Chapter 6: Left Me Hanging

JULIAN

The knock on my window stopped me from starting the engine. I glanced to my left, through the tinted glass, but I already knew exactly who was standing there.

A week ago, Isla surprised me, walking straight into my office like she hadn’t vanished a year ago.

I rolled the window down. Her beautiful face greeted me with that wide, innocent smile, like she hadn’t wrecked me just by walking away.

One year ago, she came into my life out of nowhere. All because of Candice’s twisted little prank. God knows where she got the idea to create a fake Tinder profile using my photos.

No one forced me to show up to that date. But I couldn’t shake the image of a woman sitting there, hopefully waiting, only to feel humiliated when she realized someone had duped her.

So I went. Even if I had to deliver the bad news myself, at least Isla wouldn’t waste her night on a ghost who didn’t exist.

I never planned to take her home. Never imagined I’d end up spending the entire weekend with her.

It had been a long time since I’d been with anyone. Especially someone like Isla. But the moment I saw her face, logic took a back seat. I lost my sanity, leaving only instinct. Pure, raw desire consumed me, and I had no interest in resisting.

And now she’s here. In the same building. Working for me.

“Hey. I saw your car by chance, so I figured I'd say hi.” Her cheerful voice filled the surrounding silence.

The same voice that, a year ago, had begged me not to stop touching her.

“Can I get in?”

I should’ve said no. I had no reason to open that door again.

Let’s not forget, she’s the one who left. She didn’t get to just walk back into my life like nothing ever happened.

But what did I do?

I unlocked the d*mn door.

Isla climbed in. The soft, floral scent of her perfume wrapped around me instantly. It felt like yesterday, when she was straddling me right here in this car, moving on top of me like she was chasing her heaven.

“What?” I asked, glancing at her.

She met my eyes briefly. She looked so young. So bright. So painfully beautiful.

“Last time I was in this car,” she said casually, like it meant nothing, “I had my first real orgasm in years.”

Holy sh*t.

Thank God the lighting inside the car was dim because my body responded instantly to the memory. I shifted in my seat, adjusting just enough to hide the physical reaction she’d triggered with a few careless words.

“Where do you live?” I asked, voice clipped. The sooner she left, the better.

“No need. I brought my car.”

I frowned at her. “Then what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk about something, but the office isn’t the place. We work on different floors, and I don’t exactly have a reason to show up in your office. But I still remembered your car… so, here I am.”

That kind of honesty only made things worse.

I clenched my jaw. “That’s not what I asked. What are you really doing here?”

Isla shrugged. “I work here now.”

“I thought you were at Mode?”

She nodded. “I was. Nola was my editor back when I was freelancing as a stylist at Mode. I only resigned when she mentioned she needed an intern at Eleanor Rowe.”

The honesty in her voice caught me off guard.

Even though our time together had been short, and mostly filled with s*x rather than actual conversation, I could tell Isla was someone who moved through life lightly.

The way she carried herself made it seem like nothing ever weighed her down.

Her clothes were bold and cut in ways I didn’t quite understand. I worked in retail, and fashion was technically part of my domain, but Isla’s style was different.

Really, Isla was loud. But not in a bad way. She didn’t hold back from saying what she wanted.

To some people, that might come off as overconfident or too opinionated. To me, she was a woman who knew her worth.

Still, quitting a job for an internship wasn’t exactly what most would call a smart career move.

“You resigned just to take an internship?” I asked, just to be sure I’d heard her right.

She nodded again, with zero hesitation.

“This is Eleanor Rowe. Even as an intern, it’s a golden opportunity.” She looked at me with a mischievous glint in her eyes, like she was about to stir trouble. “Relax. I had no idea you worked here. So if you’re thinking I applied just to run into you again, sorry to disappoint. I was just as shocked as you were to find out you’re basically the boss of all my bosses.”

Just like a year ago, there was still a charmingly carefree quality in her presence. When I met her in that bar, Isla had this way of making me forget myself.

Even now, it feels the same. For a moment, I wasn’t a single father with a teenage daughter who drove me halfway to madness.

I was just a man, flirting with a woman who still managed to pull me in without even trying.

I cleared my throat. “Well, I don’t understand it, but I’m sure you have your reasons.”

Isla nodded again.

“But I’m guessing you didn’t come over just to explain why you’re working here,” I continued, testing her.

Another nod.

“So… what do you want?”

