Chapter 3 - AFTER THEY COLLIDED

The elevator doors opened with a soft chime and Andrea stepped out onto the fiftieth floor, clutching the orientation papers against her chest.

The atmosphere upstairs felt completely different from the rest of the company. The lower floors had been busy and noisy, filled with ringing phones and casual conversations, but up here everything felt controlled. Employees walked past in expensive suits, speaking in low voices as if nobody ever raised their tone on this floor. Even the air smelled different, clean and cold like money itself.

Andrea glanced down at the paper in her hand again.

Analytics Department – Floor 48. Desk B47.

Her brows pulled together.

“Why did that woman send me all the way up here first?” she muttered under her breath.

Trying not to look out of place, she adjusted the strap of her bag and turned the corner quickly while scanning the office labels.

That was when she slammed straight into someone.

The impact nearly knocked her off balance. Andrea stumbled backward with a gasp while the entire folder scattered across the polished floor.

“Oh my God,” she muttered immediately, dropping to her knees. “I’m so sorry. I wasn't looking.”

She hurried to gather the papers before anyone stepped on them, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

A pair of polished black shoes stopped in front of her.

The man she had crashed into hadn’t moved.

Andrea grabbed another paper from the floor before finally looking up, and for a brief second, her thoughts stalled.

He was tall. Broad shoulders in a dark gray suit tailored so perfectly it looked expensive enough to pay her rent for six months. His features were sharp in a way that almost looked unfair, but the expression on his face ruined any charm immediately.

He looked annoyed. Not mildly irritated.

Actually annoyed.

“Yeah,” he said calmly, glancing at the mess around her feet. “You should probably watch where you’re going.”

Andrea blinked at him.

Then she looked down at the papers again.

Then back at him.

“You could help instead of just standing there,” she said before she could stop herself.

One of his brows lifted slightly.

“I could,” he replied. “But I’m not the one who came flying around the corner.”

“I was not flying.”

“You nearly tackled me.”

Andrea snatched another paper off the floor and stood up quickly. “I already apologized. You shouldn't be talking at me like i did this intentionally.”

“And I acknowledged it.”

The calmness in his voice somehow made him even more irritating.

Andrea shoved the papers back into the folder a little too aggressively. “You know, most normal people would’ve helped pick these up.”

“And most normal people pay attention while walking.”

She stared at him in disbelief for a second.

“Wow,” she said dryly. “You really enjoy hearing yourself talk, huh?”

Something flickered across his face then. Not anger exactly. More like surprise. Almost as if people usually didn’t speak to him that way.

Andrea crossed her arms against her chest. “Look, I said I was sorry. There’s no need to act like I committed a crime.”

The man slipped one hand into his pocket, watching her carefully now.

“What department are you from?” he asked.

Andrea frowned slightly at the sudden question. “Analytics.”

“That’s two floors down.”

Her stomach dropped.

“What?”

“You’re on the executive floor.”

Heat rushed into her face so fast she hated it immediately.

“Oh.”

The corner of his mouth almost moved, like he was trying not to smile.

Andrea straightened instantly. “Well, maybe the directions could’ve been clearer.”

“They were probably clear enough,” he replied. “You just weren’t paying attention.”

“Are you always this pleasant with new workers or am I getting special treatment?”

This time she definitely saw amusement flicker briefly in his eyes before it disappeared again.

Before he could answer, the sound of heels clicking against the marble floor echoed from down the hallway.

A woman in a fitted black suit approached quickly, holding a tablet tightly against her chest. She stopped the moment she saw them standing there.

Relief flashed across her face at first.

Then panic.

“Sir,” she said carefully, “the board members are waiting for the nine o’clock...”

The man raised a hand slightly without looking away from Andrea.

“Not now, Lindsay.”

The woman stopped speaking immediately.

Andrea noticed the shift right away. The nervousness. The instant silence.

Her eyes moved between both of them slowly.

Something about this suddenly felt strange.

Lindsay opened her mouth again like she wanted to say more, but the man gave the smallest shake of his head.

It was subtle.

Quick enough that Andrea almost missed it.

But she didn’t.

Lindsay swallowed and nodded stiffly. “Understood.”

Then she walked away.

Andrea looked back at him slowly, suspicion creeping into her expression.

“Who exactly are you?”

For the first time since they collided, the man smiled properly.

Not warmly.

More like he found the situation interesting.

“You’re clearly lost, Miss…”

“Andrea.”

The name left her mouth before she could stop it.

Something about the way his eyes held hers made her feel oddly cornered.

“Andrea,” he repeated slowly.

The sound of her name in his voice annoyed her for reasons she couldn’t explain.

“You should head downstairs before you get lost again.”

There it was again.

That arrogant tone.

Andrea tightened her grip on the folder. “You know, for someone who works in a building full of people, your social skills are terrible.”

A quiet laugh escaped him unexpectedly.

Not loud.

Not mocking.

Just caught off guard.

And somehow that irritated her even more.

She took a step backward toward the elevator. “Thanks for the directions.”

“You’re welcome. Try not to walk into anyone else on your way.”

Andrea pressed the elevator button, then paused before the doors opened.

“No seriously,” she said, looking back at him. “Try not to stand in the middle of hallways like some statue. It might help.”

The elevator doors slid open beside her.

For the first time, the man actually looked amused.

“A Statue?”

Andrea stepped into the elevator. Then the doors closed before he could respond.

Silence settled across the hallway.

Lindsay slowly reappeared from around the corner, looking deeply uncomfortable.

“Sir,” she said cautiously, “should I reschedule the board meeting?”

The man kept staring at the closed elevator doors for another second before answering.

“What department did she say she works in?”

Lindsay blinked. “Analytics.”

He nodded once, thoughtful.

Interesting.

Not because she was beautiful. Henry had met several beautiful women his entire life.

But because she had looked him straight in the eye and snapped at him without hesitation. She argued with him without knowing who he was. She hadn’t tried to impress him, flirt with him, or suddenly become polite the moment he spoke.

She treated him like an ordinary man.

Henry honestly couldn’t remember the last time that happened.

“Sir?” Lindsay asked carefully.

Henry finally looked away from the elevator.

“Push the meeting back an hour.”

Lindsay looked stunned. “An hour?”

“Yes.”

“And what should I tell the board members?”

Henry slid one hand into his pocket, his expression unreadable again.

“Tell them something more interesting came up.”