Chapter 9: His Ex
1959 Words
Elena Carter had expected Adrian Montgomery to bring up their late-night encounter the moment they stepped into the office the next morning. She had braced herself for another battle of wills, another confrontation that would test her patience. But to her surprise, he acted as if nothing had happened.
From the moment he walked into the office, Adrian was all business. His usual intensity was there, but there was no lingering glance, no cryptic smirk, no mention of their conversation the night before. It was as if he had erased the entire encounter from his mind.
"Miss Carter, I need the reports from yesterday’s meeting on my desk in an hour," he said, his tone clipped and professional.
Elena blinked, momentarily thrown off by the sheer indifference in his voice. "Of course, sir."
He barely spared her a glance before moving on to his next task. If he had any thoughts about last night, he wasn’t showing them. It irritated her more than she cared to admit. One moment, he was relentless, making her feel like she was constantly under his watchful eye. The next, he was distant, as though she was nothing more than another employee in his office.
Maybe that’s all she was.
With a frustrated sigh, she returned to her desk and focused on her work. If he wanted to act like nothing had happened, then so be it. Two could play that game.
Adrian buried himself in his work, keeping his mind strictly on the tasks at hand. He refused to acknowledge the woman sitting just beyond his office door, refused to let his thoughts drift to the way she had looked at him last night, confused yet unwavering.
She had ignored his message, rejected his invitation, and drawn boundaries between them. So he would do the same.
The knock on his office door pulled him from his thoughts. He glanced up, expecting to see Elena, but instead, his expression hardened the moment he saw the woman standing there.
"Hello, Adrian. It’s been a while."
His ex-girlfriend. His first love. The woman who had left a scar on his heart that he had never quite recovered from.
"Isabelle," he said, his voice unreadable. "What are you doing here?"
She smiled, stepping inside as if she belonged there. "I was in town and thought I’d drop by. It’s been too long."
Adrian leaned back in his chair, eyeing her carefully. She was as stunning as ever, with an air of effortless confidence that had once drawn him in like a moth to a flame. But now, all he felt was a guarded wariness.
"I doubt you came just to catch up," he said coolly.
Isabelle tilted her head. "You’re right. I came to see you. To talk."
He sighed, rubbing his temples. The last thing he needed was the ghost of his past showing up unannounced. "Make it quick."
Outside the office, Elena, who had just reached his door with the reports in hand, halted when she heard a woman’s voice inside. Something in the tone, in the familiarity of it, made her pause.
Who was she to Adrian? And why did the thought of another woman being in his office make her stomach twist uncomfortably?
Clutching the reports a little tighter, she straightened her shoulders and knocked firmly on the door, preparing herself for whatever she was about to walk into.
Elena stepped into Adrian’s office, her grip tightening around the reports as her eyes flickered to the unfamiliar woman seated across from his desk. The atmosphere in the room was thick with an unspoken history, and the ease with which the woman sat there, as if she belonged, sent an uneasy feeling through Elena’s chest.
Adrian’s gaze snapped to her, his expression unreadable. “Yes?”
She cleared her throat, ignoring the tension pressing in on her. “The reports you requested.”
Adrian extended a hand, and as she moved forward to place the documents on his desk, the woman turned in her seat, a slow, assessing smile curving her lips. “And who might this be?”
“Elena Carter, my assistant,” Adrian said curtly, not offering more than that.
Elena forced a polite smile. “And you are?”
Before Adrian could cut in, the woman stood, offering a hand. “Isabelle Laurent.”
The name rang in Elena’s ears. She had heard of Isabelle before—once, in passing, from a hushed conversation between some of her colleagues. She was Adrian’s ex, the one woman rumored to have broken through his otherwise cold and controlled exterior. The one who had left him.
Elena shook Isabelle’s hand briefly, her mind whirling.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” she said, glancing at Adrian.
“You’re not,” Adrian said flatly, dismissing her with a look. “That will be all, Miss Carter.”
Elena hesitated only for a second before nodding. “Of course, sir.”
She turned and walked out, keeping her pace steady despite the strange, sinking feeling in her chest.
Back in her office, she tossed the files onto her desk with more force than necessary. It shouldn’t bother her. Who Adrian met with, who he let into his office—none of it was her concern. But the memory of Isabelle’s knowing smile wouldn’t leave her.
“Why do you look like you’re about to murder someone?”
Elena turned sharply to find Sarah leaning against the doorway, arms crossed.
“I don’t.”
Sarah arched a brow. “Right. And I don’t love gossip.” She stepped inside, lowering her voice. “So? What’s going on?”
Elena sighed, rubbing her temples. “It’s nothing. Just… Adrian had a visitor.”
Sarah’s eyes lit up. “Oh? Someone interesting?”
Elena hesitated. “His ex.”
Sarah’s jaw dropped. “No way. The ex?”
Elena nodded.
Sarah whistled. “Damn. That’s… something.”
