All Chapters of The Ceo's Unexpected Choice : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Zara woke up the next morning with one thought.She was quitting.Not Knight Technologies entirely.Just whatever strange, confusing thing was happening between her and Adrian.She was tired of the staring.The late-night conversations.The way one smile from him could ruin her entire train of thought.And especially the way he had started looking at her like she was more than his assistant.It was becoming dangerous.She got to the office at exactly 8:03 a.m.Adrian was already there.Of course.He looked up from his laptop."You're late."Zara checked the clock."Three minutes.""Three minutes is late.""Good morning to you too."His mouth twitched."Good morning."She dropped a file on his desk."Your 9 a.m. meeting is confirmed. Your 11 a.m. meeting has been moved to two. And you have lunch with the investors at one.""Cancel lunch."Zara looked at him."Why?""I'm not going.""You can't just cancel a meeting with investors.""I can.""You're the CEO. That doesn't mean you're allo

By eight-thirty the next morning, the atmosphere at Knight Technologies had changed.Zara noticed it before she even reached Adrian’s office.People were speaking more quietly than usual. Groups of employees stood near the elevators with their phones in their hands, discussing something that clearly mattered. Two members of the finance team walked past her without their usual morning greetings, both looking unusually serious.She slowed down.Something had happened.Evelyn appeared from behind her desk carrying two cups of coffee.“Before you ask, yes, something is going on.”Zara accepted one of the cups. “I wasn't going to ask.”“You were absolutely going to ask.”“I was going to mind my business.”Evelyn gave her a look. “Since when?”Zara laughed softly, but her eyes moved toward Adrian's office.The door was open.He was already inside, standing beside the window with his phone pressed to his ear. His suit jacket was off, his sleeves rolled slightly above his wrists. He looked ca

Zara knew something was wrong the moment Adrian walked into the office.He didn't say good morning.He didn't make one of his usual comments about her being late, even though she was three minutes late.He simply walked past her desk and went straight into his office.That was enough to make her follow him.She knocked once before entering.Adrian was standing behind his desk, staring at his phone."What's wrong?"He looked up."Nothing."She folded her arms."You've become a terrible liar."A tired smile crossed his face."I was hoping you wouldn't notice.""I always notice."He walked around the desk and sat down."Bianca came to see me yesterday."Zara's expression changed."About the Rhodes deal?""Yes.""What did she say?"Adrian hesitated."She told me her father knows about you."Zara stared at him."Me?""Yes."She sat down slowly."What exactly does he know?""That you're working closely with me. That you've become important to the consumer project. And..."He paused."And?"

Zara barely slept after seeing the photograph.Not because of the photograph itself.Because of everything it represented.Three people standing together. Her mother, Richard Hayes, and Michael Knight.Three people who had apparently known each other long before Zara was old enough to understand anything about them.And yet, somehow, all she had ever been given were pieces.She was tired of pieces.By morning, she had made a decision.She wasn't going to spend the rest of her life chasing ghosts.Whatever had happened between their parents could stay in the past for now.She had a life to build.And, whether she wanted to admit it or not, Adrian had become part of that life.She arrived at Knight Technologies just after eight.Adrian was already in his office.This time, when she entered, he wasn't looking at his laptop.He was looking at her."You look tired.""So do you.""I didn't sleep.""Neither did I."He stood and came around his desk."Are you okay?"Zara nodded."I'm fine.""

Zara spent the entire night thinking about one sentence.I love you.Not the words themselves.The fact that Adrian had said them first.She had replayed the moment so many times that by three in the morning, she was tired of herself.She knew she loved him.That wasn't the problem.The problem was that everything around them seemed to become complicated the moment she allowed herself to get comfortable.First, the Rhodes deal.Then the messages.Then her mother's past.And now Vanessa.She knew Adrian had a past. Of course he did. He was thirty-something, successful and had lived an entire life before she came along.Still, hearing that he had once been engaged had bothered her more than she wanted to admit.Not because he had loved someone before.Because someone else had known him before she did.She hated that feeling.The feeling that there were parts of him she could never compete with because she hadn't been there.By morning, she had made up her mind.She wasn't going to fight