All Chapters of One Night Stand With My Billionaire Boss : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

(Ciara’s POV)The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, and I stepped out far too quickly, as if the small space itself might reach out and pull me back in. My heart hammered against my ribs, wild and unrelenting, refusing to settle no matter how many slow breaths I forced into my lungs.Because all I could think about was him.The sudden jolt of the elevator. The loss of balance. The solid warmth of his chest beneath my palms when I collided with him. And then… that fleeting, accidental brush of our lips.Soft.Warm.Unforgettable.I stopped walking in the middle of the hallway, eyes fluttering shut as the memory crashed over me again, sharper this time. It didn't feel like a mistake. Not really. It had felt like something else entirely, something dangerous and electric that had no right to linger this long.“No,” I whispered fiercely, shaking my head. “Come on, Ciara. What are you even thinking?”This was ridiculous. Completely and utterly ridiculous.It was an accident. Nothing

(Ciara’s POV)Moving my things took less time than I expected, but settling in took much longer than it should have. Not because the space was uncomfortable, and not because anything was wrong, but because everything about it felt impossibly too close, as if the distance between me and his world had been measured in inches rather than steps. I set the last file neatly on the desk that had been assigned to me and stepped back slowly, taking in the room the way you stare at a familiar photograph and realize you’ve never seen the whole picture before.It was clean. Organized. Efficient. Everything about it reflected him. That was the exact problem. Because this wasn’t just any workspace, it was his space, and now I was part of it placed there like I belonged, like I could breathe without realizing I was inhaling too fast. I let out a quiet breath and pulled the chair back before sitting down carefully, adjusting my posture as if discipline and good form could somehow rebuild boundaries t

(Ciara’s POV)I stepped out of Lucas’s office under the excuse of needing water, but the truth was that the tension inside had become too heavy to breathe through, and the moment the door closed behind me, I felt a brief sense of relief that lasted only a few seconds before a familiar voice cut through the quiet hallway with a sharpness that made my steps come to an abrupt stop.“You always had a way of appearing where you don’t belong.”I did not need to turn immediately because I already knew who it was, and the irritation that rose within me was instant and undeniable, but I still turned slowly, meeting Taylor’s gaze as she stood a few feet away with her arms crossed and her posture relaxed as though she had been waiting for this exact moment.“I could say the same about you.”Her lips curved slightly, but there was no warmth in her expression, only something calculating and quietly hostile as she took a step closer, her heels clicking softly against the polished floor in a way tha

(Ciara’s POV)By the time I stepped back into the office, I told myself I was fine, I told myself I had everything under control, and I told myself that whatever had just happened outside would not follow me in here, but the moment the door closed behind me and I felt his presence again, close and undeniable, I knew I had already lost that battle.Lucas was standing near his desk, his attention shifting to me the second I walked in, and for a brief moment, neither of us spoke as the silence stretched between us, heavier than before, filled with everything that had just happened and everything we had not said.“You took longer than expected.”“I needed a moment.”His gaze lingered on me for a second longer than necessary, as if he was trying to read something I wasn’t ready to show, and I forced myself to move, to do something normal, to act like nothing had changed.“I’ll prepare the meeting documents.”I walked past him, placing the files on my desk as I tried to focus, but my though

(Ciara’s POV)For a split second, my body reacted before my mind could catch up as I tightened my grip on the stick and raised it slightly, ready to strike, because every instinct in me screamed that I was not alone and that whoever stood in front of me did not belong here at this hour.“Stop.”The voice cut through the tension instantly.Familiar.Calm.Too familiar.My breath caught as recognition hit me all at once, and before the stick could come down, I froze completely, my eyes adjusting to the dim light as I looked properly at the figure standing a few steps away.Lucas.My heart skipped, then pounded harder, but for a completely different reason now as I lowered the stick slowly, the tension in my shoulders easing just slightly even though the confusion remained.“What are you doing here?”His gaze moved briefly to the stick in my hand before returning to my face, and there was something in his expression that looked almost like amusement.“I could ask you the same question.”