Billionaire Romance: Darque Shadows (A Darque Billionaire Romance Book 3) by Diana Steele Page A

looked at Alicia, who was still in shock. “This is Bastien Darque. He’s my boss. I made a fool of myself in front of my boss and now he feels obligated to check up on me. I’m like his daughter or something.”
                  Bastien nodded and played along. “Yes, it would be very unprofessional to get involved with someone I work with. A pity, too, since Bella is so beautiful. But duty calls. I will see you at work tomorrow, Bella. Please…come on time, yes?”
                  Bastien left the apartment in a happy mood, which didn’t convince Alicia of anything.
    “That was weird!” she said. “Be honest with me. Are you two…?”
              “Noooo!” Bella said. “Definitely not. I have rules against dating my boss. Besides…” She feigned a sad face. “I still think I love Bradley.”
    “Seriously?” Alicia snarled. “You still love Bradley? Even after everything that happened?”
    “I was young and dumb, yes. But Bradley…you know…has grown up a lot. He’s matured. He’s…”
    Not a psycho obsessed with ultimate control.
    She figured having Alicia groan over a mistaken romance with Bradley was still better than thinking she did the unthinkable and fell into a submissive relationship with one of the more dangerous and powerful men of the twenty-first century.
    “Well, I think you should keep your options open with Mister Billionaire. I think the fact that he went out of his way to see you today shows he’s into you.”
    Oh yes, he’s into me. He’s been “into me” more than you know.
     
     
    “I just don’t know when to stop,” Bella said, laughing to Carter Abrams, the only person at the firm that didn’t seem to want to hurt her or sabotage her in some way.
    Carter laughed with her, discussing the nuances of the company’s complicated new fax machine. “The answer is, when the light stops blinking. That’s when it’s finished.”
    “Thank you, Mister Abrams. I really feel as if you’re the only person here looking out for me.”
    “I probably am,” he said eyeing Bella with a controlled gaze. “I always advise interns and new employees not to trust people. Just do your job and don’t go around thinking that you’re everyone’s favorite new girl. The first year is the hardest, trust me.”
    “Thank you.”
    Bastien walked up, pretending to use the fax machine, hoping Abrams would take a hint, which he did. Bella tensed up and avoided eye contact.
    “So…I think you owe me an apology.”
    “Excuse me?” she asked, her eyes tightening in anger.
    “You left the relationship abruptly, no explanation. You put me in an awkward position.”
    “I don’t really care, Bastien.”
    “The name is Mister Darque.”
    “No, it isn’t!” she whispered. “If you want to talk about that side of our life then it’s Bastien. I’m through with this thing between us. No more contract.”
    “What makes you think I’m willing to let you go?”
    “Because you know, Mister Darque,” she said at moderate volume. “That I will not reveal any information harmful to your name or campaign.” And back to whispering. “And in return for your understanding, I am only going to do what is in my job description.”
    Bastien pouted, his face becoming lengthened and his nostrils flaring. “Then I don’t need you here.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “Yeah, that’s right. You’re fired. Take your stuff and leave.”
    He stormed away, leaving Bella alone, confused and too enraged to even think of crying.
    *****
     

Chapter 2
     
    The first time she really cried was when Bradley gave her the bad news. It wasn’t so much that she dreaded losing him, but that she hated what she had become. It was the type of embarrassing story too horrid to confide in anyone. Certainly not her own mother, who would guilt her and berate her for such a stupid mistake—if only to hide the fact that she was screaming at herself for her own shadows.
    “I don’t really