Björn and Ava ate breakfast in complete silence. He read his newspaper, took the last bite, and spoke. "How are you feeling?" Björn asked without taking his eyes off her. Ava cleared her throat. "Well, thanks for breakfast. The headache is gone. I have to go to the house to take a bath and get ready for..." She stopped her words. Then she stopped her words. "Of course, if you still..." He didn't finish the sentence when he saw Björn's gesture. "Let's talk about what happened hours ago," Björn said. Ava tensed. He noticed how her cheeks flushed. "First of all..." Björn interrupted her, waving his hand to stop her from saying anything else. "What was the last thing she remembered?" Ava took a sharp intake of breath, held it for a few seconds, and then slyly blew it out between her teeth, remembering almost nothing. Again she cleared her throat and stirred in her chair. "I accompanied my friend to homecoming, but I don't usually go to parties and stuff," she paused briefly. "I don't
Björn showered, got ready, and went over the day's schedule. Before Ava arrived at the office to continue working on what she had pending, he would pay her a visit. There was a knock at the door, and he gave the order to come in. When his head of security walked in, he noticed her tension. He knew something was wrong. "What's going on?" Björn asked directly. "I've looked into it," Thomas replied. Björn felt a knot forming in the middle of his stomach. "Tell me," Björn said, taking a discreet breath. "At the last minute, Mrs. Laurent held the welcome meeting that her brother Bruno usually gives to new staff in the meeting for this weekend, but at the last minute, she changed it and asked for discretion," Björn frowned. "My source told me he didn't want his name mentioned for anything in the world. He wanted it to be casual, spontaneous." "I wouldn't say I like that at all." "I agree, Mr. Hoffmann. Besides," Thomas cleared his throat, "it seems that those who ambushed Miss Gray wer
Ava came out of her room dressed in her gray executive suit and a white dress shirt, with her hair pulled back in a bun at the bottom of her head. She checked her watch. It was ten minutes to eight in the morning. She went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Alice and the kitchen girl had already left for work. When she finished drinking her glass of water, there was a knock on the door. Ava hurried, thinking that her boss might have sent for her. When she opened the door, the man who had accompanied her earlier appeared, holding a black bag with the "Seasons" hotel logo on it. "It's for you, Miss Gray," the man said. Ava's brow furrowed. "Mr. Hoffmann sent it to you. When you're ready, we can leave." She took the bag and looked inside, pulling out a box. To her surprise, she discovered it was a new cell phone. She looked up, almost refusing to accept it. "I..." Ava started, but the man interrupted her. "When you're ready, we can leave. I'll wait in the buggy," he nodded. Then t
"Well, let's order lunch," Björn announced as he saw that the employees' regular lunch break was about to end. He turned to Ava, who was finishing up some notes on her new iPad, and asked, "What would you like to eat, Ms. Gray?" "Would you like me to order from the menu?" she asked helpfully, and Björn declined. "What would you like? I know the menu every day, so I'm not in the mood for anything. Shall we go into town?" Ava raised her eyebrows in surprise, as it was a couple of hours' drive. "To the city?" Björn nodded at her surprised look. "I have a new helicopter, so it will be less travel time. Have you tried the imperial salmon?" Björn asked Ava, but she declined. "Well, you're going to love it, so I'll take advantage of the trip to pick up my guest. Grab whatever you need, and I'll meet you in the lobby in five minutes." Ava got up from her place and thought about what to bring. She only had her purse, where she had her IDs and a copy of the house keys, but it was in the empl
"Another view..." whispered Björn, leaning back in his chair and looking carefully at Ava, who was oblivious to his gaze. "Impressive..." said Ava without looking away, then looked back at her boss. "Is the food here good?" she asked as she felt a little more relaxed. Björn nodded slowly. "Quite good. Years ago, I used to come here all the time. To make a reservation at this place, they take up to six months to give you one. "Oh, that's quite a long time," Ava murmured, surprised by what he was telling her. "Yes," she accepted the menu the waiter handed them. "Good afternoon, I'm Ever, your waiter. Would you like something to drink? An appetizer? "I want three glasses and the best vintage of wine you have. I'm waiting for someone else," Ava didn't know. "Perfect," Björn nodded, and the waiter left. "Are you expecting someone else?" she asked without a filter. "Yes, my guest we're bringing to the hotel. "Oh," then Ava looked at the scenery, lost herself in it for a few more mi
Ava's heart fluttered so hard that she swore it would stop at any moment. "Mr. Hoffmann, you've had enough wine," Björn broke away from her a little to look into her eyes. He noticed the rim of both irises dilated, in a thin line, then her words echoed loudly, bringing him back to reality: he was the boss and her assistant. Björn stepped back, leaving Ava leaning against the door, her cheeks scarlet and panting. He had no right just because he bought her at the auction to save her, and he had no right even to feel jealousy or attraction for her. He shouldn't cross that fine line between the two of them. He wasn't allowed. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me..." he ran a hand through his hair, he wrinkled his brow, Ava couldn't help but lower her gaze to his pants at the same time Björn covered his erection with both hands. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." he subtly tugged Ava's arm to pull her away from the door and out to the men's room. Ava was shivering, but not like two years a
"I'm not going to answer that question," Björn answered sharply, and that didn't surprise Carter. "Fine, have it your way," he got up and poured himself more whiskey from the cabinet, then returned to his seat. There was a long silence in the suite, with only fleeting glances, until finally, Björn decided to break the silence. "I have discovered things that I didn't like at all," he said, rarely opening up about personal matters to anyone, not even Oscar, who was part of his family and the only person he trusted. Carter paid close attention, knowing this was significant. Björn finished his drink in one gulp and left the empty glass on the glass table in the center of the room. "Is it something here at the hotel?" Björn nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?" Björn shook his head. "It's better to stay out of it, but it's been bothering me since yesterday. Somehow I have to talk about it, not all of it, but voicing it might help me stop feeling this way," Carter frowned. "It must be
Saturday had arrived, three days since that lunch in the city with her boss and the guest. That morning, Ava sat on the edge of her bed, feeling a bit lost in her thoughts. While bathing, she had noticed a couple of bruises on her arms and legs, but she couldn't remember how she got them. After checking the time, she finished getting ready for work. She had been restless during the nights, unable to sleep properly. The scene of Björn with her in the ladies' room kept replaying in her mind, causing her to question her own reactions. She compared it to a similar situation two years ago and realized how different she felt now. The day proceeded as usual, with the security man escorting Ava to the employee entrance door. There, she met Alice, her best friend. "What time do you get off today?" Alice asked, checking the entry time. Ava sighed. "I don't know. I don't have a set time," she frowned and looked at her friend. "Why?" They walked toward the employee locker area. "The group of