“Are you actually gonna end things with Braxton Payne?”

Maxine Mason swirled the coffee in her mug, pausing a beat before answering. “Yeah. I’ve already made up my mind.”

Her best friend Sam dropped an excited hand on Maxine’s shoulder. “Finally! It’s about damn time you came to your senses! You should’ve dumped his ass ages ago. That whole ‘no strings attached’ crap is just his cheap excuse to dodge commitment!”

Maxine forced a wobbly little smile, but the grief in her eyes gave her away. “Why are you this happy about it?”

“I’m happy for you! You’re finally getting out of that toxic mess!”

Maxine pulled off another weak smile, but the sorrow lingering in her gaze couldn’t be hidden.

“Max, you good?” Sam asked, worry creeping into her voice—she’d always seen how deep Maxine’s feelings for Braxton ran.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Maxine answered, forcing a small smile and staring down at her shoes to hide the ache of loneliness gnawing at her. “I’m just gonna run to the bathroom.”

When she stood, a wave of dizziness crashed over her. Everything went black, and the last thing she registered was Sam’s panicked voice calling her name.

...

When Maxine woke up the next morning, Sam’s voice wrapped around the quiet hospital room. “Thank God you’re awake! You scared the hell out of me!”

“I’m okay. I’ve just been overworking lately, haven’t been sleeping right. I’m sorry I worried you.”

She tried to swing her legs over the edge of the bed, but Sam gently pushed her back against the pillows. “Don’t you dare move! The doctor said there’s a miscarriage risk—you have to stay off your feet.”

“Miscarriage?” Maxine blinked, confusion clouding her face. “What… what are you talking about?”

“The doctor said you’re pregnant—about six weeks along,” Sam explained, her face soft with concern.

Maxine’s heart stopped cold. It took her several seconds to remember how to speak. “I’m… pregnant?”

Braxton had always been so careful. He’d never skipped protection, specifically to avoid exactly this. The only time it’d slipped up was that one night he’d gotten way too drunk and things had gotten out of hand. He’d even brought her emergency contraception the next morning, stood there and watched her take it.

She still ended up pregnant anyway. How was that even possible?

Noticing her silence, Sam pressed gently, “What are you gonna do? Are you gonna tell Braxton? It’s his kid, after all.”

“I can’t let Braxton find out about this.”

She knew his dismissive, cynical nature. He’d just assume she was trying to trap him with the baby, that she was using the pregnancy to claw her way up his social ladder. There was no point in giving him that excuse.

“So what are you gonna do about the baby? Keep it, or…?”

“I’m gonna quit Payne Corp first. After that, I’ll go to the clinic with you to take care of it.”

Maxine pressed a light, trembling hand to her abdomen, her heart heavy as lead. She knew Braxton would never let her keep this baby. She couldn’t keep it anyway—if she did, she’d never be able to cut him loose and move on.

“Okay. I’ll be right there with you, whatever you need,” Sam said, squeezing Maxine’s hand and letting out a quiet, sad sigh.

Maxine turned her face away, biting down hard on her lower lip to hold it together as tears burned the backs of her eyes.

Just then, her phone rang. She answered it, and her colleague Lee’s urgent voice came through the line: “Max, where are you? Your dad’s at the office cornering Mr. Payne, screaming that you’re his girl.”

Maxine’s mind went completely blank. “Lee, stall him! I’ll be there as fast as I can!”

She hung up, ripped the IV out of her arm, and bolted out of the hospital. A dull ache throbbed in her lower abdomen, turning her face paper-white, but she didn’t slow down—she headed straight for Braxton’s office.

Braxton sat behind his desk, calm as you please, a filled-out check already sitting right beside his hand.

Maxine wouldn’t meet his eye, yanking her father David out of the office as fast as she could. “What are you doing here? Let’s go outside to talk.”

Once they were on the rooftop, David wrenched his arm out of her grip. “Why’d you drag me out here? I came to talk to Mr. Payne.”