“Yeah.”
“Did he look happy to see her?”
Elena frowned. “I don’t know. He didn’t show much of anything, but… she did. She was comfortable. Too comfortable.”
Sarah studied her. “And why does that bother you?”
“It doesn’t,” Elena said too quickly.
Sarah smirked. “Sure.”
Elena groaned. “I’m not doing this with you.”
Sarah held up her hands. “Fine, fine. But just saying, if his ex is back, that might mean trouble. And not just for him.”
Elena didn’t reply, but Sarah’s words stuck with her long after their conversation ended.
Meanwhile, in Adrian’s office, Isabelle leaned back in her seat, watching him carefully. “She’s pretty,” she mused.
Adrian didn’t react. “Why are you really here, Isabelle?”
She smiled. “Can’t I want to see you?”
“No.”
Isabelle sighed, standing and stepping closer. “Adrian, I made a mistake leaving you. I realized that now.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened. “And?”
“And I want to fix it.”
For the first time since she walked in, something flickered in his eyes. “You don’t get to walk back into my life like nothing happened.”
Isabelle tilted her head. “I know. But I also know you, Adrian. And I don’t think you’re as indifferent as you pretend to be.”
His gaze was cold, but she simply smiled. “I’ll be in town for a while. Think about it.”
With that, she walked out, leaving Adrian staring after her, jaw clenched.
Adrian sat in his office long after Isabelle left, his fingers tapping rhythmically against his desk. His mind was a battlefield of emotions he had buried long ago. Seeing her again after all these years had stirred something—something unwanted, something he had forced himself to forget.
But more than that, there was Elena.
She had walked in at the wrong moment, seen Isabelle there, and though she hadn’t reacted outwardly, he had noticed the flicker of something in her eyes. It was gone in an instant, masked behind her usual professional demeanor. But he had seen it.
And it bothered him.
With a sigh, he pushed himself up from his chair. He needed a distraction.
Elena was buried in work, trying to shake off the lingering irritation that had settled in her chest. It shouldn’t matter to her that Adrian’s ex had waltzed into his office like she belonged there. It didn’t matter.
But when she heard the sound of approaching footsteps, her spine straightened instinctively.
“Miss Carter,” Adrian’s voice came, cool and professional.
She looked up, pushing her thoughts aside. “Yes, sir?”
“I need you to accompany me to a client meeting.”
She blinked. “Me?”
He gave a curt nod. “Yes. The client requested all key personnel be present. You manage the internal logistics, so you should be there.”
She hesitated for only a second before nodding. “Understood.”
The drive to the meeting was quiet, the air between them thick with unspoken words.
Adrian sat in the backseat of his sleek black car, his right-hand man and driver, Marcus Reed, at the wheel. Marcus had been with Adrian for years, loyal, efficient, and one of the few people Adrian trusted implicitly.
Elena sat beside Adrian, her gaze fixed outside the window. It wasn’t until Adrian finally spoke that she realized how tense she had been.
“Are you going to keep avoiding the subject?”
She turned to him, frowning. “What subject?”
His jaw clenched slightly. “You saw Isabelle.”
Elena forced a neutral expression. “So?”
His fingers tapped idly against his knee. “So I assume you have something to say about it.”
She let out a dry laugh. “I didn’t realize your personal life was part of my job description.”
His gaze flickered to her briefly before returning to the front. “It’s not.”
“Then why bring it up?”
Adrian didn’t respond immediately. “Because I want to know what you’re thinking.”
Elena turned fully in her seat, crossing her arms. “Does it matter?”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. “It does.”
She studied him for a long moment, searching for something in his expression, but as always, Adrian Montgomery was unreadable.
“Fine,” she said finally. “I think she’s beautiful. Confident. The kind of woman that fits into your world perfectly.”
His fingers curled slightly. “That’s not what I asked.”
Elena tilted her head slightly. “Then maybe you should be more specific.”
Silence filled the car once more, but this time, it was heavier. Charged.
Marcus, ever the professional, kept his eyes on the road, but Elena had a feeling he noticed the tension in the air.
Adrian didn’t push further, and Elena didn’t offer anything more.
But something had shifted between them.
And neither of them knew how to deal with it.
Back at the office, Sarah was waiting, her arms folded the moment Elena walked in.
“Well?” she demanded.
Elena groaned. “What now?”
Sarah smirked. “How was your business meeting?”
Elena shot her a look. “It was fine. Work-related. Nothing else.”
Sarah snorted. “Sure, and I’m the Queen of England.”
Elena rolled her eyes and walked past her, but Sarah followed, lowering her voice. “Listen, I did some digging.”
Elena frowned. “Digging?”
Sarah nodded. “On her. Isabelle Laurent.”
Elena hesitated. “And?”
“She’s trouble,” Sarah said. “Not just for Adrian—but for you too.”
Elena’s stomach twisted.
- Writer
