Chapter 5: Uninvited Echoes

"You are early," Mia stated extending one of the cups. “You look like you needed this.”

Looking up, Aria picked up the mug almost lazily - smiled. "Couldn't sleep."

"Hmm, yeah, I thought so. Still reflecting on that fundraising?”

Aria sipped, gave a small nod - possibly avoiding eye contact. “It was a lot.”

"Understatement of the year. Rich people and their 'casual' parties please.”

"I got what I needed," Aria responded, setting down the coffee and picking up another paintbrush. "Mostly."

"Mostly?" she said after a beat. "There was a man. We spoke. Kind of."

Mia sat upright. "And?"

"He wouldn't reveal his name. He is unsettling, though. Not threatening - just out of context.”

Mia raised an eyebrow and grinned lightly. "But he left an impression.”

"I didn't know him," Aria whispered. "He was mad I didn't."

“Was it shock or ego?” Mia asked, watching her friend intently.

Aria shrugged. "He told me I shouldn't have taken his photo. He introduced himself as though it meant something."

"Sounds dramatic. You okay?" Aria's brush stopped on the canvas, not believing the calm in her tone, however.

Before Mia could ask further, the studio door chimed.

Both women turned.

Fundraiser man stood in the threshold—tall, sharply attired, impossibly smooth amidst Aria's filth and paint. Everyone in the room froze.

Mia's eyes dilated. "Oh. My. God." Aria's heart started to thud. She stood up to her feet.

Searching the studio carefully, Killian Stone eventually saw Aria. "I was told I would be able to find you here."

Mia hurried forward, her voice returned. “You are killian stone.”

Though nodding, he kept his eyes on Aria.

Becoming more formal, Mia responded, "I am Aria's closest friend, and business partner of the studio."

Aria remained still. So did he. The tension was electric.

Mia looked at them, then pulled back. “I’ll give you two a minute," but not before she shot a wide-eyed stare at Aria inquiring what was happening. She next vanished into the back room.

The silence lingered taut and awkward. Aria let her arms rest across her chest in a casual manner to keep grounded.

She said, "You didn't have to show up."

Killian entered further the space, his polished shoes making no noise on the squeaky floorboards."You did an uncomfortable work of that."

Aria stared and said, "That was on purpose."

He glanced at the nearest canvas. "Is this yours?”

She once nodded.

He glanced about meticulously. "You don't talk a lot."

"I do. I just don't when there's no need to."

His lips shifted; more in shock than in laughter. He moved closer but maintained arm's length.

"You didn't actually realize it was me at the gala?"

"No."

"Did you search for me later?"

“Why should I?”

That cut him short.

She continued, her voice steady not vicious, "You introduced yourself as if I should’ve cared. I didn’t.

“Most people pretend they don't know me, even if they already do. You… you were being honest.”

"I make very little pretense."

Once more there was quiet, but this time it felt deeper - an unspoken tension building between them.

Killian coughed. "There’s a dinner this weekend. Smaller. Private. I want someone who sees the world from a different angle. Somebody just like you."

Aria blinked once. “Let me guess - you want me to photograph it?”

"It pays well," he said.

"I'm certain it does," she responded.

"I'll pay three times normal."

She raised a brow. "Why?"

"Because I can. Moreover, I rather not hear the word no.”

Aria let out a faint, dazed giggle. "At least you're honest."

“So is that a yes?”

“No.”

Killian appeared taken aback. "Why not?"

“Because I don't believe in motives wrapped in money," she said simply. "And I don't believe that photography is what all this is about.".

A pause. Then he admitted, "It isn't."

That caught her off guard.

He backed away, but his eyes remained on hers. “You fascinate me. That doesn’t happen often. And I pursue when it does happen.”

She didn't answer; she didn't have to.

Killian gazed sharply into her eyes and inquired, "You believe I'm joking? But I don't do things for fun. Not in business. Not in anything."

“Do you think revealing that would persuade me to agree?”

"No." He smiled faintly, "but I wanted you to know."

Aria exhaled slowly. "You came all this way to hear no."

He faced the door then stopped, saying, "I've gone further for less. But I don't like having things left hanging. This won't be the end of it."

And he was gone - the door shut with the same gentle hum it made as it opened.

Aria stayed stood frozen. Her heart thumping.

Mia popped her head around the corner. “Was that who I think It was?”

“Yes”

Mia whispered, as if someone could hear her as she entered the room. "He came here. To find you.

Aria gave her a look.

"What did he want?" Mia asked, halfway through her coffee, her voice bursting with eagerness.

"He wanted me to photograph a dinner"

“And?”

"I said no."

Mia looked at her. "Why?"

"He only used it to come here, it was never about the job."

Mia sat on the edge of a stool and kept staring. "Aria. He is maybe among the richest men in the city. And he came seeking for you."

"That's why I said no."

Mia whistled softly. "Girl, this is either the most peculiar job offer on record or the beginning of something you can't walk away from."

Aria stared at the door, arms still folded, the air thick with the echo of his presence.

She didn’t answer.

Because she didn’t know which terrified her more - the offer, or what it meant that she hadn’t told him to leave.

And for the first time since Miami… Aria wondered if she was standing at the edge of another mistake, one she wouldn’t see coming until it was far too late.