Page 68 of Silver Fox's Christmas Scandal

A hungry growl rose up from my belly as I thought again of her beneath me, this time with a large belly swollen with new life, and it made my dick start to swell.

Unfortunately, it was interrupted by my phone ringing.

"I need to take this," I said, gesturing for Tessa to step back. She gave me some space and followed me back across the room where I picked up my phone and answered. Before I got a word out, the nasal and shrill tone of my ex-wife was already barking at me.

"Lucian." Viktoria's voice was sharp with fury. "We need to talk. Now."

"I'm in the middle of?—"

"Someone saw you leaving that woman's apartment building last night. Photos are already circulating among certain social circles." Her tone was nothing short of venomous. "This ends today, or I make those photos public."

I swallowed hard and pressed my eyes closed so I didn't have to look at Tessa's beautiful face.

Viktoria was crossing lines, and I was sick of it.

Our arrangement would never work out if I didn't put an end to this nonsense.

19

TESSA

The July heat outside Cross Capital's windows was stifling, but the atmosphere inside felt even more suffocating.

Three weeks had passed since Viktoria's threatening phone call, and the aftermath had transformed Lucian into someone I barely recognized.

Gone was the man who'd shown up at my apartment desperate and vulnerable. In his place was a CEO operating in crisis management mode.

We'd cut back to zero personal interactions whenever we may be spotted together, and he made a new rule that we couldn’t even be seen at each other’s apartment.

The restrictions made logical sense, but they felt like emotional punishment for a crime I hadn't committed.

I understood his position intellectually. Photos of him leaving my apartment building could destroy both our careers if they surfaced publicly.

But emotionally, the enforced distance felt like confirmation that I was making a bad choice by agreeing to have his child.

The secret nights at hotels all over the city, however, were as hot as ever and sort of exciting.

Plus, it was all good fodder for my mother's nagging calls.

I made Lucian sound like a dream boat and Mom ate it up.

Too bad for me, the mentorship part of the agreement had all but been forgotten. Even Daniel had stopped feeding me breadcrumbs.

The morning staff meeting dragged on with discussions of quarterly targets and client acquisition strategies.

I'd prepared an analysis on the Henderson Industries proposal, but I never got to present it. My job was notetaking and refilling coffee mugs. But when Robert called for input on the deal structure, I raised my hand.

I was shocked when he called on me, and for once, Lucian didn't cut me off. Even Daniel listened carefully when I spoke.

"The manufacturing division shows untapped potential if we restructure the partnership to include licensing agreements," I said, referencing the data I'd compiled over the weekend. "The intellectual property alone could generate returns that exceed the initial investment by thirty percent."

Murmurs of agreement rippled around the conference table, but James from Acquisitions leaned back in his chair with a smirk. "Interesting perspective. Some people certainly get opportunities to shine in these meetings."

The comment made my cheeks burn. I kept my plastic smile, but his nasty perspective drew a few stares from other staff members around me.

I wanted to comment something witty and maybe a little snarky, but I didn't want to look defensive or embarrass myself.

"The analysis is solid," Daniel said, chiming in before I could respond. "We should definitely explore the licensing angle."