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CHAPTER 15: Sparkling Water
publish date:
2026-04-16 20:00:32
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HIS TO LOSE Chapter 19: Still Raining At Ten
Saturday came in quietly.No meetings, no calls, no Jared this weekend. Just the apartment, the grey sky outside and too much time to think.I picked up my phone somewhere around noon.I wouldn't mind some company today.I sent it before I could talk myself out of it. Set the phone down. Picked it up again.Her reply came twelve minutes later.I’ll think about it.She was at my door by two.“You thought fast,” I said when I opened it.She walked past me into the apartment. “Don’t make it a thing.”I smiled and closed the door.She made herself comfortable on the couch while I moved around the kitchen checking what I had.Not enough.“I’m going to get a few things.” I grabbed my keys. “Are you good here?”She was already reaching for the remote. “Don’t rush.”I stood there for a second looking at her settled into my couch like she’d done it a hundred times, shoes off, legs tucked underneath her.I left before I said something unnecessary.The store was quick. Twenty minutes, in and out.
HIS TO LOSE Chapter 18:Everything about this was casual (I guess)
Dinner at Dominic’s was supposed to be casual.That’s what I told myself when I was getting dressed — it’s just dinner, don’t overthink it. I changed twice before settling on a fitted tank, light wash denim skirt and my brown leather belt. Tied a scarf around my hair, kept the jewelry simple. Looked in the mirror and decided I looked effortlessly put together.It took forty minutes.I told myself it was just returning the visit.He has been to my place twice now. It was only fair.That was the story I was going with.I rang his doorbell at half past six.He opened the door in a simple fitted tee and grey sweats.I was not prepared for that.“You actually dressed down.” It came out before I could stop it.He stepped aside to let me in. “It’s my apartment.”Fair enough.His apartment was exactly what I expected and nothing like it at the same time. Clean, intentional, expensive without trying too hard. The kind of space that said someone lived here and actually thought about it.I stepp
HIS TO LOSE Chapter 17: The Robe
The office was quieter by six.I’d loosened my tie somewhere between the fourth meeting and the fifth, jacket thrown over the back of my chair, laptop open to a report I’d been staring at for twenty minutes without actually reading.A knock at the door pulled me out of it.“Come in.”Arielle pushed the door open, bag on her shoulder, coat already on, clearly on her way out.“Just wanted to say goodnight.” She leaned against the doorframe like she had somewhere to be but wasn’t in a rush to get there.“Goodnight.” I leaned back. “How did the contractor call go?”“Better than expected. They pushed the timeline back two days but I negotiated it down to one.” She shrugged. “We’re fine.”“Good.”She should have left then. She didn’t. She shifted her bag and glanced at the bookshelf behind me like something had caught her attention.“Is that a vinyl player?”“It is.”“You actually use it?”“When the mood calls for it.”She smiled slowly. “I didn’t take you for a vinyl person.”“There’s a lo
HIS TO LOSE Chapter 16 : The Thread
Arielle’s POVFour months.Four months since I walked into Hale AI with my portfolio and my best blazer and a quiet prayer that I wouldn’t let nerves make me forget my own name. Four months of site assessments, material sourcing, contractor calls, design revisions and more coffee than my body has any business processing.Four whole months and two remaining.If someone had told me then that I’d still be standing — not just standing but thriving — I would have believed them about the job. I was always going to be good at the job.It was the other part I wasn’t so sure about.Dominic Hale in the same building, Three days a week, sometimes five. Dominic Hale who notices things without appearing to notice anything. Dominic Hale who stopped feeling like someone I needed to brace myself around.I deserve a raise just for that alone.The tension that used to follow me into every room he occupied started to loosen. The hyperawareness settled. We found a rhythm — professional enough for the
HIS TO LOSE CHAPTER 15: Sparkling Water
DOMINIC’s POVThe drive home was quiet.And the city at this hour was the kind of empty that let you think too much.I wasn’t thinking.Or I was trying not to.The evening kept replaying anyway. The circles I’d drawn on her arm without meaning to. Her hand on my chest, warm and still. The way she’d removed my hands from her waist with this small, unconvincing firmness that had almost made me smile.Almost.I got home, changed, and opened my laptop.Work was easier than thinking. I stayed at my desk until sometime past 2am, answering emails that could have waited, reviewing reports that already looked fine. By the time I closed the laptop my eyes were dry and my mind had finally quieted.I slept for four hours.Jared was already awake when my alarm went off, sitting at the foot of my bed with his tablet like a small, unbothered property owner.“Dad. I’m hungry.”“Good morning to you too.”He blinked. “Good morning. I’m hungry.”I showered, got him fed and packed his overnight bag for
HIS TO LOSE Chapter 14: Caught Up
Arielle’s POVSaturday evenings were mine.No clients, no mood boards, no pretending. Just me, my playlist and the kind of stillness that only existed when nobody needed anything from me.I was somewhere between the second and third song when my phone lit up.Dominic.I almost didn’t catch it in time. When I picked up I noticed the text from five minutes earlier sitting unread — Hey, are you busy? — completely swallowed by the music.“Hello?”“Are you at home?” His voice was even. Calm. But something underneath it wasn’t.“Yes.”“Anyone with you?”I glanced around my empty apartment. “No. Why?”A brief pause.“I’d like to come over.”I kept my voice steady. “Sure. I’ll send you the pin.”I hung up and stared at my phone for exactly three seconds.Then I was off the couch.I wasn’t panicking. I was just — tidying. Straightening the throw pillow that didn’t need straightening. Picking up the mug from the coffee table. Normal things people did when their apartment wasn’t already decent e
HIS TO LOSE Chapter 5: Alone (Until I Wasn’t)
I dropped my bag by the door. Kicked off my heels. Poured a glass of wine even though it was barely noon.My laptop sat on the coffee table. The contract from his company already in my inbox.I opened it.Six months. Weekly check-ins. Direct collaboration with CEO on all major decisions.Direct col
HIS TO LOSE Chapter 4:Professional Distance
Arielle’s POVI managed to get to my car before the tremors started.Hands gripping the steering wheel. Knuckles white. Breathing as if Id just run a marathon instead of walking calmly—professionally, goddammit—out of his building.His building.Dominic had a building now. Glass and steel and his n
HIS TO LOSE CHAPTER 3: She Doesn’t Need Me Anymore
Dominic’s POVThe numbers on my screen blurred together.Quarterly projections. Revenue streams. Market analysis.None of it mattered.I couldn’t focus on anything except the clock on my wall. 8:47 AM.Thirteen minutes until the design team arrived. Thirteen minutes until I had to sit through some
HIS TO LOSE CHAPTER 2: The Way He Touched me
Arielle's POVWe dished the food together and headed to his bedroom to eat. A few bites in, I felt his left hand slip between my thighs, fingers trailing dangerously high.My fork froze mid-air. I couldn’t concentrate on eating anymore…couldn’t think about anything except his touch.By the time we
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