All Chapters of One Night And A Billionaire Obsession : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Kelly's POV The afternoon air outside was biting and cold as I walked down the concrete steps of the apartment building and hit the sidewalk. I kept my head down trying to avoid my landlord, as I walked toward the small bodega at the corner of the block just to grab a sandwich and some coffee. I didn't even make it past the entrance of the alleyway. Suddenly, an iron grip clamped down on my upper arm, taking me off the sidewalk and dragging me backward into the shadows of the alley. I opened my mouth to scream, but a large, rough hand slapped firmly over my face, cutting off my air. "Shut your mouth if you want to keep breathing," a low, gravelly voice hissed right against my ear. I was shoved hard against the brick wall, the rough stone scraping right through my jacket. Two large men in heavy dark coats stepped forward, blocking my view of the street. The one who had grabbed me had a jagged scar running down his jawline, and his eyes held a cruel, unblinking focus. "You'

Kelly's POV I looked up toward the entrance, and my stomach did a nervous flip. The line snaking down the sidewalk was filled with women in flawless designer gowns and men in tailored, custom-fit Italian suits. Hope spoke to me,"Look at the crowd tonight, Kel. This isn't some college dive bar where people are spilling cheap beer on your shoes. This is the official venture gala after-party." I stared as spotlights cut through the dark night sky, reflecting off the polished hoods of luxury sports cars idling by the valet station. Engines purred smoothly as wealthy patrons stepped out, handing their keys to attendants without a care in the world. This was a world of untouchable wealth, a world where people didn't have to worry about their water being cut off or dangerous men cornering them in a dark alleyway. "You belong in that room just as much as any of them," Hope whispered near my ear, her grip tightening supportively on my forearm as she began walking us toward the front of

Kelly's POV The cool night air was a sharp, welcoming shock against my skin, a stark contrast to the heat pulsing through my veins. My heels clicked on the pavement as I followed him, the man whose name I still didn’t know, down the street. He didn't speak to me, he simply walked ahead with purpose, his broad shoulders a dark silhouette against the city lights. He paused once to glance back at me, and that look alone held a promise so dark and thrilling. It was a silent challenge, and I felt myself answering it. The hotel was just a block from the club, a sleek, expensive looking structure with gold-accented doors. The doorman nodded us inside without a word. He walked past the concierge desk without stopping, because a key card was already in his hand. We stood side-by-side in the elevator, a small metal box that felt impossibly intimate. The air was thick with the scent of his cologne, it was clean, masculine, and completely addictive. When the doors slid shut, h

Kelly’s POV After Hope left, the silence swallowed the apartment whole. The coffee mug on the table had gone cold, and the sunlight that once looked soft now poured through the window like a harsh spotlight. I sat on the futon, staring at my phone screen, the job interview notification from the Donovan Group of Companies glowed like a spark in the darkness of my life. I knew I should be happy, hopeful, even but the feeling sitting in my stomach wasn’t hope, it was dread. The idea of walking into that interview, pretending all was fine, pretending I hadn’t failed at everything I’d once built, and might also fail in this, made me sick. I’d have to talk about my past, about my so-called “design experience,” about the business I’d lost. Every lie I’d tell would feel heavier than anything else I'd done. My thumb hovered over Dylan’s name in my contacts. I hadn’t spoken to him since the last time he called, when I lied to him that I was fine. And the guilt of it had been eating

Kelly's POV The bus hissed as it pulled away, leaving me standing alone on the pavement, staring up at the Donovan Group of Companies building, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe. It towered above everything else, steel and glass stretching into the clouds like it owned the sky. It wasn’t just a building, it was a statement of confidence, power, and money, and I was about to walk into it wearing borrowed armor and pretending I belonged. Hope’s blazer felt heavier than before, pressing on my shoulders like a reminder of everything riding on this day. I took a deep breath, but it barely steadied me. I was once a designer, I used to know who I was, what I could do, and now, I was just someone trying not to drown in her own fear. I stepped forward before I could talk myself out of it, the revolving doors spun around me, and suddenly I was inside. The air was cool, crisp, and smelled expensive, the lobby gleamed, polished marble floors, chrome fixtures, a chandelier that prob