“What do you want from him?” Maxine asked, forcing her rage to stay locked down.

“Money, obviously. If you won’t give me money, I’ll get it from my future son-in-law!”

Her dad was a lifelong gambler. Every time he lost and dug himself into debt, he showed up at Payne Corp shaking Braxton down for cash. She’d warned him a hundred times to stop.

“What the hell are you talking about? Braxton and I are just coworkers! And I don’t have any money to give you!” Maxine fought to keep her voice from shaking.

David scoffed. “Bullshit! You’re his mistress, you must be rolling in it. Starting now, you’re gonna give me a hundred grand a month, or I’ll keep showing up here and embarrassing you.”

The word “mistress” hit Maxine like a slap to the face. She froze solid.

“I told you I don’t have any money! Even if I did, I wouldn’t give you a single cent!”

David jabbed a greasy finger right in her face, yelling loud enough for the whole building to hear. “How dare you talk back to me? You think you’re all grown up now, you can disobey me?”

“For years you gambled nonstop, and every time you lost you’d beat Mom and me. Mom’s covered in scars from you. You even tried to sell your own daughter to pay off your gambling debts. How dare you stand here and ask me for money!”

If Braxton hadn’t stepped in all those years ago, she’d have been sold to a brothel before she even turned eighteen.

David’s face turned red with rage, his voice booming. “Are you gonna give me the money or not?”

Maxine stared him down, jaw set. “I said no.”

David’s eyes burned with fury, then suddenly a nasty smirk spread across his face like he’d just come up with the perfect plan. He grabbed her arm hard enough to bruise. “If you don’t have the money, I’ll just sell you to the casino owners. As Braxton Payne’s girl, you’d pull in thousands a night!”

Maxine shoved him away as hard as she could. “David, have you no shame at all?”

She stumbled back a step, the cramping pain in her abdomen spiking sharp enough to make her gasp, her face draining of all color.

“You little brat! You dare lay a hand on me? I will sell you to a brothel myself!” David snarled, lunging forward to drag her away by the wrist.

Suddenly, a big, strong hand clamped down hard on David’s wrist. He spun around, and came face to face with Braxton’s ice-cold glare.

David flinched back, his whole demeanor melting into groveling subservience. “M-Mr. Payne…”

Braxton’s eyes were colder than winter, and his whole body radiated a deadly, chilling aura as he spoke low and dangerous: “Who gave you the balls to threaten someone on my turf?”

"I'm Maxine Mason's father. Surely I got every right to discipline her?" Mr. Mason's words had barely finished hanging in the air when a sharp crack split the rooftop silence. A guttural, agonizing scream boomed out, echoing off the concrete. He clutched the hand Braxton Payne had just shattered, his face draining of every last bit of color.

"If you ever dare harass one of my employees at my company again, I'll make sure you disappear from this town for good," Braxton warned. Even seething with rage, Mr. Mason didn't dare push him further. He shot Maxine one last furious glare before slinking off, broken and defeated.

A sharp cramp twisted through Maxine's abdomen. She clutched her stomach, stumbling back a few wobbly steps. Her face went pale, cold sweat beading at her hairline. Braxton's eyes locked on her ashen skin, a flicker of worry cutting through his usual stoic mask. "I'll handle your father," he said flatly.

"No need to trouble you, Mr. Payne. I can handle my own family mess. This won't happen again," she answered. Her tone was detached, almost icy.

Braxton's jaw tightened, his eyes blazing with suppressed anger. "Maxine, are you done with this nonsense?"

"I'm not making drama, Mr. Payne. I'm here to resign," she said quietly.

His eyes darkened instantly. "Resign? Just to run away from me?"

"Yes," she admitted, staring off at anything but him.

"Isn't staying with me enough? Haven't I given you everything you ever wanted?" Braxton's generosity had never been up for debate—cars, a penthouse, more money than she could ever spend.

