The morning after the gala, the atmosphere at the Thorne Empire headquarters was electric. Whispers trailed me like a shadow from the moment I stepped off the elevator. Everyone had seen Alexander whisk me away. Everyone knew about the confrontation with Julian.
I kept my head down, focusing intensely on the spreadsheets on my monitor, desperately trying to ignore the heat rising in my cheeks every time I remembered the slow, devastating kiss we had shared in his living room. He hadn't pushed for more. He had simply held me until I fell asleep on his sofa, and when I woke up, I was tucked into a massive, empty bed, a note on the nightstand saying he had an early meeting and his driver would take me to work.
"Miss Evans."
I jumped, nearly spilling my coffee. Alexander's assistant, a seve
