Chapter 2: Rebound

I met Vee standing outside the gate, and the moment she saw me, she rushed forward and pulled me into a tight hug.

That was all it took. The tears came rushing out before I could stop them.

“I’m so sorry,” she murmured, rubbing my back. “Aaron has always been a scumbag. I don’t expect much from him already. Wipe your tears, baby. He’s not worth it and besides, this might actually be good news.”

I pulled back slightly, sniffing. “Good news? How is any of this good news, Vee?”

Vee sighed, brushing my hair away from my face.

“Because now you’re free. Free to meet someone who actually deserves you. Amber, you gave that man everything and he still treated you like you were nothing.”

I let out a weak laugh. “You’ve been saying that for two years.”

“And I was right for two years,” she shot back.

She wasn’t wrong. When Aaron and I met, she said he was giving fakery but I felt she would warm up to him after a while but she didn’t.

There were times Aaron made me feel small, especially when he’d guilt trip me into giving him money while he sat at home chasing a music dream that never left his living room. I ignored all of it.

Because I thought it was love.

“You know what, Vee forget it,” I muttered, wiping my face. “I don’t want to talk about him anymore. What were you saying on the phone?”

Vee’s expression shifted instantly, like she had been waiting for that question.

“Okay, so here’s the thing,” she said, pulling me toward the bench. “There’s this job opening. Personal assistant.”

I frowned. “That doesn’t sound like something you’d call ‘good news’ with that much excitement.”

She grinned. “Because it’s not just any personal assistant job. It’s for the hottest billionaire bachelor in this city.”

I blinked. “You’re joking.”

“I’m very serious. It’s a job offer from Adrian Volkov.” She said, emphasizing the name.

“Vee,” I shook my head. “That kind of job is not for people like me and I don’t care who he is.”

“People like you?” she repeated. “What does that even mean?”

“I mean, I don’t have connections. I don’t even know anything about billionaires. I just lost my job today, remember?”

“And?” she cut in. “You’re organized, smart, diligent and the best at what you do and don't forget patient. God knows you had to be patient to date Aaron for that long and you literally meet all the requirements.”

I hesitated.

She had a point but it still felt too big. Too out of reach.”What if I mess it up?” I asked quietly.

Vee nudged my shoulder. “Then you mess it up. But what if you don’t?”

That question lingered.

Slowly, I pulled out my phone. “Fine… I’ll apply.”

Vee clapped her hands. “That’s my girl!”

An hour later, my application was sent and just like that, there was nothing else to do but wait. Which, apparently, Vee refused to let me do it in peace.

“We’re going out tonight,” she announced.

I stared at her. “Out? Vee, with what money?”

She rolled her eyes. “Relax. We’re not buying the club. Just drinks and vibes.”

“I just lost my job,” I reminded her.

“And you’re about to get another one,” she said confidently. “So technically, we’re celebrating in advance.”

I tried to argue, but she was already dragging me inside to get dressed.

***

The club was chaotic.

Flashing lights, the music rang through my ears. Bodies moving like nothing else in the world mattered.

At first, I just stood there, letting Vee pull me along, trying to forget everything that had happened.She was already swaying to the music, dragging me along before spinning off toward the dance floor.

“Don’t stand there like a lost puppy!” she shouted over the music.

I laughed, shaking my head.

Then I saw him. He wasn’t trying to stand out. He just did.

Tall. Calm and controlled. Like the chaos around him didn’t touch him at all.

There was something about him, something heavy, magnetic. The kind of presence that made people move without realizing it.

My eyes lingered longer than they should have and for some reason, I didn’t look away.

Vee leaned closer, following my line of sight.

“Ohhh… I see him,” she grinned.

“Don’t start,” I muttered.

“Relax. I’ll be over there if you need me,” she said, already backing away.

Maybe it was the anger still sitting in my chest or maybe I just wanted to feel something different. I was tired of being the girl who held back.

Tired of being the one who gave and gave and still got left behind. If sex was what made Aaron throw everything away then maybe I wanted to understand why.

He looked at me then and suddenly it felt like his eyes were prying into my soul.

Vee was still somewhere behind me, lost in the music, but I barely noticed anymore because he was walking toward me. Slow. Unhurried. Like he was sure I wasn’t going anywhere.

My heart picked up, but I didn’t look away. Not this time.

