Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Chapter 65

ONE WEEKS LATER:

....

"That was fast," Celeste smiled, as she stared at the email of approval from the company she had applied to before graduation.

To be honest, she never expected a reply from them, until a month later, or two.

It had only been a week since she walked across the graduation stage, clutching her degree with a proud smile and teary eyes. Seems like the universe finally decided that it was finally time to pay her back for every wrong thing that had been done to her.

Her phone buzzed in her hand with the notification of acceptance. An internship. The same internship she had dreamed about during countless late-night study sessions. And now, it was hers.

She sprung up from the couch, her heartbeat drumming with excitement. Her first instinct was to run to Dominic.

She wanted to burst through the door of his study, throw her arms around him, and tell him that she had made it. He needed to know that she did it, on her own. Her bare feet padded quickly across the marble floor, the email still glowing on her screen.

However, she paused.

Her brows furrowed.

A detail she had missed caught her attention. One line about the company. It was small but damning.

It read, "Company acquired by Cross Enterprises as of last month."

Her heart stuttered, and she frowned immediately. All her excitement died down, like it was never there.

Dominic Cross.

Her hand went slack, and the phone nearly slipped from her grasp. She immediately felt sick, and had the need to throw up.

This wasn’t what she expected, or needed. Why?

She suddenly felt caged. More like, trapped. What he did now didn’t reflect partnership. It downright showed ownership.

He bought the company.

The internship wasn’t earned. It was handed.

She knew it was too good to be true. How could she get it this quickly if it wasn’t from him?

The disappointment surged her like a tide. Her body stilled with the weight of it. All the energy, the joy, the pride were gone. They all left, and were replaced with a simmering fury.

Celeste turned on her heel and stormed toward the study. There was no hesitation in her when she stood up. Her fist wrapped around the door handle the moment the elevator opened, and she found herself at his door. She turned it open without knocking.

Dominic looked up from his desk, with his glasses perched low on his nose. The light from his laptop cast shadows across his sharp jawline.

"Celeste?"

He pushed his laptop aside. He read her energy the moment she walked in, and it wasn’t comfortable.

She held up her phone like a weapon.

"You bought the company?" It was more like a fact than a question. However, she left it as one, hoping he’d say no.

Hoping he’d prove to her that he didn’t just interfere in her career and future.

He blinked, and sat back. "Yes."

His mind immediately relaxed the moment he knew why she came. The company won’t be a big deal, would it?

"You bought the company, Dominic," she repeated, stepping in. "The one I applied to... before we even got together, I applied to get in. And you knew that."

He took off his glasses, placed them carefully on the table. "I didn’t buy it for you. I wasn’t even aware it was the same company until recently. I acquired it as part of a portfolio expansion. It’s a good firm."

He half lied. Technically, he bought the company so he could easily give it to her if she wants. It’d be easier under his name than someone else. Not because he doesn’t believe in her.

"Bullshit," she snapped, voice rising. "You knew. You must’ve known. That company was one of my top choices. And now I get in the week after graduation? What am I supposed to think?"

Dominic stood slowly. He walked around the desk until he was in front of her. His expression was calm, but there was tension at the edges of his mouth.

"You’re not reporting to me, Celeste. I’m not your direct boss. I won’t even be involved in that division. I had nothing to do with your acceptance."

He explained, trying to calm her fears. He knew what she’d be thinking right now.

"But you own it!" she cried. "You’re Dominic Cross. Do you know what that name does to people? You think anyone would turn away your girlfriend? They probably hired me before they even opened my portfolio."

"You deserved it," he said, his voice gentler now. "You earned it. You’re brilliant, Celeste. You always have been."

She shook her head. The tears were prickling, but she didn’t let them fall. She wasn’t going to cry—not from this.

"You just put me in the position of sleeping with my boss. Boss. Boss," she said, dragging the words. "Not just any boss. The boss."

One could hear the edge at the end of her voice, and how frustrated she really was. The whole idea of it choked her.

