Dangerously Mine

Eleven

FIONA

I was barely holding it together when he reached for my hand.

I looked up into those deep brown eyes, and for a second the room narrowed around us. The handshake lasted too long, long enough to feel wrong. I cleared my throat and pulled away. I didn’t need Mr. Hale noticing anything out of place.

We left the building the same way we’d entered. Mr. Hale was pleased. The deposition, in his opinion, had gone well. He believed this angle could shift responsibility away from Delaney or at least create enough doubt by pointing toward the software instead of the user.

I responded when needed, nodding at the right moments, but my mind was still upstairs in that glass room.

The car ride back was quiet. When we returned to the office, I went straight to the bathroom.

I locked myself in and gripped the edge of the sink, staring at my reflection. My life felt unreal. On impulse, I did what I should’ve done weeks ago.

I googled him.

Flavian Navarro.

Not just him: his companies, acquisitions, interviews, headlines. The scale of it made my stomach turn. If I’d known earlier, maybe I wouldn’t have been blindsided today. Maybe I wouldn’t have walked into that conference room thinking he was just a random arrogant nobody.

He wasn’t.

Seeing him again hurt more than I expected. What angered me most was how easily he could sit in a polished office and make decisions that unraveled someone else’s life then go right back to business.

I put my phone away, fixed my hair, and returned to my desk.

Luna was waiting. She asked for a recap. For a second, I considered telling her everything.

I didn’t.

I gave her only what mattered to the case. She told me Mr. Hale was impressed with how I handled myself.

So was I.

It had taken everything in me not to say a word to him.

The rest of the day crawled. I couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d read. Thirty-two. No wife. No family mentioned. He’d started an empire at my age while I was still trying to stay afloat.

My phone buzzed.

My neighbor, she needed me to pick up my son immediately thankfully it was right around closing so I packed up fast and left without looking back.

At home, we showered and curled up on the couch. I wasn’t into animated movies, but he was glued to the screen. Exhaustion pulled me under.

I woke to Flavian shaking my shoulder.

“Mommy, your phone is ringing.”

Half asleep, I answered without checking.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Mrs. Carlisle.”

Tiffany Farrow.

Sleep vanished.

“I’m sorry I missed your first call,” I said quickly.

“That’s alright, dear. I just need to confirm what time you’ll be home tomorrow.”

“I should be home by five.”

“Alright. Five it is. I’ll see you then.”

The call ended.

No context or reassurance.

I stared at my phone, dread settling deep in my chest.

At this point, it could go either way.

And all I could do was wait.