chapter two
922 Words
Eve
Eve Adams had mastered the art of pretending.
Pretending she wasn’t exhausted.
Pretending the stack of unpaid hospital bills in her bag didn’t keep her awake at night.
Pretending her life wasn’t slowly collapsing beneath the weight of responsibility.
And most importantly…
Pretending Xavier Moore didn’t affect her.
Unfortunately, that last one was becoming impossible.
The morning sunlight spilled through her apartment window as she hurried around the tiny kitchen, balancing toast in one hand while searching for her missing work badge with the other.
“Mia!” she called.
A weak laugh came from the couch. “You lost it again?”
“I did not lose it,” Eve argued. “I temporarily misplaced it.”
Her mother smiled faintly beneath the blanket wrapped around her thin shoulders.
Even sick, she still tried to make Eve smile.
That somehow made everything hurt worse.
“You work too much,” her mother murmured softly.
“And you complain too much.”
“You got that attitude from your father.”
Eve paused.
The warmth in the room faded slightly.
Her father had left years ago. No goodbye. No explanation. Just silence.
Since then, Eve learned very quickly that survival came before emotions.
Bills before dreams.
Reality before love.
A loud knock interrupted the moment.
Before Eve could move, the apartment door swung open dramatically.
“Good morning, financially struggling people!”
Lena Hart entered carrying paper bags and enough energy to power the entire building.
Eve sighed. “One day, the neighbors are going to report you.”
“They already love me.”
“They tolerate you.”
“Same thing.”
Lena dropped onto the couch beside Eve’s mother and pulled out breakfast sandwiches.
“I brought food because Eve forgets humans need nourishment.”
“I eat.”
“Coffee is not food.”
“It has emotional support qualities.”
That earned a laugh from both women.
For a moment, things felt normal.
Light.
Easy.
Eve missed easy.
“You’re seeing your rich scary boss today?” Lena asked with immediate interest.
Eve rolled her eyes. “He’s not scary.”
Lena stared at her.
“Eve. The man looks like he signs death warrants for entertainment.”
“He’s just strict.”
“He glared at me once and I almost apologized for being alive.”
Eve tried not to laugh.
The truth was… Xavier intimidated everyone.
Everyone except her.
And she didn’t know why.
Maybe because she saw what existed underneath the expensive suits and cold voice.
Loneliness.
Pressure.
A sadness he hid behind perfection.
Which was dangerous.
Because noticing a man like Xavier Moore was the first step toward falling for him.
And Eve absolutely could not afford that.
—
By the time Eve arrived at Moore Industries, the building was already buzzing with tension.
That usually meant one thing.
Xavier was in a bad mood.
Again.
She stepped out of the elevator and immediately spotted terrified employees rushing across the floor.
One assistant nearly collided with her.
“What happened?”
“The Davidson contract has errors,” the woman whispered fearfully. “Mr. Moore is furious.”
Eve inhaled slowly.
Wonderful.
She walked toward Xavier’s office and knocked once before entering.
The atmosphere inside was freezing.
Literally freezing.
Why the man needed the office temperature to resemble Antarctica remained a mystery.
Xavier stood near the massive windows overlooking the city, his suit jacket discarded across the couch.
He looked dangerously calm.
Which was worse than angry.
“You wanted to see me?”
Without turning around, he held up a file.
“Explain this.”
Eve opened it quickly.
Her stomach dropped.
Wrong numbers.
Wrong signatures.
Wrong client data.
“This isn’t the final draft,” she said immediately.
“No,” Xavier replied coldly. “It’s a disaster.”
Eve ignored his tone and scanned the pages again.
Then she noticed something.
“These figures were changed.”
Now he turned.
Slowly.
“What?”
“The original report didn’t contain these numbers.”
“You’re saying someone altered company files?”
“I’m saying I don’t make mistakes like this.”
Silence.
Xavier studied her face carefully.
Most employees feared his gaze.
Eve simply waited.
Finally, he walked toward her.
Too close.
Way too close.
“You sound very confident.”
“I am very confident.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Then unexpectedly, he reached around her, pulling another file from the desk behind her.
The movement sent the scent of his cologne through the air—dark, expensive, distracting.
Eve hated how aware she suddenly became of him.
“This,” Xavier said quietly, opening the second file beside her, “is the original draft.”
Exactly as Eve remembered.
No errors.
No changes.
Someone had tampered with the contract after she completed it.
A dangerous look crossed Xavier’s face.
“Find out who did this.”
Eve nodded once. “I will.”
As she turned to leave, his voice stopped her.
“Eve.”
Something about the way he said her name made her heart stumble.
She looked back.
And for the first time since she’d known him…
Xavier Moore looked genuinely tired.
“I don’t trust many people,” he admitted quietly.
The confession surprised her.
“But I trust you.”
The room suddenly felt too small.
Too quiet.
Too intimate.
Eve swallowed carefully.
That was the problem with men like Xavier Moore.
They didn’t love gently.
They ruined you slowly without even trying.
- Writer
