Chapter 10: Dangerous Routine

The office had its rhythm again.

Emails. Meetings. Conference calls. Paperwork.

Camilla filed reports with practiced efficiency, wore her pencil skirts like armor, and answered Dominic's clipped requests like nothing had changed.

But everything had.

Because under the polished routines and cold coffee cups was a truth neither of them dared say out loud:

They'd crossed the line. Twice.

And pretending otherwise was the most exhausting game she'd ever played.

She glanced at the clock: 3:57 PM.

He hadn't called her into his office once today.

She hadn't caught him staring either—not like before.

She hated how that disappointed her.

And yet, when her phone buzzed at exactly 4:00 PM, her heart skipped.

Dominic: Boardroom. Five minutes.

Camilla walked in composed, clutching her tablet, ready for whatever corporate damage control was needed. But the boardroom was empty—just him, seated at the head of the table.

No files. No team. No meeting.

"Close the door," he said without looking up.

She did.

"I thought we agreed—" she started.

"That we'd stop? Yes."

He finally looked at her. "I lied."

Camilla's breath caught.

Dominic stood, slow and calculated, and walked toward her.

"You sit across from me every day like you don't know exactly what you're doing to me," he said. "Like your lips haven't driven me to the brink."

She blinked. "You're the one who keeps pulling away."

"Because you matter."

He stopped just in front of her, lowering his voice. "And because I'm afraid if I let myself have you, I'll never stop."

Camilla tilted her head, searching his eyes. "Then don't stop."

That was all it took.

He kissed her again—harder this time. Less control. More need.

It was the kind of kiss that didn't belong in a boardroom but happened there anyway. His hands cupped her waist, pulling her closer as she gasped against his lips.

And just like that, the fragile professionalism between them cracked wide open.

When they finally parted, his forehead rested on hers.

"This is a mistake," he whispered.

She smiled softly. "Probably."

They stood like that for a moment—two professionals caught in a wildfire of emotion neither planned for.

"I have dinner with investors tonight," Dominic finally said, pulling away. "Come with me."

"Business or personal?"

He didn't answer immediately.

"Both," he said at last.

Camilla's heart thudded in her chest. "I'll go home and change."

As she walked out of the boardroom, her fingers still tingling from where he touched her, she knew this wasn't just flirtation anymore.

It was something far more dangerous.

And maybe far more real.