8. UNWELCOME SURPRISE

A sleek black car rolled to a smooth stop in front of the towering Blackwood Corporation building.

The chauffeur stepped out first, hurrying towards the rear door just as it swung open. The sharp click of stiletto heels followed.

Bianca Ashford stepped onto the pavement in a perfectly tailored red dress, her designer sunglasses hiding most of her expression. She removed them and handed them to the chauffeur without a word.

Dark eyes, striking and calm, swept over the familiar building before her.

A faint smile curved her lips.

Three weeks.

Three whole weeks since she'd last seen Alaric.

Typical.

When work demanded his attention, everything else ceased to exist.

Well...

Not today.

Today, she was going to drag him out of that office.

Whether Alaric Blackwood liked it or not.

Bianca headed for the entrance without hesitation. She knew this building well enough not to need an escort.

“Miss Ashford,” one of the security guards greeted, opening the doors for her.

“Good morning, ma’am.”

“Welcome, Miss Ashford.”

Bianca answered the greetings with brief nods as she crossed the reception area. Her presence clearly needed no introduction.

The elevator came to a stop with a simple ding.

Bianca walked confidently through the executive floor.

No one stopped her.

Nobody questioned her.

She stopped in front of a desk.

Strange.

Bianca's gaze settled on the unfamiliar woman sitting behind it. She hadn't expected anyone to be there. Alaric had never mentioned hiring someone new.

Her brows lifted slightly but her composure remained.

“Is Alaric in?” she asked, keeping her surprise carefully out of her voice.

“Yes ma’am,” the lady replied, about to pick up the phone to inform him of her presence.

“There’s no need for that,” Bianca said, already reaching for the door.

She might not have informed Alaric she was coming, but she certainly didn’t need permission to see him.

“You’re the new assistant, right?” She paused to ask.

She hadn’t known Alaric hired someone new, but the lady didn’t have to know that anyway.

“Yes,” the lady replied.

“I’m Bianca Ashford.”

The door shut behind Bianca as she entered Alaric’s office.

“Surprise!” she said, excitement evident in her tone.

“Bianca! What are you doing here?” Alaric asked in surprise.

Flynn leaned back against the cabinet, folding his arms with the look of a man who had just bought front-row tickets to a disaster.

“This should be good,” he muttered under his breath.

Bianca ignored him.

“Really? Not even a hi?” she said.

“Anyway, I came to rescue you from your mountain of paperwork.” Bianca said with a smile.

Alaric’s attention remained on the document in front of him, “I’m busy,” he said.

“You’re always busy. Feels like you’ve been avoiding me lately” She crossed the room and settled into one of the chairs opposite his desk without waiting to be invited. “Come on. It’s just lunch.”

“I can’t.”

“Well, I wasn’t asking.”

She had known Alaric long enough to know his habits. If work was the excuse, persistence was the solution, “And I already made reservations.”

A smile tugged at Flynn’s lips.

“Fancy place?” he asked.

Bianca glanced over her shoulder. “Naturally.”

“I don’t mind tagging along.” Flynn joked.

“I do,” Bianca replied.

“Well, that hurts,” Flynn said, pressing a hand dramatically against his chest.

“You’ll survive,” Bianca laughed softly before returning her attention to Alaric.

“So?”

“No.”

The smile on her lips faltered.

“Why?”

“Because I said so!” Alaric insisted.

Silence.

The office suddenly felt much quieter than it had a moment ago.

Flynn’s back automatically straightened. Even he hadn’t expected Alaric to refuse so bluntly.

Bianca studied his face, waiting for the familiar hint of amusement that usually followed his dry responses.

Nothing.

His expression remained unreadable as he signed another document and kept it aside.

She let out an awkward laugh.

“Since when do I need an appointment to have lunch with you?”

“You don’t.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I have work.”

“You always have work, it has never been a problem.”

“Today’s different. I have a lot to do.”

“You’ve been avoiding me for weeks,” Bianca scoffed, her arms folded across her chest.

“I’ve been busy,” Alaric defended.

“No, you’ve been avoiding me.”

Finally, Alaric looked up, “I’m avoiding everyone.”

Flynn raised a finger, “I can confirm that.”

Neither of them acknowledged him.

Bianca searched Alaric’s eyes for something—anything that resembled the man she'd known for years.

Instead, she found exhaustion.

Dark circles lingered beneath his eyes. His tie was loosened, his sleeves rolled to his forearms, and several empty coffee cups crowded one corner of his desk.

He really had been working.

She knew him well enough to recognize the difference between an excuse and genuine exhaustion.

Still… That didn’t erase the strange feeling settling in her chest.

“You should take a break.” Bianca sighed.

“I will when I’m done.”

“You always say that, and you never do.”

“And I’ve survived.”

“Barely,” Flynn muttered.

