feud you had with her. She’s staying away from her friends, from me — because of you.”


    I look away, guilt rendering me speechless. How could I possibly tell my grandmother what happened between us?


    “This can’t go on like this, Luca,” she warns me.


    I nod and nce at Valentina. “I know,” I whisper.