Chapter 35

Chapter 35
Veronica.

Ten minutes turned into twenty.

I sat outside the Vice Chairman’s office, holding my files like a lifeline. I couldn’t refuse the offer, I needed a good review for my grade but I also couldn’t get tangled with Dante.

His words from earlier had been playing in my mind over and over again. No man had ever outright claimed me and I knew I shouldn’t have been flattered by his words but the butterflies in my chest were impossible to get rid of.

“Miss Norman?”

I looked up. The same woman from earlier. 

“I’ll be your onboarding contact for the week. Mr. Russo is expecting you in the executive wing. Please follow me.”

We took the elevator to the upper floor, and as we walked past she showed me different departments. When we finally reached a door with “Investor Liaison” embossed in gold, she turned to me.

“This wing is private. You’ll need clearance to enter and exit, your badge will be updated daily. You’ll assist Mr. Russo with investor communication, calendar support and basically everything he’d be needing along that line for the expansion deal. If you’re unsure about anything, contact me. But ultimately, you answer to him.”

She opened the door and nodded once. “He’s inside.”

I nodded and stepped in. This was strictly professional and I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of pulling any emotions out of me. 

Dante stood by the window, back to me, one hand in his pocket, the other swirling a glass of something dark and amber.

“I was starting to think you’d gotten lost,” he said without turning around.

“I was being briefed,” I replied evenly, stepping further into the room. “They said I’ll be reporting directly to you.”

He turned then, slowly — and when his eyes landed on mine, it was like walking into a storm you knew you couldn’t outrun. Controlled. Cold. But aware of its own destruction.

“So you’ll follow orders now?” he said, stepping forward, each word careful and calculated. “That’s new.”

“I follow structure,” I corrected, keeping my voice level. “This is my final internship. I need the grade. You happen to be an obstacle I’m willing to endure to get it.”

“What do you want investing into this company? Don’t you have better mob criminal embezzlement to take care of?”

He tilted his head, slightly smirking . “Is that what you think I do?”  

“What if I told you,  this industry —glamorous world— is a laundering front? Or the expansion you’re so eager to impress your professors with… is really a trafficking pipeline being repainted as a business merger?”

I blinked, my mouth open with shock. He wasn’t lying, he had no reason to.

“It’s not everything that is what it appears to be, love.”

He took another slow sip from his glass, his gaze never leaving mine. “If you want your grade, your first task starts now.”

My brows drew together. “Now?”

“There’s a negotiation happening off-site. You’ll come with me.”

“For what?” I asked, crossing my arms. “Calendar support? Email drafts?”

He gave a low laugh, sharp and brief. “No, Veronica. You’re coming to see what this world actually looks like when the paint chips off. Consider it… exposure. A glance into the real business. You want to impress your professors, right?”

I took a step back. “This isn’t what I signed up for.”

He shrugged. “Then don’t come.”

My eyes narrowed. “Is this another threat?”

He set the glass down, the sound quiet but final. Then he stepped closer, close enough that I had to tilt my chin up to meet his eyes.

“No threat,” he said, voice smooth and low. “It’s completely up to you. But I’d think twice before refusing. Because this deal? It’s tied to the entire expansion strategy of this industry and thus making it now tied to your internship. And if you walk away from it—” his eyes flickered down to the badge clipped at my waist, then back up, “you can kiss your scholarship goodbye.”

My heart was thudding in my chest, fast and loud. He made me feel cornered and exhilarated all at once and I hated it. He was enjoying it, the smirk on his face confirmed it. Was there really a choice?

“I could report you,” I said, the words a weak shield I didn’t even believe in.

“You could,” he said. “But you won’t.”

“And why’s that?”

He leaned in, just a fraction. His scent was all expensive danger, amber, smoke, and something darker underneath. “Because deep down,” he murmured, “you know how I make you feel and you love it.”

Like instinct, heat coursed straight between my legs. I forgot how to breathe.

He smiled. “Don’t worry, love. I won’t touch you, not until you beg for it.” 

Heat flushed my cheeks. 

I straightened, stepping away from him. A step.

He didn’t move.

Just watched me retreat with that maddening calm, like he’d already won  like my distance was part of the game, and he could wait.

“I’ll need the address,” I said, pausing by the door, trying to sound indifferent. “For the meeting.”

He was silent for a beat. Then, “Deanasha Towers. Level 42.”

I nodded stiffly, hand tightening on the doorknob.

“You’ll need to look the part,” he added, voice like velvet scraped over stone. “This isn’t a classroom presentation. It’s a war table.”

I turned slightly, still not facing him. “And what role do I play?”

Assistant? Date? Accessory?”

A pause. “My fiancée.”

I froze in the spot making sure I’d hear him right. 

I turned. “What? Y-you have one.”

Another silence. Then, softer—“Not tonight. You’ll play the part as my fiancée tonight. Communicate right and that review letter will be delivered on a silver platter. ”

I hated how the words wrapped around me, curling heat into places I didn’t give permission for.  And I hated it even more that a part of me knew if this got into the open his real fiancée might actually take my head along with her the minute  she saw me. 

Without waiting for another word from him, I left.