Not tonight.

He stopped right in front of me, eyes scanning my face like he was trying to figure me out.

“You look like you’re in the wrong place,” he said. Calm. Certain.

His voice was low, controlled. The kind that commanded obedience.

I let out a small laugh. “And you look like you’ve already decided that.”

His gaze didn’t shift. If anything, it sharpened.

“Have I?”

I hesitated for a second then pushed past it.

Screw it.

“What if I told you I’m not here for drinks or dancing?” I said, lifting my chin slightly.

That got his attention.

“Oh?”

I swallowed, my pulse racing but I didn’t back down.

“I just got out of a relationship,” I said. “Two years. And apparently, I wasn’t enough.”

His expression changed. Just a flicker but I saw it.

“So tonight,” I continued, forcing the words out before I could overthink them, “I don’t want to think. I don’t want to feel. I just want to understand something.”

His voice dropped. “Understand what?”

I met his eyes fully now.

“Why sex was worth throwing everything away.”

Silence stretched between us. Thick and heavy.

“And?” he asked quietly.

My breath hitched but I said it anyway.

“So, if you’re the kind of man I think you are…”

I paused, then added,

“Tell me your price.”

That did it. His jaw tightened slightly, eyes darkening not with amusement, but something deeper. Something dangerous.

For a moment, he just looked at me.

“You don’t belong here,” he said again. Softer this time.

But this time, it didn’t sound like judgment.

It sounded like a warning.

He held my gaze for a second longer, like he was weighing something.

Then, without another word, he reached for my hand.

I didn’t pull away.

“Come with me,” he said quietly.

It wasn’t a question.

The noise of the club faded as he led me through the crowd, past flashing lights and bodies moving to a rhythm I could barely hear anymore. My focus was on him, the steady grip of his hand, on the way he moved like he owned every space he walked into.

We stopped in front of a door tucked away from the main floor. Private.

He pushed it open.

The room inside was dim, quiet, almost untouched by the chaos outside. For a moment, neither of us spoke.

The air shifted, it was tensed.

“You can still walk away,” he said, his voice lower now.

I shook my head. “I don’t want to.”

Something in his expression softened, just slightly.

Then he stepped closer.

Close enough that I could feel the warmth of his body, the steady rhythm of his breathing. For a second, neither of us moved. Like we were both waiting, deciding.

His hand lifted, hesitating just slightly before brushing against my jaw, tilting my face up to his.

“Last chance,” he murmured.

I didn’t answer, I didn’t need to. I closed the distance instead.

The kiss wasn’t soft.

It was searching, deliberate. Like he was testing something, me.

And I responded before I could stop myself. Before I could think. My fingers curled into his shirt, pulling him closer as the world around us slipped further out of reach.

The hesitation was gone now. Replaced by something heavier, something I didn’t want to question.

And this time, I didn’t think.

*******

I don’t remember falling asleep but the vibration from my phone woke me up. It was Vee, I had missed three calls from her.

“Where are you Amber, you got me all worked up?” Vee said.

“I’m fine, I’m at…” For a second, I didn’t move.

Then reality settled in. The unfamiliar room, the quiet. The empty space beside me.

I turned my head slowly, he was gone. No note, no message. Nothing.

I sat up, pulling the sheets closer, my heart doing something strange in my chest, not regret. Just something I couldn’t name.

“Hello? Amber, can you hear me? Please hurry home, you have an interview and you don’t want to be late.” Vee said.

“That’s true, omg, I hope I don’t mess it up.”

“Just come home immediately so you can prepare.” Vee urged.

I gathered my things and looked around the room like it held some kind of memory I didn’t want to forget.

“Wow,” I muttered under my breath.

One night.

And just like that, he was gone.

****

By the time I got to the interview building, my nerves were already on edge.

This place was different. Too polished. Too expensive.

I adjusted my clothes, trying to look like I belonged there.

“You can do this,” I whispered to myself.

The receptionist smiled politely. “Are you here for the interview?”

“Yes.”

“Go right in. He’s waiting.”

He? My heart skipped.

I pushed the door open slowly and froze. The man sitting behind the desk was him.

The stranger from last night. My stomach dropped.

Oh God.

He looked up, his eyes meeting mine, sharp and unreadable.

And in that moment, only one thought echoed in my head.

Did he recognize me?