But none of that was what she actually wanted. "I want to get married. I want kids. Can you give me that?" Maxine held his gaze, clinging to a tiny, stupid flicker of hope.

If he just said yes, she'd stay without a second thought. Even if he was lying.

But Braxton just furrowed his brow. His gaze went complicated, unreadable, and he never answered her question.

"If you're dead set on leaving, go process your resignation." He turned and walked away, his stiff back giving away no hint of softness, no regret at all.

Maxine tilted her chin up, fighting to hold back the tears burning at the backs of her eyes. Still, they spilled over anyway, rolling hot and fast down her cheeks.

Once she pulled herself together, she headed back to the office. Before she could even turn the doorknob, she heard her coworkers gossiping inside.

"Did you hear Maxine's dad was saying she's Mr. Payne's mistress? Is that actually true?"

"Who wouldn't jump at that chance? Our CEO's hot as hell and loaded. But he's ice cold—why would he even look twice at Maxine?"

"Right? I heard her dad's a total gambling addict. There's no way Mr. Payne's into her. She probably started the rumor herself to climb the ladder. And didn't Mr. Payne just fire her anyway?"

When she pushed the door open, the room went dead silent. Everyone scattered under her gaze, hurrying back to their desks. Maxine packed her things quietly, every pair of eyes burning into her back as she got ready to leave.

To get away from all the reminders of her old mess, she'd arranged to crash at her friend Sue's place for a few days.

She was sitting in the back of a taxi when her phone rang. It was her mom. She answered fast. "Mom?" All that came through was static and chaotic yelling. Her stomach dropped. "Mom?"

Then her dad's sneering voice cut in. "Guess where I got your mom, Maxine?"

Her heart plummeted straight to her feet. "Where is she?"

"If you don't bring me the cash, I'm gonna sell her to that dive club down by the docks to entertain the drunks. She's old, but she can still pull in a few bucks," he laughed cruelly.

Maxine trembled with white-hot rage. "If you hurt her, I swear to God I'll make you pay!"

Her dad just cackled, not a hint of fear in his voice. "Bring the money if you don't want her to get hurt. You know where to find me."

Maxine clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her palms, barely holding back from screaming. "How much?"

"A million!" he demanded, no shame, no remorse.

"Where the hell am I supposed to get a million dollars?!" she cried out.

"Braxton's gotten plenty of use out of you, don't try to tell me you can't scrape it together. Figure it out. Be at the club by eight with the cash, or else…" The line went dead.

The flat dial tone buzzed in her ear as fresh tears welled in her eyes. She wracked her brain, desperate for any way to get that kind of money. Her own savings barely covered ten percent of it.

"We're here, miss," the taxi driver's voice pulled her out of her panic.

Maxine glanced out at the familiar neighborhood, Sue's worried text glowing on her screen. Her mind raced a mile a minute, and she made her choice. "Can you take me back to Payne Enterprises instead?"

Fifteen minutes later, Maxine stood outside the towering glass office building, her chest tight with a dozen conflicting emotions. Her phone buzzed. It was Braxton.

"Why are you standing at the front door?"

Could he see her? Maxine squinted into the glaring midday sun, scanning the windows for any sign of him, but found nothing. "I'll be up in a minute," she replied.

She endured the curious stares of other employees as she stepped into the private elevator for the top floor. When the doors opened, her footsteps echoed loud across the vast, empty floor. She walked straight to the CEO's office door, and met Braxton's intense gaze—he was leaning back against his desk, hands folded in front of him.

"Changed your mind?" His question was laced with teasing, utterly confident that he still held sway over her.

Maxine froze. She knew if she said the words, she'd be pulled right back into that familiar, suffocating abyss she'd been trying to escape. She took a deep breath, then faltered. "No. I… I forgot something. It's not even important. Sorry for bothering you, Mr. Payne. I'll go now."

Her mind was spinning with other options—she could call the cops about her mom, she could go confront her dad alone.

Surprise flickered across Braxton's face for half a second before he called out, "What about your father? You really just gonna pretend this doesn't exist and walk away?"

