CHAPTER 15: Blurred Lines

　　Alex seemed to be avoiding me, or perhaps it was a mutual dance of unease and unspoken attraction ever since dinner at his family's mansion. I was almost certain that the attraction was most likely one-sided. Work provided a fragile normalcy, a constant stream of emails, phone calls, and meetings that kept the uncomfortable truth at bay. But the silence between us was deafening and I hated it even though I should be pleased.

　　On Monday morning, Nicola summoned me to her office. Her gaze was as sharp as she pinned me down. "Evelyn," she began, her voice laced with a barely concealed threat, "if it wasn't abundantly clear before, let me make it perfectly lucid. You are here as my brother's assistant, not his…entanglement."

　　I swallowed hard, forcing down a surge of anger. Nicola's words were a stark reminder of the boundaries I was desperately trying to maintain. "Of course, Ms. Westcott-Gray," I replied, my voice laced with forced professionalism. "I understand perfectly."