บททั้งหมดของ Late Night Deliveries: The After Hours: บทที่ 121 - บทที่ 130

Lena’s POVI had less than an hour thirty minutes of time before my 4:00 PM downtown celebration with Leo and Kendra. My closet doors were pulled wide open, revealing a chaotic battlefield of clothes thrown over chairs and hangers scattered across the bed. I had been going through my wardrobe before to check for something to wear. I stood in the middle of it all, hands resting on my hips, staring down at my options with a mild sense of impending panic.We had conquered the boardroom, survived the fifty-mark terror, and now it was time to actually enjoy ourselves. But picking the right outfit for a high-end downtown lounge proved to be infinitely more stressful than defending a corporate restructuring model.I snatched my phone off the rumpled duvet and dialed Kendra’s number, pacing across the hardwood floor as it rang twice before she picked up."Girl, we have forty-five minutes, and my closet is officially staging a mutiny," I blurted out the second the line connected. "What are you

Leo’s POVFor once, the rigid armor of a three-piece suit was left hanging in the closet. Today called for a different kind of precision—sharp, understated, and effortlessly casual. I had paired dark, perfectly tailored trousers with a crisp, charcoal-gray button-down, the sleeves neatly rolled up to my forearms to reveal the fine lines of my wrists and watch. It wasn't corporate, but it still commanded attention.I checked my phone, confirmed that the high-end downtown lounge reservation was locked in, and tapped the app to summon my ride.With a final adjustment of my collar, I grabbed my keys, locked my apartment door, and headed down to the lobby just as my ride pulled smoothly towards the gate.Sliding into the back seat of the sedan, the city lights of downtown began to blur past the tinted windows in a streak of amber and neon. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and fired off a quick message to the group chat.Leo: "I'm on my way."Almost instantly, a double ping chimed back.K

Lena’s POVThe empty plates and silver-dusted remnants of our celebratory feast had long since been cleared away by the attentive waitstaff, replaced instead by the quiet, comfortable lull that follows a heavy meal. The amber lighting of The Obsidian seemed to grow a little softer, the jazz playlist drifting into a smooth, late-afternoon instrumental.I leaned back against the plush velvet upholstery of our booth, letting out a soft sigh as I traced the condensation ring left by my water glass on the polished wooden table. My stomach was pleasantly full, but my nerves—long frayed by the relentless pressure of the past week—were still humming with a stubborn, electric residue."So," I murmured, breaking the quiet as I picked up the leather drink menu resting near the edge of the table and flipped it open to the spirits section. "We conquered the board, we crushed the presentation, and we ate like royalty. But I think I need one final addition to this evening."Kendra raised an eyebrow,

Lena’s POVThe transition from the backseat of the luxury sedan to the unfamiliar, upscale interior of Richard’s private suite felt entirely disjointed, like scenes cut haphazardly from a film reel. The rhythmic hum of the city traffic had dissolved into a heavy, insulating quiet. My heels clicked unevenly against imported hardwood floors before my knees buckled, yielding to the intoxicating cocktail of champagne and old-fashioned bourbon roaring through my bloodstream.Strong, unyielding arms caught me before I could hit the floor. Richard hoisted me effortlessly against his chest, carrying me down a dimly lit hallway and straight into a vast, minimalist bedroom dominated by a low, sprawling platform bed.He lowered me onto the crisp, cool sheets, the fabric rustling beneath my weight as I sank back into the mattress, my limbs feeling impossibly heavy, boneless, and warm. The ceiling overhead seemed to drift in slow, hypnotic circles.Richard stood over the edge of the mattress, loos

The taxi door slammed shut behind me with a hollow thud, the driver pulling away from the curb before my legs had even fully settled onto the pavement of my building's front steps. I didn't care. I just needed to be inside, behind a locked deadbolt, sealed away from a world that suddenly felt entirely too loud and far too bright.I tried opening the door but it was locked. Cleo must have been out so I brought out my keys and shook violently in the lock. The metal rattled against the brass plate twice before the latch finally gave way with a sharp, heavy click. I stumbled across the threshold, kicked off my shoes without bothering to straighten them, and let my leather tote bag slide off my shoulder to crash onto the entryway floor.The apartment was suffocatingly quiet. The amber-lit luxury of Richard’s penthouse, the scent of expensive cologne, and the lingering phantom weight of his hands on my skin seemed to follow me through the front door, clinging to the fabric of my dress like