She didn’t answer right away. That easy confidence she’d walked in with? Gone.

Now she shifted in her seat, like whatever she wanted to say suddenly made her nervous.

I waited, saying nothing. Giving her space to find her footing again.

“Well, I told you earlier that your reappearance surprised me,” she finally said. “And that’s partly because I’ve run through a thousand versions of how we’d meet again.”

My brow lifted. “Oh, yeah?”

She nodded once more. I probably should’ve called out the contradiction. Why the hell would she imagine reunion scenarios when she’s the one who walked away?

“Not one of those versions had you as my boss.”

I held back a laugh, barely. “Before we go down that rabbit hole, why were you thinking about reunion scenarios in the first place?”

She glanced up at me through those thick lashes. “Because I wanted to.”

“What was that?” I pressed.

“I wanted to see you again,” she breathed.

This time, I couldn’t stop the laugh that slipped out, even if it came as more of a scoff. “Really?”

Isla bit her lip. A huge mistake because the second my eyes landed on her mouth, the urge to kiss her hit me like a goddamn train. I had to force myself to look away, staring straight ahead to keep control.

“Honestly, I don’t know what happened,” she said, voice soft, head bowed, avoiding my eyes. “But I couldn’t forget. Eventually, I started building this ideal guy in my head, and it was you.”

I let out a laugh. The sheer audacity of her honesty caught me off guard. “Are you f*ck*ng kidding me?”

My voice came out harsher than intended, and Isla flinched.

“You left me. You snuck out without a word. And now you're standing here saying the opposite?”

She shrank back a little. I’d already unbuckled my seatbelt and leaned toward her, boxing her in against the passenger door.

“If you hadn’t left that morning, we could’ve talked like two grown adults. You wouldn’t have had to create these b*llsh*t reunion fantasies,” I said through clenched teeth.

Isla finally lifted her head, meeting my gaze head-on. “Do you want to be with me?”

“You think I’m just some b*st*rd who wanted your body for a weekend and then moved on? My mother raised me better than that!” I didn’t even notice my voice rising until it already had. The frustration had been building for too long, and now it was pouring out.

For a moment, she didn’t say anything—just stared at me, wide-eyed. I stared right back, every nerve in my body on fire.

“Fear gripped me,” she finally admitted. “We were… I felt something real with you, and it all happened so fast. I freaked out.”

And there it was. The truth laid bare. The age gap, the life experience gap, had always been there, but now it made sense. She decided that felt right for someone her age, even if it left me wrecked.

“We didn’t really talk much,” she continued, “but I got the impression you weren’t the kind of man looking for anything serious. So when I left, I figured you wouldn’t care.”

I laughed again—tired, frustrated. “Isla, it’s not like I was about to propose just because we had s*x.”

Her face turned crimson as the meaning behind my words sank in.

“Yeah, my bad,” she muttered. “Maybe that’s part of why I couldn’t forget.”

“So for an entire year, you couldn’t be with another man because you kept thinking about me?” The ego boost hit me hard, and I had to fight to keep it off my face.

Across from me, Isla gave a tiny nod.

“So, what’s your reason for being here?”

Again, she hesitated. Fidgeting in place like she was still deciding if she should say it.

I studied her face, trying to read the war going on in her head. And then the truth hit me. The real reason she was here.

“You want me to touch you again?” I asked, voice low. “Do you want to have s*x with me?” The same question I’d asked a year ago, but this time, it tasted like poison.

Isla didn’t respond with words. But the honesty in those wide, clear eyes said everything.

I pointed a finger right at her now-burning cheeks. “You want to sleep with me just to get me out of your system? So you can finally move on and f*ck whoever you want without thinking about what happened a year ago?”

She flinched, but didn’t deny it.

I laughed again, bitter. “Are you f*ck*ng kidding me, Isla?”

“I’m sorry. I know it’s wrong. But—”

“You know what?” I cut her off.

I leaned in closer, my voice cold, my chest tight. “I will never touch you again.”

My entire body revolted against the lie. Because all I wanted was to hear her say my name again—breathless, desperate, shattered.

“Now get out of my car.” Before she tore my ego to pieces, before I gave in, and undid everything I just said.

Isla stared at me, stunned. She didn’t say a word. She scrambled out of the car.

I watched her until she disappeared behind a white BMW parked a few spaces away.

Then I slammed my palm against the steering wheel.

F*ck. I already regretted it.

To hell with wounded pride because I still wanted her.