Adrian swallowed hard, the slight pressure of Alexander's grip a searing brand on his skin. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think. The office—Alexander's expensive, air-conditioned office—suddenly felt suffocatingly small.
Jealous. The word, whispered moments ago, echoed louder than Alexander's low, dangerous voice.
He looked down at his wrist, then back up at the unreadable blue eyes fixed on his. He saw the tight set of Alexander's jaw, the slight tremor in the hand holding him. This wasn't the calm, detached boss he knew. This was something else—something raw and volatile.
He couldn't lie, not when Alexander was this close, this intense. But he couldn't tell the full truth either, not with the risk of being thrown in jail, or worse, making Alexander truly angry.
He decided to deploy a deviation, aimed at self-preservation.
