Lillian’s POVThe air smelled different this morning as I walked into the corridors of Caldwell Enterprises. Perhaps it was the promotion?I walked in with my head high, well, as high as I could manage, given the tsunami of emotions thrashing around my heart and mind.Frankly, my whole body. I was officially Nathaniel Caldwell’s Executive Assistant. A title I didn’t ask for, but one I had to own now. And I would. Just not without a little... mental prep.Which I did, a lot, in front of my mirror before I left the house.Habit led me straight toward the finance department. I was already halfway through the glass doors when I heard someone call behind me.“Uh, Lillian?”I turned to see my former supervisor blinking at me from his desk.“You’re not stationed here anymore, remember?” He smiled gently, as though correcting a newbie. “Your new office is... just beside the CEO’s.”“Oh. Right,” I said quickly, cheeks burning. “Force of habit.”With a sheepish smile, I turned around and wa
Lillian's POV.“Even if I give in to this desire, what good will it bring? It could be the end of my career!” I stressed in my head as I nursed the drink Diana offered me.I was only here because Diana asked for help with a sorting her records, it seemed like someone was stealing from her, but it turned out she was only a bad record keeper.“Well well, two nights in a month, my year is made.” the voice sounded deep in my ears.I stiffened.My heart stumbled.My fingers gripped the glass just a little too tightly.That voice. That confident, self-satisfied tone I had memorized by accident, the one that always made my stomach clench before my brain caught up.I turned slowly, masking my face into polite, but still disinterested.Nathaniel Caldwell stood behind me, dressed in dark jeans and a black button-down that hugged his frame a little too well. His hair was slightly tousled, more relaxed than I had ever seen it, and there was a teasing glint in his eyes that made my pulse quicken.
Nathaniel's POV.I didn’t look back.Even though every part of me wanted to.I walked out of the club like I hadn’t just been told, again, that I was a mistake she regretted. Like her words hadn’t landed like knives beneath my skin.“Last time I followed you, I ended up in your bed.”Yeah. I remember.She was hard to forget.I remember her breathless gasps in the dark, the way she clung to me like I was the only thing that meant something to her in the world. I remember the trembling in her voice, and the soft moans that still haunted my nights. That night wasn't just sex, it was a shift. A dangerous shift.And here I was, dangerously shifted.The moment I stepped out into the night, I exhaled hard, rubbing a hand down my face as the club door clicked shut behind me. I leaned against the side of my car, letting the silence soak in.This really is it.God, what the hell was wrong with me?She said no. Again. And like a masochist, I kept showing up. Wanting more. Chasing something
Nathaniel's POV“How did you know where I live?” I asked, keeping my voice calm, even though my pulse had started sprinting.She lifted her chin and smirked. “I have my ways.”Of course she did. Leave it to Lillian to appear at my front door like this. Unanticipated but welcoming.“Do your ways include stalking or corporate espionage?” I asked, stepping aside to let her in.“If I told you, I’d have to kill you,” she snickered as she walked past me.Her perfume hit me first, subtle, familiar, and then the realization of what this meant.She came here.On her own.Without any prompting on my part.Without any warning either.“I hope you’re not here to murder me in my sleep,” I said as I closed the door behind her.“That depends,” she said, glancing around the room. “Do you snore?”A laugh escaped me. God, I missed her.“Drink?” I offered, heading toward the bar.“Something strong.”That, I could do.I poured two glasses of scotch, the good kind I usually saved for negotiations or disapp
Lillian’s POVThe moment I stepped into the apartment, something felt off. It wasn’t the scattered shoes by the door or the faint scent of expensive cologne mixed with vanilla perfume. It was the energy, thick, tense, almost like the walls were holding their breath. I dropped my purse on the console table and took a cautious step forward. The TV was off. The kitchen light was dim. And then… I heard it. A soft giggle. A moan. My stomach twisted as my pulse quickened. I knew that laugh. I knew that voice. Without thinking, I pushed the bedroom door open. And there they were. Daniel. The man I had spent years loving, trusting, building a life with. And Jasmine. My best friend. Their bodies were tangled in my sheets, my bed. Our bed. Jasmine let out a sharp gasp, yanking the covers up to her chest, as if modesty suddenly mattered. “Lillian…” Daniel cursed under his breath, scrambling upright, his face drained of color. For a moment, I couldn’t speak. My throa
Nathaniel’s POVI wasn’t a man easily swayed by temptation. Discipline had been ingrained in me since childhood, work hard, stay focused, and never let emotions cloud your judgment. That was how I built my success, how I earned my father’s approval, and how I maintained control over every aspect of my life. So why was it that, for the first time in years, I felt that control slipping? Her name was Lillian Carter. She worked in the finance department, buried in numbers and reports, efficient and professional. I had barely noticed her before, not because she wasn’t noticeable, but because I never allowed myself to notice. But today was different. Today, I walked into the office, expecting just another ordinary morning of back-to-back meetings, mind-numbing negotiations, and my usual routine of drowning in work. Instead, my eyes found her. She wasn’t even doing anything spectacular, just standing near the break room, laughing at something a colleague had said, her eyes brigh
