Page 105 of Modern Romance December 2025 5-8

Amy shook her head and gave him a stubborn blank look.

‘I need a chef for an upcoming event.’

‘Is that meant to be a joke?’ She pointed to her face. ‘I am not laughing. There are a lot of chefs out there, Leo.’

‘It’s a tough gig and I understand if you don’t feel up to the challenge.’

‘It isn’t a matter of feeling up to anything. Nothing in the world would make me work for a man who…’

‘Was your social inferior?’

The colour flew to her cheeks. ‘I wasn’t going to say that.’

‘It’s true, though.’

‘You never forgave me, did you?’

‘I almost forgot you existed,’ he lied without hesitation.

She flinched, but after a split second and a convulsive swallow she lifted her chin.

There was a reason why Leo had risen to the heights he had, a reason why the business world revered him. His ruthlessness was unrivalled, so it was infuriating that he felt the need to remind himself thatnothingabout Amy was authentic, not the bitten lip or the unshed tears.

‘And then your father’s case hit the headlines, and you stayed a daddy’s girl to the end. It reminded me that we have unfinished business, Amy.’ He paused, his contemptuous dark eyes narrowed, trained on her face for a long moment before he asked, ‘Are you, Amy?’

The lethally soft question made her shiver. ‘Am I what?’

‘A daddy’s girl. What would you do for your father? How far does your devotion and blind loyalty go?’

‘What do you mean?’ she asked, even though she was pretty sure she didn’t want to know.

‘We have established that working for me is not something that sets your soul alight with joy. The question is, would you work for me in order to save your father from another stint in jail? For a second offence, he might not have the option of an open prison.’

The possibility that he wasn’t bluffing sent an icy chill through Amy. In her mind, she could see the scattered pills on the floor amidst empty bottles and her father’s body on the floor, unmoving. She knew with total certainty that if faced with that shame again, he wouldn’t get as far as prison.

‘He’s not going back to prison.’ Amy could hear the note of panic in her voice. ‘He’s turning his life around.’

Leo refused to recognise the stab of guilt that speared him when he saw the fear in her eyes—that, at least, was authentic. ‘Those new friends your father made behind bars, they have friends on the outside who have large quantities of cash made illegally, which they need to launder through a legitimate business.’ He arched a speculative ebony brow. ‘Have your accounts been looking more healthy of late?’

She looked at him, loathing shining in her eyes, hating how what he was saying made sense. ‘How do you know any of this?’

‘It’s easy toknowthings when you know where to look. Your father is not a master criminal, although in his arrogance and greed I’m quite sure he thinks he is.’ His voice dropped to a foreboding purr as he tilted his head and scanned her face with a clinical detachment that made her feel like a bug under a microscope. ‘Are you in on the scam, Amy?’

She stepped forward and lifted her arm in the same moment. The action was pure reflex and she barely registered what she was about to do until fingers like steel wrapped around her wrist.

Her eyes widened in shocked horror, which was supplanted when instead of releasing her hand he dragged her towards him. He bent his head and she literally stopped breathing, her eyes drifting closed as his head lowered.

The warmth of his breath on her palm sent a shiver through her body and then she was free. Apart from the tangled emotions churning inside her as she rubbed her palm hard against her thigh.

She made herself meet his gaze. His taunting smile made it obvious he knew she had thought he was going to kiss her.

The only question was, did he also know she had wanted him to?

‘What do you want, Leo?’ she asked, making her voice cold, even though it did nothing to lower her internal temperature.

‘I’ve already told you I need a chef… I think a six-week contract will suffice.’

Six weeks of working for him and he would have the satisfaction of seeing her fail. Amy would be begging to leave; she had developed unexpected steel, but in a war of attrition there was only one winner.