Semua Bab In His Sheets: Bab 31 - Bab 40

"Condition one," I held up a finger, keeping my voice firm. "I need fifteen thousand dollars in cash delivered to St. Jude’s Hospital by two o'clock today. Ten thousand for my mother's ICU deposit, and five thousand for Joan to hold for her immediate needs. Not an offshore account tomorrow—today." "Done," Julian said without missing a beat. "And the rest?" "Condition two," I held up a second finger. "You don't touch Adrian's primary server interface directly. I am not handing you open admin access that traces directly back to my terminal ID. I will give you filtered, high-level structural logs of Project Alpha—enough for you to outbid him on the downtown property, but not enough to trigger his automatic security alarms while I'm still sitting at my desk." Julian frowned slightly, evaluating the tactical risk. "That limits my scope." "Take it or leave it. I'm not going to prison before my mother even wakes up." "Fair enough," he conceded, nodding slowly. "And condition th

The air conditioning inside the Allegra Group headquarters was set to an icy sixty-eight degrees, but the cold hit me like a splash of freezing water the second I stepped out of the executive elevator onto the executive floor. I smoothed down the front of my cream-colored silk blouse and adjusted the fit of my dark charcoal pencil skirt. My hair was pulled back into an immaculate, low bun, and a strategic layer of concealer hid the dark circles carving under my eyes. Mara Collins was gone. St. Jude’s Hospital, the cheap apartment, and the desperate fear were locked away behind a wall of polished, cold perfection. Standing in front of Adrian Holt’s double-paned frosted glass office doors, I was Elizabeth Monroe. I took a quiet, steadying breath, gripped my leather folio tightly against my chest, and knocked twice on the heavy, dark wood. "Enter," a deep, gravelly voice snapped from within. I pushed the door open. Adrian was sitting behind his massive, dark walnut desk, a

By Thursday evening, the sun had long since dipped below the city skyline, leaving the executive floor bathed in the cold, blue light of twilight. It was past 8:00 PM. The floor was completely deserted, save for the two of us. I sat at my desk, my eyes burning from staring at bright screens for ten straight hours. Adrian had deliberately dumped a massive stack of files on my desk at 4:30 PM, demanding a line-by-line cross-audit before the morning. It was petty, vindictive, and entirely designed to keep me from leaving the building or calling Julian. As a matter of fact, my colleagues were beginning to wonder why he always seems to be around the office lately, but since Xlara doesn't have an issue with that, no one really bothered. Every time I tried to leave my desk to grab water, Adrian was there, leaning against his doorframe, asking a sharp question about a ledger entry, his eyes scanning my face, my waist, my legs with an intensity that made my skin prickle. The pull

“Adrian? What are you doing here?” Julian asked, surprised, his grip on my lower back instantly tightening in subtle defense. Adrian didn't answer immediately. He took a slow, agonizingly deliberate sip of his sparkling water, his dark, steel-grey eyes burning holes right through me. He looked impossibly relaxed, yet every line of his posture screamed predator. "I was having a mid-day strategy meeting with Clara," Adrian said, his voice a low, gravelly rasp that sent an unwanted shockwave down my spine. "Elsie mentioned she was having lunch with her favorite new friend and insisted I join. I didn't realize it was a double date." "Oh, stop being so dramatic, Adrian! Sit down, you two!" Elsie beamed, completely oblivious to the radioactive tension crackling between the three of us. She gesticulated wildly toward the plush velvet bench across from them. "Julian, pull out Liz's chair! We have so much to catch up on!" My legs felt like lead, but I forced my face into a cool, impa

“And you're a terrible boss," I shot back, the panic in my blood converting straight into pure, unadulterated venom. "Now drive the car before the light changes." Adrian’s eyes narrowed into dark slits, but he stepped on the accelerator, pushing the Maybach forward through the afternoon traffic. The silence returned, thicker and more volatile than before. My bag vibrated against my side again. Another text. 3:00 PM. I had forty minutes. Forty minutes to get to St. Jude’s, sign the surgical release, and pray my mother made it off the operating table alive. If I waited until Adrian pulled into the private executive garage, he’d expect me to walk straight up to the 30th floor with him. I wouldn't make it out of the building in time. I took a sharp, jagged breath and reached for my door handle as we slowed near a busy intersection two blocks from the Allegra Group building. "Pull over," I said flatly. Adrian didn't even glance at me. "We’re two minutes from the garage." "I s