Chapter 7: The Distance I Forced

Alex’s POV 

I arrived at the office before sunrise.

Not because I was busy or I had early meetings.

No.

I arrived early because I didn’t want to think about her.

I didn't want to think about how her waist felt beneath my hands yesterday, how her breath shook when she looked up at me, how for one impossible second I wanted to forget everything and pull her into my arms like a selfish man.

I wanted to erase her from my mind as she was the only damn thing I could think about.

I set my coffee down on my desk and pinched the bridge of my nose.

This wasn’t me.

I don't get shaken or distracted.

But Ariana…She had a way of slipping into the cracks of my discipline and turning everything inside me to chaos.

And today, she was supposed to resume fully as my financial director’s assistant.

Which meant I was going to see her. Which meant I had to get myself under control before I did something stupid.

I loosened my tie, trying to breathe. A knock landed sharply at my door.

Before I could answer, it swung open.

“Aleeeexx.” My mother’s voice cut through my thoughts like a knife dipped in perfume and judgment.

Perfect, just perfect. Exactly what I needed this morning.

She walked in, dressed in her usual expensive clothes, her hair tied perfectly, her perfume loud enough to suffocate the entire floor.

“Good morning, Mother,” I muttered.

“It is morning indeed,” she replied, dropping into a chair. “Whether it is good depends on how cooperative you’ll be.”

I rubbed my temples. “Mother……”

“…….I spoke to Victoria yesterday.”

I stiffened.

Here we go.

“She said she’s still open to talking. Honestly, Alex, the girl is practically begging. You two were good together. Why don’t you just reconsider? You need a wife. You need stability. The board will feel better if…….”

“No.” The word came out rougher than I intended.

She crossed her arms. “You can’t stay single forever. And you certainly can’t be jumping around with random girls after that… that last incident.”

My jaw clenched.

There it was.

The thing I didn’t want to hear.

The reminder of the one night that haunted me so thoroughly I couldn’t think without feeling her skin under my palms.

My mother continued, “Victoria is from a good family. She understands the lifestyle. She would make an excellent wife……”

“Mother, I’m not marrying Victoria.”

“For heaven’s sake, Alex, she’s perfect for you…….”

“She’s not.”

“And who is?” she snapped. “One of those girls you pick up in hotels and then pretend not to remember?”

My fingers froze on the edge of my desk.

Ariana’s face flashed in my mind.

The softness of her skin, the way her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she cummed. The way she looked at me yesterday — like she still felt it.

I pushed back sharply from my chair. “We’re not talking about this.”

“Oh, we absolutely are,” she argued, getting up. “You are almost thirty-three. You need a respectable wife, not flings and mistakes……”

I exhaled tightly.

Yesterday’s moment with Ariana was already messing with me. Now this?

“Mother, I have a meeting,” I said curtly.

“Then after your meeting, we’ll continue,” she said, brushing invisible dust off her dress. “I’m not leaving until we settle this.”

Fantastic.

Just what I needed: my mother barricaded me in my office while the woman I wanted more than air was about to walk in with the financial director. 

The moment she left the room, I dropped into my seat.

My pulse was pounding.

God……This was spiraling out of control 

I needed to be calm and professional like I said yesterday. 

Because Ariana had to work with me and I had to act like she wasn’t the best person I had ever slept with.

Even though yesterday, when I touched her, every piece of me remembered exactly how she tasted.

                    ***********

My meeting ended at exactly 10:03 AM. I knew that because for the last five minutes I could feel tension crawling down my spine.

I hadn’t seen her yet and that meant she was somewhere nearby.

I stepped back into my office, only to hear my mother’s voice again.

“Alex! Finally.” She stood up, adjusting her earrings. “We have a lot more to discuss.”

Not now. Please, not now.

I ran a hand through my hair. “Mother, I….”

A knock, it was a quiet one.

My stomach dropped. I didn’t need to turn or guess.

I knew it was her. 

I felt her.

My mother’s head snapped toward the door. “Who is that?”

Before I could breathe, the door opened slowly… And Ariana stepped inside.

Her work badge around her neck.

Her hair pulled back. A simple blouse tucked into a fitted skirt that made something low in me tighten instantly.

Her eyes widened when she saw my mother there.

My heartbeat stumbled.

She looked beautiful, too beautiful. Fuck, like Painfully beautiful.

“Ariana,” I said, but my voice came out wrong.

Her posture straightened immediately. “Good morning, sir.”

Sir? 

Right. She had to be professional.

My mother turned toward me sharply.

“This is the financial assistant?” she asked, eyebrows lifted.

Ariana lowered her gaze. “Yes, ma. I’m here to give Mr Sterling the documents he requested about last month's finance records.”

She stepped forward.

I shouldn’t have watched the way her hips moved, or inhaled the soft scent of her perfume. 

I shouldn’t have let my eyes darken when her fingers brushed the table and I remembered how those same fingers once stroked my dick…..

Focus.

“Control yourself.” I scolded myself.

She placed the files on my desk. “Would you like anything else, sir?”

Her voice wavered slightly but I caught it.

And it nearly ruined me.

My mother watched the entire exchange like a hawk. I could practically hear her thoughts spinning.

No.

I needed to shut this down before my mother said something stupid, or before I did something reckless.

I cleared my throat and forced my expression cold.

“No. That will be all.”

She blinked, surprised.

Her fingers tightened around the folder she still held. 

For a second — one second — I saw the hurt spark behind her eyes.

And something in my chest twisted so violently it hurt to breathe.

She nodded. “Okay, sir.”

Her voice was smaller and filled with hurt. 

No, I didn’t want her hurt.

I wanted her… in ways I had no right wanting her. But my mother was here and she was watching.

And I could not, absolutely could not, let Ariana get dragged into the hurricane that was my family.

So I hardened my tone again. “You can leave.”

She inhaled quietly, turned, and walked toward the door.

Each step she took felt like someone was pulling a piece of me away with her.

And then she reached the door.

Paused, Just for a second.

Like she was waiting for something.

Maybe for me to call her name or for me to say something real.

But I didn’t.

I couldn’t.

When she closed the door behind her, silence filled the office.

My mother exhaled dramatically. “Alex, I hope you are not entertaining… people like that in your personal life.”

I turned to her slowly. “Mother.”

She froze.

The warning in my voice was enough. But Ariana was already gone.

And the cold space she left behind made me feel like I’d just kicked something precious out of my own arms. I didn’t get anything done for the next hour.

I tried. God knows I tried.

But every time I picked up a pen, I saw her eyes. Every time I typed, I felt her warmth. Every time I blinked, I saw the moment she walked out.

I finally slammed the pen down.

Enough.

I stood abruptly and reached for my phone.

I needed to fix this. I dialed a number, it rang twice before the person on the other end answered.

“Alex.” Joe answered, “you called.”

“I need help!”