Alaric shot him a look.

Flynn lifted both hands in mock surrender.

“You know, your father has been asking a lot of questions lately. Mine too.”

That got Alaric’s attention.

“Ignore them.”

“He asked when we’d finally announce our engagement.”

Flynn suddenly found the ceiling incredibly fascinating.

Alaric’s expression barely changed.

“We’ve discussed this.”

“No,” Bianca corrected. “You voiced your opinion. You never actually discussed it with me.”

Alaric leaned back in his chair. “I'm not having this conversation at work.”

“Then when?”

“When I'm free.”

“And when exactly will that be?”

He didn’t answer. She already knew why. Because there wasn’t one.

The office fell silent once again. After a few seconds, Bianca smiled. It was small, barely noticeable. Controlled.

“Fine,” she said as she stood up from the chair.

“I won’t keep you.”

Flynn frowned. That was… easier than expected.

Bianca picked up one of the paperweights from Alaric's desk, turning it over in her hands and examining it with idle curiosity before setting it back exactly where she'd found it.

Her gaze wandered around the office, fingers trailing over every surface she passed — the shelves, the edge of his desk, the back of his chair.

Nothing had changed. Almost everything looked the same: the same furniture, the same shelves, the same minimalist décor that could have belonged to a museum as easily as an office.

Then something caught her eye.

Then something caught her eye.

A neatly arranged tray sat near Alaric's laptop. Two coffee cups rested on it. Both empty.

Bianca's gaze lingered on them.

Alaric usually drank his coffee alone at his desk. He didn't have coffee waiting for someone else.

She glanced toward the second cup.

Then toward the door.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

Her gaze returned to him. “You’ve changed.”

“I haven’t,” he said, not looking up from his screen.

“Hm.” She didn’t argue. Instead, she turned toward the door, but just before reaching it, she paused.

“By the way,” she glanced over her shoulder, then turned fully around.

“The desk outside your door — you hired someone new?”

“My new assistant. Selene Hart.”

Bianca's brows creased. “She's human. You never hire humans on this floor.”

“She's competent. That's all that matters.”

The answer came too quickly.

Bianca paused.

Competent.

That wasn't a word Alaric handed out freely. He was demanding with everyone who worked for him. If someone met his standards, he simply expected them to keep doing so. Praise was rare.

Yet he'd offered it without hesitation.

Interesting.

“She seems nice,” Bianca offered.

“Hmm,” Alaric said, already uninterested in continuing the conversation.

Bianca took the hint and nodded once before letting herself out.

She stepped into the hallway just as Selene rose from her desk.

“Leaving already, Miss Ashford?”

Bianca offered a polite smile. “Unfortunately.”

Her gaze lingered on Selene for a moment longer than necessary.

So this was Alaric's new assistant.

Selene met her gaze without shrinking beneath it. She seemed polite enough. Professional. “Competent”.

Bianca couldn't find anything suspicious about her. Somehow, that bothered her more.

“I hope you have a wonderful day,” Selene said.

“Thank you.”

With a final nod, Bianca walked away, the steady rhythm of her heels echoing down the quiet hallway until she disappeared into the private elevator.

The doors slid shut. Only then did the smile on her face soften.

She let herself rest against the mirrored wall as the elevator descended, turning the strange, restless feeling over in her mind.

She couldn’t quite explain it. Nothing unusual had happened — Alaric had been busy before. He’d canceled plans before. He’d buried himself in work more times than she could count.

So why did today feel… different?

Her mind returned to the unfamiliar woman outside his office.

Then the second coffee cup.

Then Alaric's unusually quick defense of her.

Her instincts had never lied and she trusted it.

The doors opened onto the lobby, and she stepped out, crossing the marble floor as employees greeted her in passing. She smiled and answered each one, never letting the unease beneath the surface show.

Outside, the chauffeur was already holding the rear door open. She slid into the back seat.

“Where to, Miss Ashford?” The chauffeur’s eyes found hers in the rearview mirror.

She looked back through the tinted window at Blackwood Corporation, its glass front catching the light. For a long moment, she said nothing.

A slow smile returned to Bianca’s lips. Then quietly she said, “Take me home, I need to see my father.”

If Alaric wouldn’t make time for her, then perhaps it was time to find out exactly what was going on.

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

🎧 SPEAK UP! If you were Bianca, would you confront Alaric about the changes you noticed or quietly investigate first? 👀😭

🎤 #Vote# Enjoying the story? Don’t forget to vote with your Moon Tickets! ❤️

🔮 PREDICTION: Do you think Bianca is going to let the strange feeling go… or is she about to dig deeper? 👀🔥

🎤 RANDOM QUESTION: What’s one thing that instantly puts you in a bad mood? 😭

Thank you for reading! 😍❤️ See you in the next chapter! 🔥