Lillian's POV I was officially the queen of evasion. For the past three days, I had successfully dodged, sidestepped, and outright avoided any form of contact with Nathaniel Caldwell. My boss. The man I had unknowingly slept with. The same man I had been trying to scrub out of my memory, only to be slapped in the face with reality when I walked into the office Monday morning and saw him looking irresistible as he walked to he elevator.I had felt the blood drain from my face so fast I nearly passed out. And since then, I had been playing an elaborate game of cat and mouse, except in this case, the cat had no idea the mouse was desperately scurrying to avoid being seen. Any time my boss in the finance department needed a report delivered to the CEO, I came up with the most ridiculous excuses. “Lillian, can you have this delivered to the boss's office, please. Linda just started to work on a report.” He said and my eyes widened, thankfully he didn't catch on.“Oh, I just got
Nathaniel’s POVLillian froze. I could see the war playing out in her mind, the way her fingers curled at her sides, the way her throat bobbed as she swallowed. She was fighting it. Fighting me. And I loved it.She didn’t answer. Didn’t deny it either that she had been avoiding me. Didn’t confirm if she regretted that night. But she didn’t need to. Her silence told me everything. I leaned back in my chair, resting my elbows on the armrests, studying her with amusement.“You know,” I said smoothly, tapping my fingers together, “I think it’s adorable how you keep trying to act like nothing happened between us.” She blinked rapidly. “Nothing did happen.” I smirked. “Lillian.” She flinched at the way I said her name, low, slow, like I was savoring it. “Now that’s just insulting,” I continued. “We both know that night happened. I remember it. Every. Single. Detail.” Her lips parted, but no words came out. I stood up, slowly, deliberately, rounding the desk and closing the
Nathaniel's POV“How did you know where I live?” I asked, keeping my voice calm, even though my pulse had started sprinting.She lifted her chin and smirked. “I have my ways.”Of course she did. Leave it to Lillian to appear at my front door like this. Unanticipated but welcoming.“Do your ways include stalking or corporate espionage?” I asked, stepping aside to let her in.“If I told you, I’d have to kill you,” she snickered as she walked past me.Her perfume hit me first, subtle, familiar, and then the realization of what this meant.She came here.On her own.Without any prompting on my part.Without any warning either.“I hope you’re not here to murder me in my sleep,” I said as I closed the door behind her.“That depends,” she said, glancing around the room. “Do you snore?”A laugh escaped me. God, I missed her.“Drink?” I offered, heading toward the bar.“Something strong.”That, I could do.I poured two glasses of scotch, the good kind I usually saved for negotiations or disapp
Nathaniel's POV.I didn’t look back.Even though every part of me wanted to.I walked out of the club like I hadn’t just been told, again, that I was a mistake she regretted. Like her words hadn’t landed like knives beneath my skin.“Last time I followed you, I ended up in your bed.”Yeah. I remember.She was hard to forget.I remember her breathless gasps in the dark, the way she clung to me like I was the only thing that meant something to her in the world. I remember the trembling in her voice, and the soft moans that still haunted my nights. That night wasn't just sex, it was a shift. A dangerous shift.And here I was, dangerously shifted.The moment I stepped out into the night, I exhaled hard, rubbing a hand down my face as the club door clicked shut behind me. I leaned against the side of my car, letting the silence soak in.This really is it.God, what the hell was wrong with me?She said no. Again. And like a masochist, I kept showing up. Wanting more. Chasing something
Lillian's POV.“Even if I give in to this desire, what good will it bring? It could be the end of my career!” I stressed in my head as I nursed the drink Diana offered me.I was only here because Diana asked for help with a sorting her records, it seemed like someone was stealing from her, but it turned out she was only a bad record keeper.“Well well, two nights in a month, my year is made.” the voice sounded deep in my ears.I stiffened.My heart stumbled.My fingers gripped the glass just a little too tightly.That voice. That confident, self-satisfied tone I had memorized by accident, the one that always made my stomach clench before my brain caught up.I turned slowly, masking my face into polite, but still disinterested.Nathaniel Caldwell stood behind me, dressed in dark jeans and a black button-down that hugged his frame a little too well. His hair was slightly tousled, more relaxed than I had ever seen it, and there was a teasing glint in his eyes that made my pulse quicken.
