All Chapters of WHERE DESIRE MEETS DECEIT : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Andres's POV"She's suspicious."Jefferson didn't even look up. "You've said that four times today, boss.""Because that's the truth."I stood from my desk and walked to the window. The city below was moving the way it always did, busy and completely normal, completely indifferent to the fact that I hadn't been able to think straight since yesterday."A woman appears out of nowhere," I said, mostly to the glass, "no interview, no file, no proper process. Gets handed a senior position like it's nothing. And you want me to just accept that?""I want you to look at the quarterly numbers you've been ignoring." Jefferson set his pen down. "They're right there on your desk.""I'll get to them.""You've been saying that since nine."I didn't respond to that.The numbers weren't what was bothering me. It was the way she'd left that meeting room. No argument, no desperation, nothing. Just her bag on her shoulder and the door closing softly behind her, as she'd only stopped in for a visit."She

Rosa's POV“Give me my damn phone right now, Andres. I didn’t come here for anything else.”Andres leaned back in his chair, arms folded tight across his chest, eyes drilling into me like he could see every secret in me. “Then explain why Quinn is saved under just one letter. One single letter, Rosa. What are you hiding?”My heart slammed so hard I felt it in my throat, but I refused to look away. “Because it’s my phone, my contacts, my life! And why the hell is a man who drove his Lamborghini straight into a lagoon yesterday busy digging through my personal stuff like some kind of detective? You could’ve died! I jumped in after you, remember?”He stood up slowly, voice low and dangerous. “You saw everything?”“Saw it? I lived it! I swam down into that filthy water, fought with your seatbelt while you were half-conscious and pulling me under. I dragged your heavy body to the shore, gave you CPR, begged you to breathe. And the first thing you do when you wake up is complain that I save

Rosa's POV“Miss Morales, you remind me so much of my daughter. Same fire in the eyes, same way of cutting through the nonsense,” Mr. Creston said, shaking my hand firmly.I smiled warmly, squeezing his hand back. “Thank you, sir. That means a lot coming from you. I’m really glad we could find common ground today.”“You’ve got a good head on your shoulders. Not many young people do these days. Keep that up, and you’ll go far,” he replied, nodding with approval.“I’ll do my best. Thank you again for trusting us with this,” I said softly.The moment the door closed behind him, I let the smile drop completely. I started gathering my files and notes when Andres’s voice came from across the table.“Good work.”I looked up and found him already staring at me. For a second, neither of us moved. The air felt thick, heavy with everything we weren’t saying. I held his gaze, my heart beating a little faster.“Thank you, sir,” I said quietly, breaking the moment. I looked back down at my papers.

Rosa's POV“Rosa, there you are. I’ve been looking for you,” Gary said, his voice smooth as he stepped closer to me near the elevator. “Everyone’s gone home already. Perfect timing.”I tilted my head slightly toward him, smiling softly. “Gary. You always seem to appear when things get quiet. What’s on your mind?”He chuckled, standing just close enough that I could smell his cologne. “You. All evening, I couldn’t stop thinking about how everyone was talking about how incredible you were. And at the celebration… that laugh of yours? Dangerous.”“Dangerous?” I asked, letting a light laugh escape as I looked up at him. “I was just celebrating the win with everyone. You seemed to be enjoying yourself, too.”“Oh, I was. But mostly I was enjoying watching you,” he replied, his tone dropping playfully. “You light up a room, Rosa. I meant what I said earlier. You and I should have dinner. Just us, you know ...Good food, better conversation. What do you say?”I pretended to think about it, bit

Andres's POV“Monday morning and I’m already on edge,” I muttered, gripping the steering wheel. “The medicine took forever to settle this weekend. It kept me staring at the ceiling for hours. And Billy’s words keep replaying… ‘Talk to her. You deserve something good.’ Talk to her? How? I’ve been turning that over for two days straight, and I’m still stuck.”I parked the car and headed inside the building. “Just breathe. Get through the day. One step at a time.”Jefferson was waiting near my office. “Morning, boss. You good? You look like the weekend kicked your ass.”“Morning, Jeff. Rough weekend, yeah. The medication settled more slowly than usual. What’s the latest on Meridian?” I asked, dropping into my chair.Jefferson sat across from me. “Update looks really clean and strong. Projections are up, client feedback is positive, and the risk section is tighter than last week. We’re in a good spot.”“That’s solid news. Walk me through the numbers again,” I said.“Revenue forecast is lo