NO WAY OUT: THE BILLIONAIRE CEO'S OBSESSION

6

Zephyra's POV

My ringing phone woke me from a restless sleep. I fumbled around on my side table until I found it. “Hello?” I mumbled, squinting against the fingers of light finding their way past the edges of my bedroom curtains.

“We got it!” Jovan’s loud voice made me wince.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. “Got what?”

“The Wright Group project,” he said, and now I was wide awake. “Really?” I was simultaneously shocked, delighted, and wracked with nerves. Delighted that all our hard work had paid off, and excited at the knowledge that something I’d have a hand in designing would feature prominently in major cities around the US.

But my stomach twisted at the thought of being in the same space as Lirael for an extended period.

From the way he had looked at me during our presentation, it was obvious he was less than happy to see me. And I guessed I understood why. Lirael didn’t seem the type to be interested in mixing business with pleasure, particularly not when the pleasure was only ever meant to be a one-night thing. Luckily, there would be more than a few floors separating us, and he would probably be dealing mostly with Jovan.

Which reminded me . . .

I tuned back to Jovan’s voice, hoping I hadn’t missed out on anything important.

“They’ll have the space ready for us by Monday, so we can start then. I’ll have my own office, but you and the rest of the team will have desks on the main floor.”

“Okay.”

“Lirael has also asked to meet with all of us individually on Monday. I suggest saying as little as possible at this stage. Answer his questions, tell him you’re looking forward to working with him, and leave it at that.”

My stomach flipped again. Oh god, why did we have to meet him on our own? It would be so much easier if the entire team were with me. Still, disregarding what Jovan had just said about not saying much, this might be an opportunity to clear the air with Lirael. Let him know I wouldn’t go blabbing about our previous . . . interaction to anyone.

“And Zephyra,” Jovan continued, “I don’t need to remind you how important this project is. You’re the youngest and newest member of the team, so you have to appear professional at all times. Also, I think we should keep quiet about our relationship. There’s no reason to discuss personal details like that with anyone outside of our firm.”

I rolled my eyes. I knew Jovan was angling for promotion to partner, and having a project of this scale go smoothly would improve his chances, but when was I ever unprofessional? Or prone to spontaneous PDAs at work? Or running my mouth to people about my personal life?

It wasn’t worth saying anything about it now, though. Not when I’d rather get off the phone and digest the news than get into an argument. I just made a general sound of acknowledgement, and he carried on for a few more minutes.

When we eventually said goodbye, after arranging to have dinner tomorrow night, I sank down on the bed. My nerves from before had dissipated and now excitement zipped through me.

When the sound of our coffee machine reached me, I realized Freya must be awake. I immediately threw back my covers and climbed out of bed. After using the bathroom, I made my way to our small-but-neat kitchen, which was filled with the delicious aroma of fresh coffee.

“Any left for me?” I asked, smiling at my very tousled-looking roommate, whose long auburn hair was half falling out of its ponytail.

She passed the mug she had just finished pouring and reached for another. “Ugh, why are mornings so hard?”

I sat on one of the chairs in our little breakfast nook and pulled my knee up to my chest. “They’re only hard because you were sexting your rock star boyfriend all night.”

“Fiancé,” she corrected with a wink as she filled a cup for herself.

I laughed. “I started remembering soon, I promise.” Freya’s boyfriend, Jaxson, was an up-and-coming rock star, whose band Lightning Strikes had recently been signed by Hazard Records. A week ago, just before he and his band flew to LA for two months, they’d gotten engaged, and I kept forgetting to call him her fiancé.

I took a sip of my coffee as she came over and sat opposite me. “So, had you found somewhere for you guys to live yet?” I asked. Freya had started looking for an apartment for her and Jaxson to move into, since Freya wasn’t keen on moving into the bachelor pad he lived in with his bandmates. The thought of her moving out made my chest feel a little hollow.

Freya and I were close friends, despite being opposites in just about every way. When I wasn’t working late, I was either reading a good book or binge-watching cheesy television shows, while she loved going out to clubs and socializing. Despite our differences, we bonded over our shared interest in design during our internship at Paradise Architecture. When we were offered permanent positions after graduation, we decided to share an apartment. That was almost a year and a half ago. I’d miss living with her, but I was happy that she was happy.

“No,” she said. “To be honest, I wasn’t looking too hard. There was a lot going on with the band at the moment. They were talking about permanently moving to the Zane Coast now. Not much point in finding somewhere here if they had to move.”

My eyebrows shot up. “What would you have done if that happened?”

She bit her bottom lip. “There’s Paradise’s LA office. That might have been an option. Or Jaxson and I could have done the long-distance thing until we figured out what was going on.”

“Mmm,” I said, noncommittally. Freya and Jaxson’s relationship seemed to be super strong, but long-distance wasn’t easy, especially for a newly engaged couple. Hopefully it would all work out.

“Jovan called just before,” I said, changing the topic.

“Oh yeah?” She eyed me over her coffee cup, and I winced internally. She wasn’t exactly a fan of Jovan. Then again, he wasn’t a fan of her either. I tried to keep them apart as much as I could. Still, after a week of bad-mouthing Jovan when we broke up, she made sure not to make too many comments about him when we got back together. But what I had to say wasn’t about Jovan, anyway. It was about his news.

“Yes, and guess what? We got the Wright Group job!”

“That’s fantastic, Zee!” She put down her coffee cup and half stood to reach across and give me a hug. “Not that I’m surprised. You worked so hard on it. And wow, it’s going to be amazing for your résumé.”

“I know.” The thought sent a thrill through me all over again. I had worked long hours and multiple weekends, helping to perfect the proposal. Now all that hard work was going to pay off with . . . more hard work. But it was what I loved doing, so I was more than happy.

“When do you start?” Freya asked.

“Monday. We’ll be moving into Wright Plaza for the duration. And Lirael . . . I mean, Mr. Wright, wants to meet with us all individually, too.”

She nodded. “Makes sense to welcome you and make you all feel like part of the same team.”

“Yeah, um, there’s only one thing . . .” I had told Freya about losing my virginity after my breakup with Jovan, but I had never told her Lirael Wright was the man I slept with. Maybe because I was still trying to wrap my head around it myself. But now I could use some advice. “I’ve met Mr. Wright before. About a month ago.”

Freya c****d her head to the side. “Okay. So, you’ve met before. What’s the big deal?”

I took a deep breath. “It was when Jovan and I had broken up. The night we broke up, actually.”

Her brows hiked skyward and her mouth dropped open. “Are you saying you lost your virginity to Lirael Wright? One of the Wright Group Kings? Billionaire and basically your new boss?”