The CEO's Forbidden Fling - Chapter 4: Chapter 4

When my eyes fluttered open, morning light already streamed through the hospital windows.
The boss’s bed was empty. Instead, his coat was draped over me like a blanket.
My stomach dropped. I bolted into the hallway, scanning every face, my pulse racing.
"Have you seen him?" I asked nurse after nurse, but they all shook their heads.
Guilt clawed at me. I shouldn’t have fallen asleep. I raised my hand, ready to punish myself for failing him—
"Vanessa, you're awake?"
His voice—warm, familiar—stopped me mid-motion. I whipped around, tears still wet on my cheeks.
There he stood, holding a paper bag of steaming buns and a cup of soy milk, his smile softening the worry lines on his face.
Before I could think, I launched myself at him, arms locking around his neck.
"Hey, I’m okay," he murmured, pulling me close. Then, so gently it stole my breath, his lips brushed my forehead.
My heart stuttered. Heat flooded my cheeks, and suddenly, the space between us felt charged, intimate—like we were something more than boss and assistant.
And wasn’t that the cruelest joke? I’d loved him quietly for years, knowing full well I’d never measure up. My looks were passable, but my education? My background? Not even close to his world.
Until he asked me to be his secret.
I’d said yes, shame be damned. It was the only way I’d ever get to touch him.
"Eat," he said, pressing the warm buns into my hands.
I stared at the floor, too flustered to meet his eyes.
"Thank you. For last night."
He handed me the soy milk, straw already in place. The normalcy of it snapped me back to reality.
"Boss—Vincent Lowell has footage of us." The words tumbled out, my voice shaking. I told him everything: the hotel manager’s call, my bluff about working for Vincent. "If that video leaks..."
His frown sent a fresh wave of dread through me.
But then his fingers slid into my hair, his thumb tracing my jaw. "It’s fixable."
"How?" I leaned in, desperate.
"If it goes public, I’ll say you’re my girlfriend." He said it so casually, like he was discussing a meeting agenda. "No one questions couples. We could even sue Vincent for invasion of privacy."
My heart hammered so hard I swore he could hear it. Girlfriend. A title I’d never let myself fantasize about.
"Really?" I whispered, my face burning.
"Only if you want to." His arm circled my waist, pulling me flush against him. Then his lips grazed my cheek, and the world narrowed to that single, searing point of contact.