Lillian’s POVThe air smelled different this morning as I walked into the corridors of Caldwell Enterprises. Perhaps it was the promotion?I walked in with my head high, well, as high as I could manage, given the tsunami of emotions thrashing around my heart and mind.Frankly, my whole body. I was officially Nathaniel Caldwell’s Executive Assistant. A title I didn’t ask for, but one I had to own now. And I would. Just not without a little... mental prep.Which I did, a lot, in front of my mirror before I left the house.Habit led me straight toward the finance department. I was already halfway through the glass doors when I heard someone call behind me.“Uh, Lillian?”I turned to see my former supervisor blinking at me from his desk.“You’re not stationed here anymore, remember?” He smiled gently, as though correcting a newbie. “Your new office is... just beside the CEO’s.”“Oh. Right,” I said quickly, cheeks burning. “Force of habit.”With a sheepish smile, I turned around and wa
Lillian's POV Diana’s apartment smelled like cinnamon, like comfort and distraction. The kind of place where you could fall apart and not be judged for it. The woman ran a club for crying out loud.I knocked just once before she swung the door open, eyes wide, hair tied in that messy puff she wore when she was either bartending or angry. Or both.“Lilly!” She pulled me into a hug before I could say a word. “Finally. I was about to call you for the hundredth time.”“I know,” I mumbled into her shoulder. “I just needed to... breathe.”She pulled back to look at me, hands still on my arms. “You’ve had a rough week. Come in. I’ve got tea. Or vodka. Dealer’s choice.”I chuckled softly. “Tea. But you might need to lace it.”We curled into her couch, mugs in hand. The Netflix menu was paused on some rom-com we wouldn’t watch. It was just there for background noise.“So…” Diana started, eyes scanning me like a detective. “How are you really?”I took a sip, delaying the answer. The warmth of
Nathaniel’s POVI tossed my keys on the console, loosened my tie, and walked into the silence that greeted me as I entered my home . The loft was neat, the kind of clean that felt too neat rather than lived in. I had all the space in the world, but none of it felt full.I poured a drink for myself, bourbon, neat, and settled on the edge of the couch. I didn’t bother turning on the TV or music. It would have been noise for Pete's sake.Instead, I closed my eyes.And there she was. Again.Lillian.Her voice, her laugh, the way she looked at me like I wasn’t a CEO with everything handed to me, but just a man. A complicated, imperfect man she didn’t trust.And that night... God.I remembered how she had fit against me, like she belonged there. The softness of her body, her scent, something sweet and wild. The sounds she made when I finally gave her what she wanted, how she whispered “do it” in my ears like it meant something more.My grip on the glass tightened.I wasn’t supposed to t
Dylan's POV.#Flashback. ( A day before the one night stand)The silence was oppressive like a heavy blanket that suffocated me. I couldn't bear to spend any more minutes in this house. I couldn't wait to leave. I tapped my fingers repeatedly on my thighs waiting for my phone to ring. My phone rang, shattering the silence and changing everything. "Your father is ready to see you." My father's assistant said as soon as I picked up the call. I got up from where I was seated and walked towards the direction of my father's study. Walking around this house reminded me of my not so happy childhood. Growing up in a dictatorship where your father was an autocrat and you couldn't enjoy a regular childhood like other people, you wouldn't feel so happy walking around the house you grew up in. As I approached my father's study, I could hear the sound of my beating heart and I wondered if it was loud enough for others to hear it too.I sighed heavily as I put those thoughts behind me and f
Nathaniel’s POVLillian froze. I could see the war playing out in her mind, the way her fingers curled at her sides, the way her throat bobbed as she swallowed. She was fighting it. Fighting me. And I loved it.She didn’t answer. Didn’t deny it either that she had been avoiding me. Didn’t confirm if she regretted that night. But she didn’t need to. Her silence told me everything. I leaned back in my chair, resting my elbows on the armrests, studying her with amusement.“You know,” I said smoothly, tapping my fingers together, “I think it’s adorable how you keep trying to act like nothing happened between us.” She blinked rapidly. “Nothing did happen.” I smirked. “Lillian.” She flinched at the way I said her name, low, slow, like I was savoring it. “Now that’s just insulting,” I continued. “We both know that night happened. I remember it. Every. Single. Detail.” Her lips parted, but no words came out. I stood up, slowly, deliberately, rounding the desk and closing the
Lillian's POV I was officially the queen of evasion. For the past three days, I had successfully dodged, sidestepped, and outright avoided any form of contact with Nathaniel Caldwell. My boss. The man I had unknowingly slept with. The same man I had been trying to scrub out of my memory, only to be slapped in the face with reality when I walked into the office Monday morning and saw him looking irresistible as he walked to he elevator.I had felt the blood drain from my face so fast I nearly passed out. And since then, I had been playing an elaborate game of cat and mouse, except in this case, the cat had no idea the mouse was desperately scurrying to avoid being seen. Any time my boss in the finance department needed a report delivered to the CEO, I came up with the most ridiculous excuses. “Lillian, can you have this delivered to the boss's office, please. Linda just started to work on a report.” He said and my eyes widened, thankfully he didn't catch on.“Oh, I just got