OUR LIPS AREN'T SEALED (#2 STEAMY CEO ROMANCE)

☼ twenty-five ☼

Once I'd gathered my bearings, my emotions, my sanity, I left.

I marched straight down the hall and out of the building, my chin dipped low. The staff at L.A. Love Wedding Planners was far from respectful or discreet, so I had no doubt a few of them eavesdropped. And they'd seen Axel leave, detecting his bad mood.

I wouldn't linger for them to poke at me and ask questions.

At home, I screamed into a pillow. I then threw that pillow across the small room, gaining a slither of satisfaction when it squished against the wall.

When I fell onto my bed, I screamed again, into the mattress this time.

No way would I breathe a word of this to anyone, not even Chi. How could I? They'd tell me to do it, of course; they'd squirm and squeal in excitement at the notion of me marrying Axel.

Marrying Axel Levine, one of the richest men in the country, if not the world? Incredible.

But would Axel want to marry me?

"No," I grunted as I padded to the fridge, extracting my trusty bottle of rosé. Always the same brand; a French label that cost more than I could afford, but it had the smoothest, most refreshing taste.

A taste I needed now, to erase the acidity from my mouth.

Axel wouldn't marry me, that was a fact. But how else would he deal with Brent threatening to sue us? He'd find a way around it. Stick his lawyers on him, threaten to counter-sue for all the crap Brent had put us through, hire a hitman—

That last idea made me spit out the mouthful of wine I'd just tried to swallow.

Would he get that violent? I didn't know. Because after all this...I still didn't know Axel. Not well enough to figure out what he planned to do.

There was no way he'd consent to this. Throw his entire life and fortune away to save my job? Me, the woman who kept toying with his heart and his cock and left him yearning? And this after he caught me arguing with Olivia, after he caught me in a lie? Impossible.

I took another swig of wine, sensing the soothing, silky liquid coursing down my throat and numbing me.

As I was about to take one more gulp, a knock came from my door.

I'd been slumped on my couch, bundled in blankets, staring at the blank screen of my TV, hoping Axel would change my mind, prove me wrong. Was that him? Had he already decided to accept the solution?

I didn't want to answer the door. Whoever was behind it wouldn't be here to bear good news.

Still, I stood up slowly, wondering if I'd imagined the knock. A few sips into my wine, it was entirely possible I was hallucinating.

I'd been hoping for Axel, after all; maybe I'd materialized his presence. Maybe I'd ordered food, too, and didn't remember while I was busy staring into space.

Or maybe he was there, but not to accept the solution. Maybe he'd come to decline it, in person, and remind me yet again of how stupid I'd been.

I tentatively put my hand on the door handle, squeezing my eyes shut, taking a breath.

I should have looked through the peephole, but in my gut, in my soul, I knew it was Axel. He was standing on the other side of the door, hands in his pockets, tapping his foot to the ground as he waited for me to reply.

I wrenched the door open, and my jaw dropped.

It wasn't Axel.

"Hey, gorgeous," said Olivia, pushing into my apartment without invitation. She wore a trench coat and leggings, with high-heeled boots, and her hair in a messy bun atop her head.