Chapter Seven: A Ghost in the Room
875 Words
Xavier Williams sat at the head of the polished mahogany table, his fingers drumming once against the surface before stilling. The conference room around him buzzed faintly with conversation executives exchanging pleasantries, Gregory Vance speaking with one of his managers but Xavier heard none of it.
His mind was elsewhere.
He lit a cigarette, ignoring the disapproving glance of one of his own staff. The smoke curled upward in lazy swirls, a thin veil between him and the world. It was an old habit, one he’d abandoned for a time, but in moments like these, it was the only thing that quieted the noise in his head.
It should have been a simple meeting. Another deal. Another partnership. Vance was sharp, efficient, the kind of man Xavier could respect in business. But yesterday had altered everything.
Her.
Ariana.
The name echoed like a curse in his chest.
He had told himself, three years ago, that she was gone. That he would never see her again. He had forced himself to bury the memories, to pretend the image of her signing those papers hadn’t burned itself into his mind. He had convinced himself that the world was wide enough, that their paths would never cross again.
And yet fate had brought her here. Not just into the same city, but into the very orbit of his work.
Worse, into Vance’s company.
The thought of her working under another man’s roof, answering to another voice, left a sour taste in his mouth. Not that it mattered, he reminded himself. She wasn’t his anymore. She had chosen that the day she walked away.
Xavier crushed the cigarette into the tray, jaw tight. His reflection glared back at him from the glossy surface of the tablehard eyes, sharper lines, the face of a man who had carved out success at any cost. He was not the same man she had known, either.
The door opened.
For a heartbeat, the world narrowed.
She stepped inside, clutching a folder to her chest, every inch of her composed and professional. Her heels clicked softly against the floor, her cream blouse tucked neatly into a navy skirt. Her hair framed her face in a way that tugged at memories he had no business recalling.
Ariana Jones.
No Ariana Williams, his mind corrected bitterly, though the name was no longer hers to bear.
The air in the room shifted. Xavier wasn’t the only one who noticed her entrance; a few executives turned their heads, their eyes following her. She had always had that quiet kind of beauty, the kind that drew attention without trying. He hated that it still hit him like a punch to the chest.
His fingers tightened against the armrest of his chair.
She didn’t look at him. Not once. Her eyes stayed fixed on the table, her movements careful, deliberate. But he saw the slight tremor in her hands as she arranged her notes. He knew her too well not to notice.
Something in him twisted. Satisfaction? Anger? He couldn’t tell. All he knew was that she wasn’t as untouched as she pretended to be. His presence still got to her.
Good.
Let her feel what he felt. Let her remember that the past wasn’t so easily buried.
Gregory cleared his throat, launching into the opening remarks. Xavier leaned back, feigning ease, though every nerve in his body was on edge. His eyes flicked to Ariana again and again, no matter how much he tried to keep them elsewhere.
She sat straight, pen poised, listening intently to Gregory’s words. But Xavier saw the flicker of her lashes, the way she swallowed hard when silence fell. She was trying too hard to appear unaffected.
A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. She hadn’t changed. Not really.
But then her eyes lifted, just for a moment, and met his.
It was like a blow.
The years fell away in an instant the nights they’d shared, the way she used to laugh, the warmth that had once softened even his harshest days. And then, just as quickly, the memory of her hand signing those papers, the way she hadn’t hesitated to walk out of his life.
Cold settled over him.
Xavier’s gaze hardened. He leaned forward slightly, the weight of his stare pinning her in place until she finally looked away.
Gregory continued speaking, oblivious to the silent war raging between them. Xavier forced his attention back to the business at hand, but every word felt hollow against the roar in his chest.
He should have been focused on the deal. Instead, all he could think about was the woman across the table the woman who had once been his, the woman who still haunted him, the woman who now sat under another man’s roof as if she had never been his wife at all.
By the time Gregory paused, asking for his input, Xavier had already made a decision.
If fate had brought Ariana back into his orbit, then fate would not take her away so easily.
She could pretend to be unaffected. She could hide behind professionalism and composure. But Xavier Williams had never lost what belonged to him without a fight.
And Ariana Jones was no exception.
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- Writer
