Mr. Badass ✔

09 Secret Romance

Gemma's POV.

The next day, Luke is leaving for a business trip to Chicago with an uncertain return date.

Everyone at the car dealership is filled with the joy of "the boss being away." I pretend to be happy along with them, but deep down, I feel a bit empty.

During the day, I can't see Luke, so I can only video call him after work. Our conversations are always mundane—how's the weather today, what's for dinner, and so on.

But how is this any different from talking to my mom??

A few days go by, and I look at Luke on the phone with dissatisfaction. "Do you really have nothing to say to me?"

"What do you mean?" Luke raises an eyebrow.

I'm starting to regret this. Luke might have a hot face, but his emotional intelligence in relationships is in the negatives.

"I love you."

Or—

"I miss you."

Or even—

"Open the door, I'm standing right in front of you."

Does he really need me to teach him these little romantic gestures and surprises that couples share? I sigh, my shoulders slumping. " nothing, goodnight."

"Goodnight," Luke says.

I clutch my phone, rolling around on the bed, kicking the air a few times, regretting how easily I'm swayed by his good looks.

Suddenly, my phone screen lights up.

"I finished my work early, will be back in New York tomorrow. See you at the dealership."

Thinking of his face, I can't help but forgive him again.

Luke arrives the next day a little after eleven in the morning. He walks into the office under the watchful eyes of all the employees.

This is the first time we've seen each other at work since we started dating, and I can hardly contain my excitement.

Five minutes after he closes the office door, I'm still sitting with my chin in my hands, staring in that direction without blinking.

The treasurer passing by my desk can't help but ask, "Gemma, did the boss dock your bonus again?"

"Why?" My heart skips a beat.

The treasurer pauses. "The way you're looking at the boss, it's like you want to devour him whole without leaving a single bone."

"It would be quicker to use a knife," I joke to divert the topic.

That was close.

Our affair almost got discovered. I decide to be more discreet about watching Luke in the future.

During lunch, my colleagues are gathered, gossiping as usual. The conversation moves from a celebrity love triangle to someone's thigh shrinking by a centimeter, and then a small bombshell drops—one of the female sales reps from the Seattle branch had an affair with the boss and got pregnant.

What's worse is that the boss was married. After finding out, his wife secretly gathered evidence, transferred assets, and initiated a divorce, kicking him out of the house.

In the end, she stood outside the dealership with a loudspeaker, exposing the scandal between her ex-husband and the saleswoman, ruining both of their reputations.

Because of the public outcry, both of them were fired.

This gossip makes me break out in a cold sweat, solidifying my resolve to keep our relationship hidden.