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“I’ve managed this gallery for you, did extra time without pay, gone above and beyond for you and the artists who exhibited here.”

“That’s right, you have,” he acknowledged.“But don’t think for a second you’re indispensable.I’m sure there are plenty of young, starry-eyed graduates who’d love to take over from you.”

I lifted my hand and struck him hard across the face, the slap resounding in the still air.“Bastard,” I hissed.I wasn’t holding back anymore.“Have fun trying to find someone as dedicated as me.I.Fucking.Quit.”

He gaped at me even as he touched the red imprint of my hand on his cheek.“You’ll be back,” he snarled, his voice edged with an inkling of disquiet.

Huh.Guess I wasn’t quite as dispensable as he pretended.

I spun away, my shoes clattering as I hurried down the steps.My vision distorted as tears threatened.After everything I’d done for him and his business,thiswas how he repaid me?The only positive to come out of it was that I had no choice but to leave, so his opinion hardly mattered anyway.

A shiver suddenly trickled down my spine even as the hairs on the back of my neck lifted.I turned around, my senses sharpening and my eyes drying.Gregory was already walking away.

Someone else watched me, I was certain of it.

Evander?I couldn’t, wouldn’t think about it.I swiped a hand over my face, angry at myself, at the world.I was letting everything get to me, Gregory’s actions disturbing me on a deeper level...a level I’ve been trying so hard to forget.

Chapter Four

Gemma

Itrudged home, myemotions shot.But I’d been through worse.When I’d left Evander it’d been the end of my world.Watching my mom escape overseas with a man who swore to protect her had almost undone me all over again, not to mention...

I shook my head.I wouldnotgo there.I couldn’t.

At least I knew my mom was safe now.

I took a seat at the bus shelter, waiting for my usual bus home.I glanced left, then right, looking for the man who still filled my mind and, all too often, my dreams.Not that I wanted to see him.He was the last man I wanted in my life right now.

I sighed heavily.I would not think about him now.

I needed to focus on my present issues.As much as I’d loved my job, it was probably past time to move on anyway.I’d find someplace else to live and work.I might have put all of my heart into the gallery, but at least my experience would hold me in good stead for my next job.

I stepped onto the bus, its doors hissing closed behind me.The doors reopened ten minutes later, and I stepped off at my usual stop.I walked a couple of hundred meters toward the modern apartment complex ahead, where I’d lived for almost three years after I’d ran from Evander.My mother had stayed with me for the first eight months before she’d given up on a life in New York and had hedged her bets with another man in another part of the world.

My stomach compressed a little as my mind wandered.My mother had lived an extraordinary life.She’d been a runaway teen who’d survived by becoming an exotic dancer, then the mistress of a mafia boss who’d seen her dance and had wanted her all to himself.