The Meeting

Chapter 9: The Meeting 

(Aurora’s POV)

The cab ride to Carter Holdings felt like being driven straight into the jaws of a beast.

I sat stiffly in the backseat, hands curled into fists around the strap of my bag, the city flashing by in streaks of neon and glass. Every mile closer to the tower made my chest feel tighter, like invisible hands were squeezing the air out of me.

I shouldn’t be here. Every instinct screamed at me to run, to turn back, to find another way. But knowing that if I did so put Alex in danger, I couldn't sit and do nothing. Alex needed me. And Jace was the only one who could help as much as I hated to admit it.

The car slowed, merging into the stream of sleek sedans and town cars pulling up in front of a building that looked less like an office and more like a monument. Carter Holdings towered above the street, glass and steel slicing into the night sky, its logo etched into the facade in burnished silver. People moved briskly in and out of the revolving doors, security guards flanking the entrance with earpieces and sharp eyes.

It was everything Jace embodied: cold, commanding, untouchable.

My stomach twisted.

The cabbie glanced at me through the mirror. “You sure this is your stop, miss?”

I wish it wasn't.

“Yes,” I whispered, forcing the word past the knot in my throat.

He pulled up to the curb. I slipped a few bills into his hand and stepped out. My heels clicked against the pavement as I walked toward the entrance.

Inside, the lobby gleamed with polished marble and towering pillars. A chandelier of cut glass spilled light across the floor, and the reception desk stretched like an altar. A young woman behind it gave me a polite but nervous smile, as though she knew exactly who I was and what it meant to walk into Jace Carter’s world.

I frowned. This wasn't the same woman I had met yesterday, this one was different. Well, it's not like it's my concern, it wasn't even my company.

“Miss Thompson?” she asked quietly.

I inclined my head. "Yes?"

“Mr. Carter is expecting you.” She picked up the phone, murmured something, then gestured toward the private elevators. “You can go right up.”

My legs carried me forward without a second thought. The elevator doors slid open, the interior paneled with brushed steel that reflected my pale face back at me. I pressed the button for the fortieth floor with a hand that shook more than I wanted to admit.

As the doors closed, I was alone with the roar of my pulse.

'Breathe, Aurora. You've already met with him, there is no need to be nervous.' I told myself.

The elevator dinged open. The doors opened to hushed corridors lined with dark glass, the city sprawling out beyond.

And at the end of the hall, he was waiting.

Jace stood outside his office like a predator sensing his prey, broad shoulders encased in a perfectly cut suit, hazel eyes burning gold under the recessed lights. He didn’t move as I stepped out, but I felt the force of his presence like a hand around my throat.

“Aurora.” His voice was low, smooth, but carried that edge of command I remembered too well.

My heels clicked as I approached him, but I stopped a deliberate step short of his reach. “Mr. Carter, I'm sure we established this when we spoke yesterday but I'll say it again, to remain professional, call me Miss Thompson."

Jace's eyes narrowed as I said the words. "There is no professionalism between us." He told me.

"No, there is and I will accept nothing short of it." I told him.

His jaw flexed, eyes narrowing slightly at the formality. He hated it. Good. I hated that I had to come back to him for help.

He gestured toward his office without a word.

I entered, and the air shifted immediately. The room was vast, dominated by glass walls that bled into the skyline, the city glittering beneath us. A massive desk of black glass and steel stood near the center, immaculate except for a phone and a single file. The leather chairs, the sharp lines of the furniture, the muted tones  everything in here screamed of control. His control.

I felt suffocated already.

He closed the door behind us, the click echoing like a lock on a cell.

For a long moment, neither of us spoke. He just watched me, eyes dragging over every inch of me as if cataloging the changes. His gaze lingered on my face, my posture, the set of my mouth, then on my hand.

On the ring.

His expression hardened instantly, that familiar storm darkening his features.

"Take a sit." He said pointing to the chair opposite his desk.

I noticed there was coffee and even doughnuts... exactly as I liked them in the desk but I ignored him choosing to seat instead.

"It's good to..."

"Let's stop with the lies okay? I only came here for one thing and you know what it is." I told him.

"Aurora..." He called out to me.

The sound was like he was begging me but I didn't care. He should have begged me years ago and not now. But then again, Jace never begged. He only took and that was by demanding.

"You said you were going to help me right?" I asked him.

He looked at me, staring into my eyes as if searching for something but I wasn't going to give him the opportunity to see how shaken I was.

There was a pause and after some time he nodded. "I said I was willing to help you on one condition, I made that clear when I called you yesterday." He told me.

"True." I said with a nod of my own. "But the issue is, you don't get to have me back Jace, I'm married." I said showing him the ring. 

He scratched at his neck, while he grounded his jaw.

"Then why are you here?" He asked me.

"Because I need your help." I said honestly. "Only...we are going to have to adjust some things regarding your condition."