Roman had pulled off deals in his life that had seemed impossible to others. He’d made risky calls that would have cost him everything if he’d lost. He’d sat across negotiating tables with men who ran the world and still left them in his dust. Not that he was a gambling man. Every business move he made was calculated, and he always made sure he could win, even with the risks. But none of those situations had been as terrifying as this. He adjusted the vase full of flowers on the table and then stepped back to inspect it. It still didn’t look right. Everything had to be perfect. He couldn’t control the outcome of the conversation but he could control this. He picked it up and moved it to the other end of the table, and then realised it would be t

Roman felt numb as he stood at the bottom of the stairs. He was still standing there when Evelyn came back down a few minutes later with her handbag. It was like watching his life fall apart in slow motion. Tears were still falling down her cheeks and she looked... destroyed. He’d destroyed her. He had done this. She stopped a little distance away from him as if she couldn’t bear to come any closer. She didn’t even look at him. “Where are the car keys?” Evelyn asked. She was leaving him. He knew that this was it, that she would never come near him again. He’d fucked up. “Evelyn, I’m so sorry,” he said ho

"I love how you set up this place." Eve smiled at her mother and then drank a sip of her coffee so she wouldn't give herself away. She had nothing to do with this house but all night she'd had to listen to her parents tell her how much they loved it.  Her father had settled into a comfortable one-seater near the fire and had already dozed off in the middle of watching his TV shows. The more she had seen how independent he had become in this house the harder it was for her to admit to them that she didn’t know if this would be forever.  Was Roman really giving them this house? Or was this another of his tricks? Was he going to pull the rug out from under her parents because she had left him again?  

Eve stopped the car at the barrier and rolled down the window. There were two intimidating security guards in the guardhouse that made her want to turn back instantly. This was a mistake. “Um, I’m here to see Mr. Ashfield,” she said to them. She saw the look on the man’s face before he said, “Mr. Ashfield doesn’t accept visitors,” and then shut his window.  Did they get this all the time? Women trying to see Roman without an invitation? Though she had washed her hands of him, it still hurt to think about him moving on. She could have called or messaged Roman to tell her she had arrived but maybe this was a sign

He’d done the right thing. Maybe for the first time in his life.  So why did he feel like shit again? Like she’d stomped on his dead heart again?  He’d poured himself another drink the moment she had left but he still had it in his hand fuck knew how long later. It had taken everything in him to let her walk out that door, so now he had nothing left. The sound of the door closing pulled him out of his thoughts. He gulped his whiskey down and set the glass down before Phillip walked into the room. Phillip looked at the empty glass and then at him. He was now like an annoying, nagging aunty more than anything.   “I&