Page 191 of Pure Recklessness

‘Well, well, well. I always wondered if I’d bump into you here.’ A voice sounded from behind, causing us to jerk apart.

When I saw the woman standing in front of us, my jaw crashed to the ground.

I instantly recognised her from an article I’d recently seen in a publishing trade magazine.

It was Pandora.

Blake’s ex.

71

BLAKE

When I saw Pandora standing in front of me with a shit-eating grin spread across her face, my blood ran cold.

This was bad.

Really. Fucking. Bad.

I swallowed hard.

My mind raced as I tried to work out how to manage this clusterfuck and limit the damage.

‘Pandora,’ I gritted out. ‘What the fuck are you doing here?’

‘I’m on holiday, darling, just like you. I used to love our little trips here so I thought I’d come back. A friend of mine’s having a party on his yacht tonight, so I’m on my way there now. Then tomorrow, I’m off to Ibiza for a few days. I don’t think we’ve been introduced.’ She turned to Ellie.

‘I… I’m Eleanor,’ she stuttered.

‘And who are you, Eleanor?’

Ellie’s eyes widened like a deer caught in the headlights.

She knew that my ex finding out about us was a disaster. Especially given Pandora’s track record for screwing me over.

Pandora knowing about me and Ellie gave her leverage.

And I fucking hated that.

But I was serious about Ellie and I wasn’t going to allow this bitch to blackmail me.

Fuck it. I’d tell my brothers myself. And speak to HR to smooth this over. I’d hoped we could wait until after SatisFya was launched, but now I’d have to do it sooner.

I’d fess up on Tuesday. After the announcement event. Then my family would see that my professionalism hadn’t been compromised by dating Ellie. If anything, it’d made me more productive.

They’d said themselves that I’d been happier and Ellie was the reason.

All they cared about was the company and thanks to Ellie’s hard work, SatisFya was going to make Sated a shitload of money.

Once they saw everyone’s excitement about the app and the amount of money that came rolling in, my brothers and the board wouldn’t give a shit. They’d see our relationship for what it was: something positive. Something to celebrate.

‘Ellie’s my girlfriend,’ I declared proudly.

Pandora had already seen us kissing, so saying we were friends wouldn’t wash.

‘Your girlfriend?’ She raised a brow and tossed her hair over her shoulder. ‘And what do you do, Eleanor?’

‘None of your fucking business,’ I jumped in, my nostrils flaring. Although she now knew who I was dating, it’d be foolish to tell her Ellie worked at Sated. Not until I’d told my brothers and declared our relationship with HR. ‘Cut the bullshit, Pandora,’ I spat. ‘You screwed me over, so don’t stand here playing fucking innocent and trying to make pathetic small talk. Enjoy your yacht party. I hope you fall overboard.’ I took Ellie’s hand and stormed off.