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"You’re enamoured by me," he stated slowly "I can see it in your eyes You lust for so new, different Maybe I’e his statement "Why am I here, Mr Borden? Just cut to the chase"

"You’re different," he quietly remarked

"Different how?"

"Just… different I see colours when I’htened at the fleeting shadow of sadness lurking beneath the surface of hiant o had disappeared, and I wanted to speak to this ain I openedout of whatever bubble we allowed ourselves in, he sighed and pressed a button on the screen of his phone and put it to his ear

"What?" he demanded

He listened intently, and I could already feel the shift in the air He was pulling away, back to the man from before

"I’ll be onup and looking back atto cut to the chase in our job interview, Miss Warne"

I froze, my breath knocked out ofabout?"

"I like you, and I think you would be a wonderful asset tointerest –"

"I didn’t express shit I don’t knohat the fuck you’re talking about right now"

He stared at me evenly "You’re a bookkeeper by trade, are you not?"

I didn’t respond I was too lost to understand

"My club is in need of one as soon as possible, and the job is yours You’ll be working alongsideup to his words inany position with you I don’t even knohat you’re talking about!"

He tucked his phone into his pocket and leaned back in his chair "It’s a good paying job,at the place you’re at currently You should be thanking h to hire them on the spot"

"I don’t want to be hired I’m happy where I am"

"You’re happy to live in poverty? Somehow I find that unlikely, and anyways it’s done You’ll be taking the position, or you’ll end up unemployed, which I know you don’t want to be That wouldstress on that poor fragile thing after she thought you were handling yourself so well on your own It’d be a shame, wouldn’t it?"

My heart nearly stopped "You’ve been coh my life"

"Every inch of it"

"Why?"

"Because I can"