Page 82 of Strictly Business

Thick, suffocating silence.

As the elevator doors slide open and Nicholas and I step into the office, the room falls into a stunned hush. Heads swivel, conversations die mid-sentence, and even the hum of keyboards fades into nothing.

Nicholas, however, is completely unfazed. He walks through the office, his hand firmly in mine. Meanwhile, my legs are doing their best not to turn into jelly from the attention of every eye in the room.

He insisted we walk in together. To make it clear that we’re engaged. Honestly, I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I definitely didn’t think it would be this.

We finally make it to my desk, and I’m just about to sit down and pretend none of this is happening when Nicholas grabs my elbow, spins me around, and presses a soft kiss to my lips.

“Have a good morning, honey,” he murmurs, his lips turning in a small smirk, and my stomach does a little flip.

Before I can even react, he pulls away and walks off, leaving me standing like a deer in the headlights

I turn toward my desk, only to be met with Jade’s wicked grin on her face, her blue eyes practically sparkling with mischief. Sophie eyes me curiously, arms crossed but clearly holding back a million questions.

“Oh. My. God,” Jade squeals, dragging each word out. “Tell me everything!”

“There’s nothing to tell,” I say quickly, dropping into my chair and pulling my laptop open as a makeshift shield.

“Nothing to talk about?” Jade repeats, leaning against my desk with a scoff. “You’re telling me there’s nothing to say about the fact that Nicholas Blackwood just kissed you in front of the entire office?”

“It was purely for show,” I mutter, logging into my computer, trying to focus, though my hands are shaking.

Jade lets out a laugh. “Honey, that wasnota ‘for show’ kiss. That was a ‘you’re mine, and I want everyone to know it’ kiss. Now, spill. I want all the sordid details.”

“There are no details. Can we just move on? My head’s killing me.”

Jade scoffs. “Yeah, I’m sure your knees and throat are sore too.”

I don’t respond, focusing on my typing, but the heat in my face tells me I’m blushing. Sophie’s gasp from her desk confirms it.

“Oh my god. You slept with him, didn’t you?”

“No,” I lie, the words slipping out before I can stop them, and the blush deepens.

Jade’s grin widens. “Oh, this issomuch better than I thought. You’refuckingyour fake fiancé and didn’t tell me?”

“Shhh.” I glance around quickly. “Can you two keep it down? No one’s supposed to know it’s not real.”

“Relax.” Jade waves her hand. “Mum’s the word. So, are you two together now?” she asks. “I give you props. I thought this would’ve happened way sooner.”

“No.” I shake my head, more to myself than to her. “We’re not… This is just…”

Her brows furrow, and she glances at Sophie, who’s wearing the same confused expression. “Just… what?”

I let out a sigh. “We’re just sleeping together. We’re still agreeing to part ways once the contract ends, and I don’t need to be his fake fiancée anymore. There’s nothing else going on between us.”

Sophie raises an eyebrow but doesn’t push further. Instead, she asks quietly, “And you’re telling me there’s no chance, not even a tiny, minuscule chance, that you’re catching feelings?”

I hesitate, her question hitting a little too close to home. “Nope,” I lie, though my chest aches as I say it.

“Are you sure? First, you two are sleeping together, and then that kiss… You’ve never really been a casual kind of girl, Amara. We saw how hard you clung to Liam.”

“Nicholas is not Liam.”

“No,” she agrees. “Which is what makes this so much more confusing. Nicholas is successful, rich, handsome, a good guy—”

“Good in bed, I’m guessing?” Jade cuts in with a grin.

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