Chapter 15

HAILEY

She had the urge to confront Valerian about his unexpected presence. But she held back.

She didn’t want to risk Matt losing his cool if he realized Valerian was the cause of her distress. He was already suspicious.

Hailey returned to the living room, reclaiming her spot next to Matt, who was visibly seething.

She turned to Valerian. “Good evening. Is there something wrong?”

Valerian met her gaze. “No, I just came to see how you were doing. I brought you some food.”

She couldn’t help but grimace slightly as Matt shot her a questioning look.

“She’s already had dinner with me,” Matt interjected swiftly.

“Is that so?” Valerian replied.

Feeling the need to defuse the tension—Matt and Valerian were locked in some sort of silent standoff—she spoke up.

“Can we just get back to watching TV?”

“Hailey, can we discuss what happened between us in the Maldives?” Valerian asked.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

What was Valerian thinking? Did he really need to bring that up now?

She could feel Matt tense up beside her, a clear sign of his growing anger.

She decided to play it cool. “We can talk about it at work. There’s no need to bring business matters home.”

Valerian tilted his head slightly. “So, you see us as just business now, but what we did—”

Her eyes widened further as she realized he was about to spill the beans about their Maldives escapade to Matt. She had to interrupt him.

“It’s getting late,” she said, turning to Matt. “You should head home. I don’t want you to miss the last bus.”

Matt looked at her, puzzled. “I can just stay over, Hails.”

She shook her head. “No, you can’t.” She stood up.

Matt rose, looking hurt. ~It’s okay~, she reassured herself. She would explain everything to him later.

As Matt picked up his coat, she walked him to the door. “Goodnight, Matt,” she said, giving him a hug.

“Goodnight, Hails. Be safe and call me if you need anything.” With that, he turned and left.

Hailey closed the door and took a seat across from Valerian, remaining silent.

Suddenly, Valerian moved to sit next to her on the couch. He took the remote from her hand and turned off the TV.

Before she could object, he interrupted her. “I need to clarify a few things with you, Hailey, before we return to work. So, let’s act like adults.”

She felt the urge to slap him again. Instead, she turned slightly to face him. “You wanted to talk, so talk, sir.”

“Hailey, I wasn’t in my right mind that night,” Valerian began.

“Sure you weren’t.” Her voice was heavy with sarcasm.

He looked at her earnestly. “I know my words hurt you, and for what it’s worth, I felt terrible.” He ran a hand through his hair.

“Is that an apology I hear, asshole?”

Valerian shot her a stern look at her choice of words, but Hailey wasn’t about to back down and let him off the hook.

“You’re quite the player, sir. You toy with girls’ feelings day in and day out, yet you have the nerve to accuse me!

“I could list all the girls, but we both know it would take me half a century to name even half of them.”

He gave her a cool look. “You and I both know that’s an exaggeration.”

“Let’s just forget everything that happened in the Maldives and move on.”

VALERIAN

Valerian had knocked on the door. To his dismay, it was Matt who answered.

~What the hell is this jerk doing here?~

Matt looked just as shocked to see him. Valerian brushed past him and took a seat on the couch.

He was relieved when Hailey appeared a few seconds later. She looked surprised to see him too.

She asked if there was a problem, making him feel somewhat unwelcome. It felt like he was intruding on her and Matt, but he couldn’t just back down and let Matt take what was rightfully his.

Valerian had picked up food for her, but she’d already eaten. He took a moment to really look at her. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she looked...beautiful.

When did he start noticing such things? Since when did he find girls beautiful? And why was he even here?

He began to ask her vague questions about the incident in the Maldives.

He knew she’d be too mortified to answer in front of Matt. That would unsettle Matt and put him in his place.

He noticed Hailey trying to dodge his questions. Matt’s discomfort only encouraged him to probe further.

Once Hailey sent Matt home, it was the perfect opportunity to discuss the Maldives incident.

He had to suppress a grimace when she hugged Matt goodbye. Why was he feeling this way about her? ~I could have any girl I want.~

When Hailey settled down, he chose to sit next to her on the couch. He wanted a clear view of her reactions.

She was still upset about the Maldives incident. But why did he feel compelled to justify his actions?

She called him an asshole. It surprised him, but also intrigued him. No one had ever dared to curse at him or challenge him like she did.

She was so young, yet so assertive.

~We barely touched on what happened in the Maldives.~

He couldn’t understand why he felt a pang of disappointment when she suggested they forget about the Maldives and move on.

How could he forget? He’d enjoyed their kiss far more than he should have.

He wanted to persuade her to reconsider, but thought better of it.