Rielle’s POV
He kissed behind my ear as he pulled out of me, my legs almost gave out as I held into him for support. “I’m sorry for yesterday, it isn’t what you think it is. I had an emergency, I know it’s not an excuse. I promise to do better” he brushed off a strand from my face staring at my lips. “Tell you what, you can drop by at mine after work and I’ll make you dinner to compensate. Is that okay with you?” I nodded, I was out of breathe and I didn’t trust myself to utter a word at the moment. Just then Dantè walks in. “Well well well, if it isn’t the lovebirds. Is this even allowed in a working space?” He stared at the both of us before continuing. “I went to your office abd you weren’t there, waited for some time to no avail so I thought I’d check you her and I wasn’t wrong” Zayden let go of my chin, his jaw tight. “Dantè, you’re here. Let’s go to my office” “Sure” With that they both walked out but not before Dantè giving me a wink. What did I just get myself into? I pulled out my phone and sent a quick message to Elise. Rielle: You’ll never guess what Zayden just told me It didn’t even take her a minute to respond. Elise: Don’t play games with me. Tell me right now. Rielle: He wants me to come to his house tonight. I hit send before I could change my mind, my cheeks a crimson red even though no one was watching me. The silence stretched a few seconds too long, and I almost regretted saying anything when my phone buzzed Elise: ARE YOU SERIOUS??? Rielle: I’m serious, i don’t know what to do. Should I go? Elise: Of COURSE you should go! Girl, this is huge. Do you even understand what this means? I sighed, sliding down onto the stool by the register. “It means I’m going to embarrass myself,” I muttered under my breath. Elise texted immediately as if she could read my mind. Elise: Stop overthinking this, you’ve always wanted someone who cared about you and now you’ve found someone. You can’t show up in your work clothes, though. We need to get you a really nice dress! I stared at her message, biting the inside of my cheek. Rielle: Elise, I still have two hours left. Elise: leave early no one will care, tell them you’re sick or something. Besides you’re fucking the boss, you get to have that much privilege. I laughed, shaking my head. She always knew how to make things sound simple even when they felt like the most terrifying decisions of my life. Rielle: You really think I should? Elise: of course! I’ll pick you at the store, by the time I’m done with you Zayden won’t know what hit him I chuckled and sat my phone down, twirling in my seat and wondering what tonight could bring. The phone buzzed again. Elise: You deserve this, Rielle. Don’t talk yourself out of it. I swallowed hard because she was right, I always did that. I would pull myself back from things when things started to feel real. This was Zayden though, the way he looked at me sometimes made my chest ache like I wasn’t just another girl but someone he actually saw. I took a deep breath, i cant let my fear rob me of this. So I typed back, my fingers were trembling but I needed to commit so I kept going. Rielle: Okay…can you come to the office by 6:30? Elise: That’s my girl, I’ll be there. We’re fixing you up tonight. I began to do what I needed to do for the day so I don’t leave my work abandoned, I scheduled meetings and typed what I needed to before I walked to the HR’s office and told her I would be leaving early due to health issues. She gave me the go ahead and I walked to my office to pack my things when my phone beeped. Elise was downstairs. I got into the elevator and got out through the front of the building, she was already there. She rolled the window down when she saw me, grinning from ear to ear. I waved smiling at her as I walked to tge car. “Well?” she questioned immediately I slid into the passenger seat. “Well what?” “Well, are you ready for your life to change?” I laughed, tugging at the seatbelt. “You make it sound like I’m about to sign a contract with destiny.” “You basically are,” she said, pulling out into traffic. “This is Zayden we’re talking about, you need to be your best tonight. We’re finding you something perfect, something that screams fuck me! Own me! Use me! But also, I know exactly what I’m worth.” I laughed out loud at her exaggeration. Her energy was contagious, when we got to the mall my stomach wasn’t twisted anymore, it was fluttering with anticipation. Elise practically dragged me from rack to rack, tossing dresses at my way faster than I could catch them. “This one” she said, holding up a deep green blouse against me. “It brings out your eyes.” “Elise, I don’t even know what I’ll be doing at his house. What if all he wants to do is talk, I mean he wasn’t exactly nice days ago?” She shook her head firmly. “Trust me. It’s never ‘just casual’ when a guy finally works up the nerve to ask you over. He wants you to see him, really see him and you’re going to show up looking like HER” I stared at myself in the fitting room mirror a few minutes more, the green blouse fitting me and hugging my curves like it was made for me. Elise peeked in, her face lighting up. “That’s the one,” she whispered like she’d just discovered the vaccine to a virus. “That’s the girl Zayden want to see tonight.” I turned slowly, hardly recognizing the reflection. My heart pounded again, but this time it wasn’t with fear.Rielle’s POVIt’s been days since I’ve been putting up the professional act with Zayden.And it’s killing me.Every time I walk into his office with files, pretending nothing’s wrong, pretending my heart doesn’t twist when our eyes meet — it feels like I’m slowly losing a piece of myself.He’s different now. Colder. Not the man who made pancakes and smiled at me like I was the only thing that mattered. No. This version of him barely looks up from his laptop, his tone clipped and formal.Maybe that’s what I deserve.My life has been going in circles — work, silence, sleepless nights.And then there’s Dante.God, Dante.He’s been trying to make advances on me again, sending message after message. “I miss you.” “We were good together.” “Let’s talk.”The audacity.A part of me — a small, foolish part — thought about replying.Not because I missed him. I didn’t. But maybe because I wanted to feel like I mattered to someone.Maybe because some stupid, wounded part of me wanted to get a reac