Maxine hesitated, her hard-won resolve starting to crack. Braxton saw his opening and pressed on, sure his argument would win her over. "You know he's just gonna keep coming back. The cops can't fix this for good. Stay with me. You'll have all the money you need, you'll have protection. I can take care of your father once and for all."

To Maxine, his words felt like a trap, one designed to keep her chained to him. But she also knew he was right about her dad's endless threats.

After a minute of tearing herself apart inside, she made her choice. "Mr. Payne… can we renew my contract for another year?"

One year to save up enough to get her mom away from him, to break free of her father's grip for good. And maybe… just maybe, to figure out what she actually felt for Braxton before she left forever.

Braxton's face softened, satisfaction settling over his features. He pressed the intercom button, and told his assistant, "Extend Maxine's contract by one year. Give her a fifty percent raise."

Maxine's eyes widened in shock.

"And I'll add an extra fifty grand for each… private meeting. That's enough incentive, right?" he added, a slow smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Maxine Mason paused, turning Braxton Payne’s repeated use of "every time" over in her head. It clicked. He was offering her a raise. Braxton waited for her answer, one eye squinted slightly. "Still not happy?"

"No," Maxine blurted before she thought twice. Then, after a beat of hesitation, she asked, "Mr. Payne, do you honestly think I’ve been pushing this hard just for more money?" She’d hoped he’d see the fire in her, but all it boiled down to for him was a cash grab.

Braxton tilted his head and said nothing. His silence said everything. At least the money’s here, Maxine told herself.

Ten minutes later, Maxine finished her assignments and headed back to her desk. She sorted her papers, then dropped her bombshell of a request: "My father, Jake Mason, is threatening to sell my mom to pay off his gambling debts. I need a million dollars by eight tonight."

Braxton, who’d been flipping through a contract, froze mid-page. He smirked. "Your old man’s got some real nerve, huh? Last time it was a hundred grand. Now it’s a million?"

Maxine’s shame and guilt coiled tight in her chest despite his jab, her eyes glued to the surface of his desk. Braxton didn’t even bat an eye. He scribbled the amount out on a check and slid it across to her. "Count it as an advance on your year-end bonus."

Maxine stared at the check but didn’t reach for it. Her voice came out soft, steady. "I need you to warn Jake Mason. He’s gone too far this time, using my mom against me."

She held Braxton’s stare, unflinching. "I know I can’t cut him loose for good right now, but I want him to feel pain. A little of it."

Braxton’s surprise melted into approval. He nodded. "And what do I get out of this?"

He already knew her only leverage was herself. Maxine turned, locked the office door, and walked right back to him. She slipped her clothes off one by one until she was standing naked in front of him.

"I picked up some new tricks lately, Mr. Payne. You interested?"

Braxton spread his legs, his eyes blazing with hunger. "I’m all yours."

Three hours later, a worn-out Maxine pulled her clothes back on and checked the clock, a gentle reminder. "It’s time to get moving, Mr. Payne."

No one ever questioned Braxton’s connections. One nod from him was all it took to get the wheels turning. As eight o’clock ticked closer, he slowly packed up his things, slipped on his coat, and called to her: "Let’s go."

Maxine’s anxiety climbed with every tick of the clock, but when he stood to leave, she hesitated. "I can go alone."

"I’ll drive," he said—no room to argue.

To her shock, Braxton got behind the wheel himself. Maxine sat rigid in the passenger seat, unused to this sudden softness from him. Was this just the afterglow of what they’d done that afternoon?

She was still lost in thought when they pulled up to the casino. The whole place blazed with neon, the roar of the crowd growing louder the closer they got. The security guard moved to frisk them, but Braxton’s voice dropped low, cutting him off. "You really need to check my people?"

"Mr. Payne! Welcome, sir," the guard’s whole demeanor flipped instantly, and he ushered them inside with a bow.

