The silence in the room was heavy, suffocating. Elodie clutched her bag to her chest like a shield.
Braxton stood at the head of the table. He slowly unbuttoned his suit jacket.
"Sick," he said. One word. Flat.
Elodie took a step back. "Braxton, I can explain."
"Fever. Chills. Contagious." He walked around the table, moving with the predatory grace of a jungle cat. "You looked remarkably healthy flirting with the Spaniard."
"I wasn't flirting! I was working!" Elodie backed up until her heels hit the base of the floor-to-ceiling window. Behind her, the city dropped away for fifty stories.
"Working," Braxton repeated. He stopped a foot away from her. "For my fiancée."
"I didn't know it was her! It was a blind contract!"
"You lied to me." He stepped closer. He placed his hands on the glass on either side of her head, caging her in. He smelled of coffee and repressed rage. "You lied about where you were. You lied about being sick."
"I needed the money!" Elodie shouted, her voice cracking. "You know why! You control every cent I have!"
"Is that what this is?" He leaned down, his face inches from hers. "You're selling yourself to Caroline for a paycheck?"
"I'm translating! I have a skill set, Braxton. I'm not just your... your whore."
His eyes darkened. "Is that what you think you are?"
"It's what you treat me like."
He grabbed her waist, pulling her flush against him. The contact sent a shockwave through her body. "If you were just a whore, Elodie, I would have fired you months ago."
He buried his hand in her hair, tilting her head back. "You belong to me. Not the agency. Not Caroline. Me."
"Let me go," she whispered, tears pricking her eyes. "Caroline is coming back."
"Let her come."
He crashed his lips onto hers. It wasn't a kiss; it was a claim. It was angry, possessive, and desperate. He bit her lower lip, forcing her mouth open. Elodie tried to push him away, her hands flat against his chest, but he was like a granite wall.
For a second, her body betrayed her. She melted into him, the familiarity of his touch overriding her brain.
Then, the sound of heels clicking in the hallway. Fast. Approaching.
Braxton didn't stop. He deepened the kiss, his hand sliding down to her hip.
The door handle rattled.
Elodie's eyes flew open. Panic exploded in her chest.
"Braxton!" she gasped against his mouth.
The handle turned.