Zayden’s POVThe next morning, the office felt colder than usual.Or maybe it was just her.Rielle sat at her desk, posture straight, eyes glued to the computer screen. Normally, she’d greet me with that small, unguarded smile — the one that always softened the start of my day. But this time, she didn’t even look up when I walked in.“Morning,” I said, setting my briefcase down.“Good morning, sir,” she replied, voice polite. Distant.Sir.That was new. Or maybe it wasn’t — maybe I’d just gotten too used to hearing my name in her softer tone, the one that felt less like formality and more like something else.I stood there for a moment, waiting for her to say something else, but she didn’t. Just kept typing, fingers moving quickly, like the keys were an escape.“Rielle,” I said finally.She paused, but didn’t look up. “Yes?”“About yesterday—”“There’s nothing to talk about,” she cut in quietly. “You don’t owe me an explanation, Mr. Wolfe.”Mr. Wolfe.The title landed heavier than it
Rielle’s POVZayden exhaled and stepped closer, his voice gentling.“Rielle,” he said, “I have to talk to her. It’s urgent — about my parents. But I promise I’ll be right back. Just… wait for me, okay? I’ll explain everything.”Something in his tone made it hard to say no. He sounded sincere — almost desperate to make me understand.So I just nodded, even though a small, uneasy ache had already begun forming in my chest.“Okay,” I said quietly.He gave a small, grateful smile — the kind that always seemed to undo me — and then he turned, walking out of the kitchen toward the study where Linda waited.And I waited too.At first, I told myself it would only be a few minutes. Maybe ten. Fifteen at most. I poured myself another cup of coffee, stared out the window, and tried to ignore how empty the house suddenly felt without his presence.But minutes turned into nearly an hour.The coffee grew cold. The silence stretched. I kept glancing toward the hallway, half expecting to hear footste
“Are you still fucking your boss?” Eslie asked casually, but her smirk gave away just how much she was dying to get a reaction.I almost dropped my fork. “Girl, stop!” I hissed, eyes darting around the café as though the whole world had just heard her.She leaned across the table, chin resting on her palm, her smile stretching wider. “Oh, don’t ‘girl, stop’ me. You can’t just waltz in here, all glowy skin and messy hair, and expect me not to notice. You’ve got that… ‘I was absolutely wrecked last night’ look.”My face burned, and I shoved a fry in my mouth to keep from answering.“What?” she pressed, tilting her head, her grin turning wicked. “It’s not everyday people get back shots from a freaking CEO.”My hand shot out, smacking her arm. “ESLIE!”She laughed so loudly half the café turned to look. My stomach twisted in secondhand embarrassment, but she was too far gone to care.Then, stupidly, under my breath, I mumbled, “It isn’t?”Her laughter cut off like a record scratch. Her ey
Rielle.I had accepted where I stood with Zayden.Sex partners. That was it.We were just fulfilling each other’s needs, using one another like lifelines we didn’t even want to admit we needed. No hard feelings. No feelings at all, actually. At least that’s what I kept telling myself.But the stares at the office said otherwise. The whispers. The way people’s eyes would linger on me when I walked in, when I came out of his office looking a little too flushed, a little too undone. They knew. They all knew.Zayden’s little sex toy.It stung, sometimes more than I cared to admit. Some days I wore the title like armor, pretending I didn’t care. Other days it burned so deep I wanted to claw out of my own skin. Was this really all I had been reduced to? Just a body to take the edge off for a man who would never give me more?I shook the thought off and forced myself to focus on the report glowing on my screen. My fingers tapped away at the keys, the rhythm mechanical, until a voice broke th
Zayden’s POV “So,” Dante said smoothly, “we’re agreed on the initial terms but the question is whether you’re willing to cede that much equity, mergers like this work best when there’s mutual trust.” My jaw clenched, mutual trust? He had better be joking. The audacity almost made me laugh but I remained calm, I had learnt to control my emotions over time. I pressed my fingers together and steadied my voice “Trust is an expensive currency Dante, It’s slow to build and very easy to lose. Everyone should understand that.” His eyes flickered, good to know that he hadn’t forgotten because I sure as hell haven’t. He smirked, let the guilt rot him from the inside even while I smiled like nothing was wrong. He would get what was coming slowly, the fact that he had layed a hand on Rielle made my blood boil more I kept my voice low. “Equity is negotiable but don’t mistake my willingness to merge for weakness.” He chuckled, though it sounded forced. “I wouldn’t dare.” Liar pants on fire.