Maxine’s eyebrows shot up—how was he so at home here? A regular? He rarely came around, but everyone knew him. Sensing her curiosity, Braxton leaned in as they wove through the crowd, his breath warm against her ear. "I’m a shareholder here."

This wasn’t Jake Mason’s first time gambling here, which meant Braxton had known who he was all along. He’d never said a word. A cold chill crept up Maxine’s spine. For the first time, she understood just how little she mattered to him.

"Well, look who it is! Brought Mr. Payne to pay my tab, didn’t you? My girl knows how to make an entrance," Jake Mason slurred, half-drunk at the bar, yelling loud enough for the whole room to hear. "See this? My daughter, Mr. Payne’s mistress. You all better remember that."

The onlookers swapped glances, their interest perked right up.

"Ow—"

A sharp scream cut through the noise. Jake clutched his rapidly swelling cheek, already reaching to hit back, but a wall of Braxton’s guys blocked him. Three massive enforcers moved in fast, their moves so sharp the crowd scattered to get out of their way.

Jake ducked and roared, "You little brat, make them stop! Don’t you wanna know where your mom is?"

Maxine’s brow furrowed so deep it ached. Years of hurt and rage boiled up, clouding her judgement. She forced herself to breathe through it, and over the sick crunch of fists hitting flesh, she ordered, "Stop."

The men looked to Braxton. He nodded, letting them know Maxine was in charge now.

Jake’s face lit up with triumph, thinking his little threat worked. "I knew you cared about your mom—"

*Smack—*

A stinging slap cut him off. Maxine had hit him with every ounce of strength she had, and her right hand shook uncontrollably. She glared right through him. "Where is my mom?"

"You little brat, how dare you hit me! You’ll never see her again!" Jake sneered.

*Smack—*

The second slap landed just as hard. Jake clutched his face, stunned. His quiet, doormat daughter was standing up to him. His voice shook. "You… you…"

"Where is she?" Maxine snapped, rage pushing her right to the edge.

Jake still tried to play hardball. Maxine grabbed a wine glass off the nearest table, smashed it against the edge, and pressed the jagged broken rim right to his throat. She spoke slow, clear, cold. "Where. Is. My. Mom?"

"You don’t got the guts to kill me. All these people saw you—even if you try, you’ll never get away with this!" Jake barked, emboldened by the split second she hesitated.

"Mr. Payne?" The casino guards edged closer, asking for his call.

Braxton watched, thoroughly entertained. He’d never seen this side of Maxine before. If he’d known it’d be this fun, he’d have pushed Jake over the edge a long time ago.

Maxine’s eyes turned red. She tightened her grip, pressing the glass shard deeper until blood trickled down Jake’s neck. She pushed harder, snarling, "Are you gonna talk now?"

Jake finally realized he wasn’t bluffing. He spun to beg Braxton. "She’s your secretary! If she kills me, Payne Corp gets dragged into a huge lawsuit. You’re just gonna stand there and let her?"

Braxton had been ready for that exact line. He smiled calm as you please. "The cameras are off."

The color drained from Jake’s face. Maxine’s resolve hardened. She pushed the glass down another half-inch, and blood flowed faster.

"I’ll talk! I’ll talk! She’s in Room F on the second floor!" Jake caved, desperate, scared out of his mind.

Maxine’s grip went limp. She stumbled back, her hands falling loose to her sides. A strong pair of arms caught her before she hit the floor. She glared at Jake, her voice low and deadly. "If you ever touch my mom again, this glass goes straight through your throat."

With that, she hurried up the stairs, found her mother, and asked Braxton to help get her home safe. Once everything was sorted, she climbed back into his car.

Braxton had waited patiently this whole time. He faked innocence. "Aren’t you going home with your mom?"

Maxine clicked her seatbelt into place, her voice calm. "You did me a huge favor, Mr. Payne. It’s only right I pay you back properly."

If he hadn’t been there, there was no way Jake would have caved and told her where her mom was so fast.