Romances de Zira_tony

Lexi's Pov The first thing I noticed as I slowly gained consciousness was the silence.Not the kind of silence of everyone sleeping, nor the kind I’d expect in East New York, where car alarms, dogs, and neighbors arguing through thin walls all blend into background noise. No—I’d long forgotten about that. In a way, this… this was different. It was a heavy, suffocating quiet that pressed against my chest the second I opened my eyes.The penthouse.I blinked, confused for a moment. I’d meant to just stop here last night, to steal an hour or two of solitude, a shower, maybe breathe a little before going home. But the sheets, smelling of expensive detergent, were wrapped around my body, tangled in a way I didn’t know was possible. I must have drifted off.I didn’t know when last I had been able to sleep this long—and this well—through the night.Pushing upright, I frowned at the door. I could have sworn I’d left it slightly cracked open so I’d know if anyone—you know who—came back.Now i

Brandon's POV Work is something you can throw yourself into until it bruises you in all the right places. That’s what I told myself as I paced my office at past two in the morning, the city a dark blur through the glass. Papers, projections, legal memos, name it, I devoured them the way a man eats his own thoughts when he’s trying not to think about something else. Lunch shouldn’t have unsettled me but I guess that's what you get when you go out of the plan. But it was tactical, public, and I had it under control. I planned things so things would not plan me. But I guess I've learnt a lesson now. I finally left the office and went home past three. Way too late to be sane. I’d buried myself in work, and I wrung the rest of the day dry on purpose. If I kept moving, kept signing, kept making calls, maybe I wouldn’t think about the way lunch had slipped into totally something else. But the second I shut the penthouse door behind me, the silence hit way too loud. I poured a drink just to

Lexi's POV I pressed the elevator button literally on autopilot, my mind still replaying the car ride. Brandon had opened the door for me, the way he stopped me as if it was an abomination but still cool and courteous. The second that picture was taken it was as if a switch flipped. He wasn’t the man who’d looked at me across the table with something dangerously close to warmth. He was back to being the CEO, who was precise, controlled, and unreadable. I wanted to ask about dinner when he said it, to demand clarification, I had a lot to say and ask but the words tangled in my throat. Maybe because I didn’t trust my voice not to shake. Maybe because I was still in shock at how fast everything had shifted. So instead, I just stared out the window until the car stopped and we parted ways in the garage, like nothing had happened. Except something had. The elevator doors slid open and I stepped inside, my finger hovering over the button for our...Aria's apartment. But at the last s

Lexi's POV “Consider it the real test of our performance.”I saw the shock on her eyes, although she hid almost immediately. She nodded and faced the window, silence enveloping us immediately.The drive back should have been routine. Straight lines, traffic lights, the hum of the engine, everything that usually calmed me. But right now the car felt too small, too alive with something I couldn’t name.The clock on the dash read 4:02 p.m.Impossible.We’d left just after noon. Lunch wasn’t supposed to stretch into hours. Lunch wasn’t supposed to feel like… that.I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, my jaw locked. How the hell had I let myself waste an entire afternoon? Worse, how the hell had I enjoyed it? I let a whole afternoon that I could have used to do so many other things talking...to her.Her laughter replayed in my head, it was uninvited. Loud, bright, unrestrained, the kind of laugh that turned heads. For a moment, I’d wanted to hear it again. In that moment, I hadn’

Lexi's POV The car was too quiet. I kept my hands folded in my lap, fingers digging into each other, like if I let go they might tremble. Outside, the city blurred past in streaks of yellow cabs and people walking. Inside, it was just him. Brandon. I was caught off guard when he mentioned the word lunch and us in the same statement, but he kept surprising me with everything that came out of his mouth today. I could feel the weight of his presence even when I wasn’t looking at him. He sat so still, hands on the stirring wheel and focused on the road, so composed, like silence belonged to him. Then his voice broke it. “Like I said I don’t want to fight today, Alexis. Let’s have lunch and talk.” The way he said it, calm, but clipped, it almost made me laugh. And I did, a small one that slipped out before I could catch it. His head snapped toward me, eyes sharp. "What?" "Oh, nothing...emm take the next turn on your left please. "Are you finally going to tell me where we are

Brandon's POV The door clicked shut behind Stacy, leaving the office in silence. It was about two minutes, but it seemed more than an hour. I usually craved silence, except now it only amplified the sound of her hesitant breathing on the other side of that heavy wood. The only thing between us right now. She stood there for a second too long before finally pushing the door open. And when she did...Christ. Alexis stepped in, casual but with elegance in a way I hadn’t expected. Nothing showy, after all she's not really the type. Just a soft blouse top tucked neatly into fitted jeans that hugged her curves, her hair was in a bun at the top of her head but a few were out fanning her face and neck, her makeup understated but still precise, it was soft. She looked… better. Better than she had in weeks. Not tired or worn like she had in that hospital room. There was more color in her cheeks again. For a second, I forgot to breathe and was frozen. Then I remembered who I was, who she