The Dangerous favour

The afternoon crowd bustled through the convenience store as Aria wandered between the shelves with her phone pressed against her ear.

On the other end of the line, Chloe was practically yelling.

"I'm telling you, Aria, it was a complete disaster! I ran into Adrian... and his grandfather... inside the company elevator!"

Aria stopped walking.

"You ran into the president? On the elevator of all places?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.

"Yes!" Chloe groaned. "Do you have any idea how terrified I was? I thought my heart was going to stop."

Aria sighed heavily.

"This situation is getting out of hand."

"It is," Chloe replied. "Please meet Adrian as soon as possible and clear everything up. The longer we wait, the worse it'll become."

There was a long silence before Aria finally answered.

"Okay... fine. Don't worry. I'll handle it."

"I hope so."

The call ended.

Aria lowered her phone and stared into space.

"Things are really not looking good," she murmured.

She turned to leave the store, but before taking another step, something crashed into her legs.

A little girl had been running across the floor and bumped into her.

"Oh my God!" Aria gasped, immediately kneeling down. "Sweetheart, are you okay?"

The child looked startled but wasn't hurt.

A woman hurried over and gently pulled her daughter behind her.

"I'm so sorry," the mother apologized. "I've told her countless times not to run around stores."

"No, it's alright," Aria replied with a warm smile. "Kids will always be kids."

The woman thanked her before leading the little girl away.

Shaking off the encounter, Aria stepped outside.

After only a few steps, her smile disappeared.

Her hand flew to her handbag.

Her wallet.

It was gone.

"My wallet..." she whispered.

Panic flooded her face.

"Oh no! My keys and wallet!"

Without another thought, she turned and ran back into the convenience store.

Her eyes searched desperately through the aisles while her feet carried her forward at full speed.

Then—

Bang!

She collided with someone so hard that her drink slipped from her hand and splashed across the floor.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Aria exclaimed, bending quickly to pick it up.

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

"It's okay."

The calm male voice made her lift her head.

The moment their eyes met, everything around her seemed to fade away.

The man was breathtaking.

Tall. Handsome. Perfectly dressed in a fitted black suit. His sharp features and composed expression gave him an effortless charm.

Aria forgot how to breathe.

Oh my God...

He's handsome as hell.

He's absolutely gorgeous.

I think I've just found the love of my life.

She remained frozen, staring openly at him.

The stranger raised an eyebrow, amused by her silence.

"Are you alright?" he asked again.

His voice snapped her back to reality.

"Oh! Y-Yes... I'm sorry."

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

"It's no problem."

He handed her the drink she had dropped and walked away without another word.

Aria slowly turned around, unable to stop herself from watching him leave.

A silly smile spread across her face.

She had no idea that the handsome stranger was Ethan Cole—Adrian Blake's personal secretary.

And Ethan had no idea why he found himself glancing back at the beautiful girl before disappearing into the crowd.

Aria's phone rang again.

She frowned at the unknown number before answering.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"It's Adrian Blake."

Her eyes widened.

The president?

Before she could even respond, Adrian spoke in his usual cold tone.

"I want to meet you. Do you have time today?"

The call ended immediately.

Aria stared at her phone in disbelief.

"He hung up?"

Still shaken, she hurried to a nearby coffee shop and called Chloe.

A few minutes later, Chloe arrived.

"What happened? You sounded so serious."

Aria took a deep breath.

"Adrian just called me."

Chloe nearly spilled her coffee.

"What? President Adrian wants to meet you?"

"Yes. He asked if I was free today."

Chloe smiled excitedly.

"That's great! You can finally meet him and tell him the truth."

Aria immediately shook her head.

"My dear friend... could you go instead of me?"

Chloe stared at her.

"You must be crazy."

"Please."

"I have an important meeting today."

"Still?" Aria asked hopefully.

Chloe folded her arms.

"How can I go in your place? What if I get caught?"

"Just tell him you don't like him," Aria pleaded. "Tell him you won't marry him. Say no clearly and leave."

Chloe sighed.

"This is a terrible idea."

Aria reached for her hand.

"Please go. I won't beg you again."

The desperation in Aria's voice softened Chloe's heart.

After a long moment, Chloe finally nodded.

"Fine. But this is the very last time I'm doing this for you."

Relief washed over Aria's face as she hugged her best friend tightly.

Neither of them realized that Chloe's decision would lead her straight into Adrian Blake's world... and change both of their lives forever.