She Was Never Just the Billionaire’s Wife (Natasha and Chase) novel Chapter 120

(Natasha)

My mouth still tastes like him.

I press the heel of my hand against my lip, trying to wipe away the physical memory of Chase’s office, but the friction just makes it sting.

I’m sitting at the long conference table in the Stein M&A boardroom, but my brain is stalling out.

The spreadsheet on my laptop is a blur.

End-stage organ failure.

Sonia in his bed.

I haven't slept properly in days, and the adrenaline crash is making my hands shake.

I shove them under the table and grip my thighs.

The meeting officially ended five minutes ago.

The junior analysts are packing up their briefcases, eager to escape the tense atmosphere.

I should pack up too, but I lack the energy to close my screen.

A shadow falls over my keyboard.

I look up to find Jeffrey Bauer standing directly behind my chair.

He doesn't keep a polite professional distance.

He crowds me.

His expensive cologne wouldn’t be unpleasant in reasonable doses, but it smells like he showers in it.

The smell completely overrides everything else in the room and clogs up the back of my throat.

He places one hand on the back of my chair and the other flat on the table, effectively trapping me in a cage of his arms.

"You look exhausted, Natasha," he says.

His voice is too soft. Too familiar.

I lean away from him, pressing my spine into the leather.

"It’s a complicated merger, Jeffrey. There’s a lot of data to audit."

"I’m sorry for putting so much on you, but you’re the only one I trust."

He reaches out and actually closes the lid of my laptop.

"Chase Warren is careless. I can’t put my faith in him dealing with me honestly."

I stare at my closed laptop.

Two analysts near the door suddenly find the carpet incredibly interesting and hurry out.

The room is emptying too fast.

Mason is tied up on a compliance call, and the isolation is suddenly very real.

"Chase and I are handling the integration together," I say.

I try to push my chair back, but Bauer shifts his weight, blocking the wheels.

"Chase isn't handling anything," Bauer corrects gently.

He tilts his head, studying my face.

His eyes drop to my mouth and he licks his lips in a way that makes my skin crawl.

"He's drowning while you’re keeping everything afloat. Some structures need to be completely demolished before the people trapped inside them can be pulled from the wreckage."

He isn't talking about corporate infrastructure.

He’s talking about my marriage.

He looks at me like a prize he just won at a rigged auction.

"You’ll be free soon, Natasha. I promise."

My throat goes dry.

The sheer delusion rolling off him is suffocating.

He actually believes he’s doing this for me. Rescuing me.

I open my mouth to tell him to back the hell up, but a sharp, rhythmic tapping stops me.

"Bauer."

Julian is leaning against the boardroom doorframe.

"Julian," Bauer says, clearly not pleased by the interruption.

He doesn't move away from my chair.

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