Chapter 17

As soon as Maria pushed open the door to James’s office, she froze. Right in front of her, Amelia was clinging to his hand, way too close for comfort. Her heart sank. The finance director had sent her the latest financial report just last night, asking her to hand it to the CEO in person today. She knew her secretarial role meant frequent face time with him, so she took a deep breath and pushed open the door, assuming he’d just forgotten to completely close it. What she didn’t expect was walking in on that scene. James, clearly caught off guard by her sudden appearance, froze for a beat before quickly pulling his hand away from Amelia’s. He masked any emotion, trying to look unbothered, but the tension in the air was obvious. Maria noticed the way he jerked his hand back and was momentarily thrown off. Then she gave herself a cold little laugh. Of course—he just didn’t want anyone seeing them like that. “This is the financial report from the finance director,” she said, her tone casual