CHAPTER 10
1050 Words
Chapter 10: Seven Thirty Sharp
"You’re so lucky, Aria. I’d trade places with you in a heartbeat." Mari’s voice rang with genuine awe as she stirred her iced latte. The sun filtered through the café's large windows, casting soft gold light across their table. The brunch crowd buzzed around them, but their little corner remained a bubble of chatter and clinking glasses.
Lily leaned in, propping her chin on her palm. "Cassian Blackwood. God. He’s like every fantasy rolled into a suit. Do you know what I’d do for just a moment in that man’s orbit?"
Aria gave a tight smile as she poked at the arugula on her plate. "Trust me, it’s not that glamorous."
Mari gave her a look. "You’re designing with him, Aria. You got chosen. And he actually talked to you yesterday. You said he stood right there while you presented. That never happens."
"He also told me I’d pay for something," Aria muttered, stabbing her fork into a tomato.
Both women blinked. "Wait. What?" Lily asked.
"At the end. After we were chosen. He looked right at me and said, 'You’ll pay for that.' Like... ominously."
Mari’s brows rose. "Was he joking? Maybe he’s into, like, dry humor."
Aria shook her head. "No. It felt like a threat."
Lily sat back, brow furrowed. "But what would he even make you pay for?"
Aria thought about the mural, about painting over his face, and then standing in front of him pretending she didn’t recognize him. "Long story. It doesn’t matter. I just need to keep my head down and get through the internship."
Mari and Lily exchanged glances, but didn’t press. The conversation shifted to lighter topics, but Aria's mind remained knotted.
---
By early afternoon, Aria was standing in the marble lobby of Blackwood & Co. with a slim black file pressed to her chest. She wore tailored navy slacks, a soft cream blouse, and had tamed her hair into a low knot. Professional. Respectable. Not someone who’d ever scorned a billionaire CEO in a smoky bar.
The receptionist glanced up and smiled politely. "Good afternoon. Can I help you?"
"I’m here to deliver this for Mr. Blackwood," Aria said, offering the file. "It’s from Professor Lindale. He said Mr. Blackwood was expecting it."
The woman took it, then looked at the label. "Ah, yes. You’re Aria, right?"
Aria nodded.
"He said to have you wait. He’s in a meeting. Shouldn’t be long. You can take a seat just over there."
Aria offered a thanks and moved to the sleek waiting area just off the lobby. She chose a seat by the window, legs crossed, back straight. Her eyes drifted to the elevator bank, then to the massive digital clock behind the reception desk.
2:17 p.m.
She checked her phone. No messages. She opened a notes app and began drafting a list of mural touch-ups. Then checked her email. Then scrolled briefly through social media.
3:04 p.m.
She shifted in her seat, glanced again at the receptionist, who gave her a tight smile and a sympathetic shrug.
Aria tried to read a chapter from her design theory book. The words blurred.
4:26 p.m.
The receptionist was replaced by another. A man with buzzed hair and glasses. He gave her a nod when their eyes met.
5:07 p.m.
She stood, pacing slightly. Her back ached from the stiff seat, her feet tingled. She approached the desk.
"Excuse me, has Mr. Blackwood’s meeting ended? I’ve been waiting over three hours."
The man glanced at his computer. "His calendar says he’s still in. I can check again, but I haven’t gotten any updates."
She forced a polite smile. "That’s okay. I’ll just—"
"Leaving so soon?"
The voice stopped her mid-turn. Low, smooth, unmistakable.
Cassian Blackwood stood at the corridor’s edge. He wasn’t in a suit, but in a black cashmere turtleneck and slacks. His jacket hung casually over one shoulder. His hair was slightly tousled, his expression unreadable.
Aria’s heart dropped to her stomach. He looked... composed. Not at all like someone who’d spent the last three hours in a conference room.
She straightened. "I was told you were in a meeting."
Cassian tilted his head slightly. "Was I?"
Something in his tone prickled. She stepped forward, holding the file.
"This is from Professor Lindale. He said you needed it today."
Cassian took his time walking over. Each step deliberate. He stopped just close enough to look down at her with that glacial calm.
"And you waited."
"Yes. For over three hours."
He took the file but didn’t look at it. "Impressive patience."
Her jaw tightened. "I don’t have time to be toyed with, Mr. Blackwood."
His lips twitched slightly. "Don’t you?"
She flushed. "If you weren’t in a meeting, why have me sit there all day?"
He tucked the file under his arm. "Perhaps I wanted to see how long you’d last."
Her mouth opened, closed, then opened again. "You think this is a game?"
Cassian stepped closer. The reception area faded around them. He leaned in slightly, just enough to send a shiver down her spine.
"I told you you’d pay, didn’t I?"
Her heart pounded. "This is your version of punishment? Wasting my time?"
"Not wasted. I watched you. You fidget when you’re irritated. You check your phone every twelve minutes. And you talk to yourself when you’re frustrated. It was quite... enlightening."
She stared at him, breath catching. "You’re insane."
He smiled. "Possibly."
She reached up, shoved the file hard into his chest. "You’re also cruel."
Cassian took it without flinching.
"Goodnight, Mr. Blackwood."
She turned, walking quickly toward the glass doors before her face betrayed how much he’d gotten under her skin. She heard no footsteps behind her, no call for her to stop. Just silence and the low hum of the lobby.
---
She slammed her apartment door behind her and let out a string of curses she rarely said aloud. Her phone buzzed just as she kicked off her shoes.
A single text.
Cassian Blackwood: 7:30 a.m. sharp.
No explanation. No context. Just a time.
Aria stared at it, her fingers twitching with the urge to respond. But she didn’t. Instead, she threw her phone on the couch and stormed into her bedroom.
Sleep would not come easy tonight.
- Writer
