Page 5 of Royal Sin

A self-deprecating laugh left his throat. “A vise…that about sums it up.”

“Well, don’t let me keep you.” I reached for my drink, but some noise from him made me look up. My fingers missed the cup, and my knuckles knocked into the cardboard.

My heart exploded as I realized it was tipping. Too late, I scrambled to catch it in those precious half-seconds.

Lukewarm, green liquid spread over the table.

Leonard was quicker than me. He snatched my laptop off the table as I yelped.

“Thanks,” I gasped, mortified as the matcha continued its conquest across the wooden surface. Leonard held my laptop safely above the flood while I grabbed napkins from the dispenser.

“No problem.” His voice was casual, but there was something else there—amusement? Curiosity? “Quick reflexes come with the job.”

A CEO didn’t need quick reflexes. Unless he meant mental ones. I mopped frantically at the spill. “What exactly is this mysterious job of yours anyway?”

He didn’t answer immediately, just handed me my laptop with careful precision. Our fingers brushed, and I told myself the little jolt I felt was static electricity from the dry café air.

“Acquisitions and management,” he finally said, helping me clean with his own handful of napkins. “Risk mitigation, more often than not.”

It was the way he said it, not the actual descriptions, that made me pause. A sixth sense tickled the back of my mind, but I ignored it. “Sounds important.”

“Sometimes. Sometimes it’s just watching people.” His eyes met mine across the table. “Observing patterns.”

I swallowed hard. From my research, I knew he was in charge of a company that bought other companies, fixed or sold them, and managed the rest. It was hard to findexactlywhat that meant. But it made him a boatload of money. My family was wealthy, but it was because we were the third generation to own our media empire. My father and brother were co-owners, and one day, one of us would run it. With the change in markets, it was just one company against a storm of competition. And then there were sharks like Baldwin, sniffing for any sign of blood to come and tear down what we’d been caretakers of for decades.

If I guessed my parents wouldn’t like him based on his new money status, this knowledge made him far more unsuitable.

Which made me want him more.

Mopping up the mess with a few pitiful napkins, I muttered an excuse and went to the counter for a roll of paper towels. When I returned, Leonard was still holding my laptop.

Suspicion immediately spiked, but there was no clue on his face if he’d been snooping.

“New Orleans Jazz,” he commented.

I frowned for a moment before I realized that was the playlist I’d been listening to while I worked. “I have an eclectic taste when it comes to tunes.”

“It’s good stuff,” he agreed.

After cleaning the table, I took the laptop back. “Thank you again for your help.”

He took his coffee and nodded. “Anytime.”

I sank into my seat, my brain scrambling to salvage the situation. I needed him interested in me. These interactions needed to count.

“If you ask me, I think the prince of the shadow realm should use his magic to tie her up. Make her beg for it.” With that parting shot, the CEO left.

I gaped after his retreating black suit. Did he just— “The sneak!”

He’d been reading my scene!

Cheeks burning hot, I stared through the window until Leonard disappeared. He probably thought I was insane. Good little society girls didn’t write smut. We didn’t read it openly, and we never discussed it. But write a dark and twisted fantasy romance? Yeah, that was taboo.

“He doesn’t know I’m a good girl,” I whispered. Maybe I hadn’t screwed this thing up.

Soft, sultry notes of a saxophone drifted through the dimly lit lounge, weaving a melody that hung in the air like a smoky veil. The warm glow of low-hanging lamps cast gentle shadows across the plush velvet seats, where patrons sipped their drinks and nodded along to the soothing rhythm.

After the incident at the coffee shop, I debated not coming tonight. The staged run-in with my target had not gone as planned. But things needed to escalate beyond quick chats in between his business day. So, after a tumultuous afternoon debate, I decided to go through with my plan.

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