Page 64 of The Billionaire's Assistant

“Benjamin. Nothing that’s happened between the two of us was about this, and it wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t trust you.”

“After you tried to trick me? I heard you on the phone talking about how you were watching me.”

“I had one of my guards watching you.” His eyes widened, and I knew I’d said the wrong thing.

“You had me followed?”

“It was as much for your own safety as—”

“Well, it didn’t help. Where was this guard of yours when I was being beaten?”

“I’m furious that they weren’t there, that they didn’t see.”

“I should never have applied for this job. I should never have agreed to—”

“Did you have a choice?”

“No. I guess I should’ve passed off the information, then disappeared.”

“Absolutely not.” I grabbed his arm trying to force him to look at me, but he pulled away with a grimace, and I let him go. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Am I supposed to believe that? I can’t believe anything you say now.”

I was torn between horror at what I’d done to him and anger at the way he was questioning my honesty. It was exactly what everyone had done back in college. “You came to the company under false pretenses. What did you think was going to happen?”

“I never thought you would hire me.”

“I needed to know what you would do, and I needed to keep you there. From the moment I met you—”

“Don’t make this worse.”

“You infiltrated my company.”

“No. You chose to hire me because you wanted to play a game instead of calling me out on what I was doing. You wanted to use me, and you have in every possible way.”

His words were like a slap to the face. “Ben, please. I want to protect you.”

“I don’t want your protection.”

I’d fucked everything up. Ford had told me this would blow up in my face. I was furious with myself, but the angrier Ben got, the more my anger built. He wasn’t completely innocent. He’d been hiding things from me.

Because he’s scared. Because he’s being threatened.

“Tell me the whole story. Let me understand how you ended up here.”

“No. You don’t need to know that. I never did anything to harm you or your precious company.”

He moved toward the door again, and I stepped out of his way. I didn’t know what else to say. I’d lied to him. I’d spied on him. And he’d only done what he’d had to stay safe. “I expect you at work in the morning.”

“I can’t—”

“It’s not safe for you to quit.”

I saw the resignation on his face. “Fine. I’ll be there. I’ll do my job. But that’s all. There’s nothing between us anymore. This is strictly professional.”

“Ben, I didn’t mean—”

“You said you wouldn’t hurt me, but you lied about that too.”

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