She wouldn’t want to go through hell with the media again. She doesn’t want part two of that traumatizing incident.

Dominic tried to smile. "Technically, you’re sleeping with your boss’s boss’s boss."

Celeste shot him a glare.

"Not helping."

He reached out for her hand, and for a second, she let him take it. He lifted both hands to his lips, and dropped kisses on each of her knuckles.

"I’ll stay out of it. Completely. I give you my word. You’ll work your way up like everyone else. No one will know. I won’t even say your name around the board."

She let out a shaky breath. The anger was still there, but it was shifting. It softened, and the more it did, it became something more complicated.

"Why do you do these things without telling me?"

"Because I wanted to make sure you had a future you’ll love. One where I wouldn’t be the reason you fell short."

Celeste sighed, collapsing onto the leather couch in his study. Her head fell back, and she stared at the ceiling.

"You really have no idea how terrifying it is to be with someone like you, do you?" She grunted.

Dominic leaned on the edge of his desk, his gaze on her.

"You’re not here because of what I own. And that’s exactly why I want you in my life."

She looked at him.

"Just promise me that there’ll be no help. No special favors. No secret meetings."

"You have my word." He promised.

Celeste nodded. The fire was still in her chest, but the smoke had cleared a little.

Then she cracked a smile. "Still feels like I’m sleeping with my boss’s boss’s boss."

Dominic grinned. "You are. But we’ll keep that between us."

"Damn right we will."

She stood up, crossed the room to him. Her arms wrapped around his waist, and for a moment, she let herself melt into him.

He kissed the top of her head.

"Congratulations, by the way. I’m proud of you."

"I wanted to be proud of me too."

"Then let me make it right. Starting now."

Celeste pulled back and looked up at him. "You can start by pretending I don’t exist at work."

Dominic laughed. "My specialty."

His arms wrapped around her waist, as he lifted her tank top, and carassed her bare waist.

Celeste smiled.

Dominic’s hands rested on her waist, his thumbs brushing against the curve of her skin. He loved the way she fit into his arms, like she’d been carved to be held by him.

"Have dinner with me tonight," he said quietly against her hair, the request more intimate than it should have been. "Let me take you somewhere."

Celeste tilted her head, arching a brow, with a mischievous glint dancing in her eyes. "Hmm," she murmured, pretending to consider it. "I don’t know. I’ve got a very demanding job now. Might be busy impressing my boss’s boss’s boss."

Dominic chuckled, the sound low and warm in his chest. "You’re insufferable."

The warmness spread to Celeste, and she smiled. "But charming," she added quickly, lifting a finger. "Also—"

She paused, letting her arms wrap lazily around his neck.

"Also, I’m starving," she grinned, drawing him down from the neck, so their foreheads touch. "So I’m only saying yes because I’m hungry. Not because I like you."

He raised a brow. "Noted."

Before she could say more, his mouth was on hers.

The kiss was full of heat and hunger. His hands slid up her sides, slow and deliberate, and he kissed her like he was trying to erase the earlier fight with every brush of his lips.

Celeste melted into him with a soft moan, her fingers tightening behind his neck. She hated how easy it was to forgive him, to forget everything when he touched her like this.

She didn’t pull away.

Dominic only broke the kiss when the air between them ran thin. He kept his forehead pressed to hers, his voice husky. "I’ll have the car ready at eight."

She caught her breath. "Where are we going?"

"You’ll see," he said, brushing his lips against her temple. "Wear that little black dress. The one I showed you two nights ago."

She blinked up at him, suspiciously. "You’ll be good, right?"

He smiled. "I can’t promise that ."

She rolled her eyes, but her cheeks flushed with a quiet kind of satisfaction. "You’re such a menace."

"And yet, you’re still kissing me."

She sighed dramatically. "Hunger is a powerful motivator."

He kissed her again, softer this time. Like saying thanks.

"I’ll pick you up downstairs," he murmured.

She gave him a lazy salute. "Yes, Mr. Cross."

He gave her a look. "Behave."