Chapter 245

Evelyn hugged herself tightly, her piercing gaze locked onto Dominic.

She watched as he stripped off his dress shirt, then flung it toward her with a careless motion.

The fabric carried his warmth, his scent—something achingly familiar—wrapping around her like an unwanted embrace.

She hated him.

Yet, beneath the anger, there was something else—something she refused to name.

Dominic strode out of the restaurant, bare-chested, not sparing her another glance.

Evelyn gasped for air, her chest rising and falling rapidly, as if she'd just surfaced from deep water.

The shrill ring of her phone snapped her back to reality.

With trembling hands, she peeled off his shirt, grabbed her bag, and fled.

Meanwhile, at Blackwood Group, Nathan nearly choked on his coffee when the call came in.

Had the world gone mad?

His boss—Dominic Blackwood, the ruthless billionaire—had stormed into a hotel restaurant and thrown a tantrum like a spoiled heir.

He'd cleared the entire place, thrown money around like confetti, and—

Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose.

And then stripped off his shirt and left it behind.

If this were a soap opera, the ratings would be through the roof.

Thirty minutes later, the restaurant manager arrived, personally delivering Dominic's abandoned shirt, the scattered cash, and—

Two delicate buttons from a woman's blouse.

Nathan frowned, turning them over in his palm. "Whose are these?"

The manager cleared his throat. "Miss Thorne's, I believe."

"Evelyn Thorne?"

"Yes. They had quite the... altercation. Nearly came to blows—or something else entirely."

Nathan's eyebrows shot up.

"Something else?"

The manager gave him a knowing look.

Nathan exhaled sharply.

This was going to be a long day.