I felt my breathing pick up before I could control it.

He had taken a small step toward me in the elevator. Just enough to invade my space. Just enough for his presence to hit my skin like a wave of heat. The soft scent of his cologne—something woody, mixed with something darker—wrapped around me. I swallowed hard without meaning to.

What the hell was wrong with me?

Yes, my boss was good-looking. No… not just good-looking. Beautiful. Dangerous. Sculpted with an almost unnatural perfection, like he had been created for one purpose only—to seduce.

But not me. Never me.

He was a world I would never belong to. A galaxy too far away, too cold, too expensive.

The elevator doors opened with a soft ding, and he stepped away like nothing had happened. Like he hadn't just pinned me in place with his mere presence. Like he hadn't stolen the air from my lungs.

Not a glance. Not a pause. Adrian Sterling always did that. He knocked you off balance, then acted like it meant nothing.

We left the building and got into his Bentley. His driver opened the door without a word, and I slipped inside, surrounded by that same heavy silence that always followed our strange dynamic. The guard took the front seat.

The entire ride passed in uncomfortable silence. I tried not to think about how fast my heart had been racing in the elevator.

When we arrived, I wasn't surprised. I remembered how this always went whenever he got a new girlfriend.

A jewelry store. But not just any store. This one was so elegant it felt like something out of a dream I would never be part of. The kind of place where prices weren't displayed—because if you had to ask, you couldn't afford it.

I'll never be able to buy anything here, I thought.

We walked in. He moved with that effortless authority that made people step aside like he was royalty. I just followed. He glanced at a few display cases and said,

"Pick an expensive necklace. I need something for my new girlfriend."

I rolled my eyes when he wasn't looking. New girlfriend? Another one?

I could already imagine the nightmare the next six months would be.

Choosing jewelry for him was easy. I always picked the most expensive piece. He never even blinked at the price. I pointed to a diamond necklace that seemed to capture every bit of light in the store. The saleswoman boxed it up, and he pulled out his black metal card.

"Have it sent to Claudia Rivers," he ordered.

My stomach tightened. Claudia? That woman was every assistant's worst nightmare. Obsessed with my boss. Pushy. Relentless.

Once, she had even tried to bribe me to get him to go out with her. Of course, I had told her to get lost. I wasn't about to risk my job over a desperate woman.

And now… she was the current "girlfriend."

"What?" he asked, watching me with one brow raised. "Why so serious? Remember your contract, Vanessa."

"Huh?"

"You're not allowed to fall in love with your boss."

I went completely still. A heavy silence dropped between us.

It was ridiculous. Absurd.

And then I laughed.

Because it was funny. I would never, not in a million years, connect Adrian Sterling with the word love.

The laughter died instantly when I saw his expression.

His eyes darkened, like something I had said had struck a nerve he didn't even understand.

"Do you find the idea of falling in love with me funny?" he asked, his voice low.

"Sir… to me, you're not a man," I said, trying to keep my tone steady.

His fist clenched.

"You're my boss. You're… out of reach for me."

It was the truth. And somehow, something flickered in his eyes—something I couldn't understand. Like a flash of lightning I couldn't read. I wondered, not for the first time, why he was so impossible to figure out.

I took a step toward the car and got in without looking at him again.

While I tried to steady my breathing, he lit a cigarette. Smoke drifted slowly from his lips.

When he finished, he got into the car without a word.

-

We arrived at the cocktail party half an hour later. I was resigned. He looked flawless, as always.

The moment we walked in, something in me twisted.

This wasn't a normal event. It was elegant chaos—wrapped in music that was too loud and enough alcohol to poison the entire world.

My boss's friends were there, laughing like rich idiots, surrounded by women barely wearing anything.

"Welcome. Oh! You brought your sweet assistant," Alexander Merchant said, stepping far too close. His hand brushed my hair, and a wave of disgust rolled through me.

That man never looked at me without undressing me with his eyes.

"If there's business to handle, I keep my assistant close," Adrian Sterling replied, his tone dry.

Alexander let out a crude laugh.

I sat in a corner, watching the social disaster unfold. I had no idea how much time had passed.

An hour? Two?

I started to feel tired. Drained. Sick of the heavy, suffocating atmosphere.

It was close to midnight when I decided I wanted to leave.

I went looking for my boss, walking down a narrow hallway, asking around.

Someone pointed me toward a room. I knocked once. No answer. The door was slightly open.

And then I saw Claudia. She was crying. Her makeup was smeared and her eyes were filled with hatred.

She looked at me like I was her worst enemy, then rushed past me without a word.

I stood there, confused, uneasy, a bad feeling settling deep in my chest. I just wanted to tell my boss I was leaving. That was it.

I stepped inside.

"Boss?" I called out.

No one was in the room.

I moved toward the bathroom, because I could hear something coming from inside… soft… muffled.

And then I heard it.

Moans. Uneven breathing. My name.

"Ah… ah… Vanessa…"

I froze. My skin prickled.

Had my boss… just said my name while touching himself?

The door was slightly open.

And there he was. In front of the mirror. Shirt open, eyes closed, breathing heavy, his hand sliding down his abdomen.

Adrian Sterling.

And his voice…

That damn voice, whispering my name like a man on the edge of losing control.