Taking a deep breath in and out, he poured himself a glass of whiskey. It was the third since he had arrived at the office nearly two hours earlier.“You say it’s the right thing to do, but what is the right thing for you, Johari? Not giving me an explanation? Your resignation?” he questioned, lifting the glass and downing the liquor in a single swallow.“You’re not thinking clearly right now, sir. Perhaps it would be best if—”“Oh, no. You’re not leaving this office,” he ordered, turning around and fixing his gaze on the left side of his assistant’s profile. “I want us to talk about all of this. I want you to explain, in detail, everything you’ve been doing and why. I want to understand your reasons. I want you to tell me now.”He watched her take a deep breath before standing up and meeting his eyes.He froze as she walked toward him, stopping just a few inches away.And then, suddenly, there was a finger pointed at his face and a pair of dark brown eyes overflowing with too many em

“Well, it’s clear you all want to move forward with this,” Francis said, rising to his feet, “but first we need to handle Delclaux’s exit properly. From what I understand, you proposed letting him walk out the front door—with cheers and applause for all the years he supposedly dedicated to Chrome Machine.” His tone dripped with sarcasm. “I told Andrew I don’t agree with that. The man you’re planning to send off in glory is the same one who’s been stealing from the company. The same one who’s threatened and blackmailed my brother. And all because of some personal issue in Andrew’s life? What does that have to do with how the company is run? I’d hate to think that—”“With all due respect, Mr. Francis,” Henry interrupted, “I think you’re missing what the rest of us can see clearly. Regardless of what Delclaux has done, Mr. Andrew has also been involved in things that could eventually damage Chrome Machine’s reputation—and his own.”“I fail to see how a private, personal matter could harm

He’d been so lost in trying to figure out the fastest way to wrap up his pending tasks that he hadn’t even noticed Francis had called his assistant.“Do you need me, Mr. Tanner?”“Yes.”“No.” Andrew stopped his pacing mid-step, frowning at his brother. They’d answered in perfect unison.“Close the door, Johari. I think your boss could use a little help here.” What the hell? “He’s been staring at that screen since I got here, and he says he still has a mountain of work left. Is that true?”Andrew’s mouth fell open as he looked from his brother to Johari. She gave him a narrowed-eyed look and shook her head. This was absolutely not the moment for that familiar tug low in his stomach—for the love of all that was holy.“Of course it’s true,” he shot back, retreating to his chair and dropping into it. “I haven’t finished going through my emails. I still need to read the reports that came in today, and I have to prepare the agenda for the next board meeting. Things have been a complete mess

He tilted his head to the side, staring at Francis, and finally couldn’t hold back the laughter anymore. His brother’s face was a full-on spectacle of horror, but when Andrew burst out laughing, Francis frowned and pointed an accusing finger at him.“You’re a horrible human being, Andrew,” Francis accused, jabbing the finger in his direction.“Oh God, why didn’t I record your face?” Andrew managed to say between laughs, trying to catch his breath. “Adela would have loved it. She’d be cracking up right now.”“You know what I found on one of the bookshelves in your study?” Francis asked with a dramatic sigh, keeping a straight face while Andrew watched him, still grinning. Andrew shook his head. “Here I was, organizing and tidying everything, when I stumbled across an old photo album from when we were kids. By the way… what do you think Johari would say if I showed her that picture of you dressed in the adorable Easter bunny costume?”“You wouldn’t,” Andrew said, shaking his head firmly

There wasn’t much time left before his sister-in-law and nephews arrived, and he suddenly remembered that both the fridge and the pantry were completely empty of anything edible. What the hell was he going to make for dinner? He only found a packet of tagliatelle and some forgotten, very overripe tomatoes in the fridge. It wouldn’t be enough.“Dinner, Fran!” he exclaimed, bracing his hands on the counter and leaning forward. “I can’t just make coffee. We have to—”“What’s wrong?” Johari asked, looking at him from the living room.“What’s wrong is that we didn’t do any shopping and there’s no food in this house,” Francis replied, standing up.Johari narrowed her eyes, fixing him with a steady stare as she rose. She walked slowly, crossing the dining room until she reached the kitchen. Andrew held his breath when he saw her serious expression, that narrowed gaze directed solely at him.“That’s not okay,” she said, and yes—she pointed an accusing finger right at him. “That’s not okay at