The Billionaire’s Bargain

ChaptrTwelve

CHAPTER TWELVE

Dixon Hotel

Ethan’s POV

I closed the door to my office and leaned against it, exhaling slowly. My mind wouldn’t stop racing.

Emily Brown

The girl from that night. The one I didn’t even know. The one I thought I’d never see again. And now… she is my employee. TheHead Pastry Chef, in my hotel.

I ran a hand through my hair, trying to focus. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This wasn’t part of any plan. She wasn’t supposed to be here. Not in my kitchen. Not in my world.

But she was.

I could still see her face, the way her eyes widened when she turned and saw me. The quick glance down, pretending to work. The tiny tremor in her hands. Every detail replayed in my head like a video I couldn’t pause.

I sat at my desk, trying to concentrate on reports, budgets, staff schedules, anything, but nothing stuck. My eyes kept drifting to the door, half-expecting her to walk back in.

She looked… different in the daylight, in the light of my hotel. Professional. Focused. Strong. But underneath all that, I could still sense her. The same warmth. The same pull. The same moment I hadn’t been able to forget.

What kind of person was she? She left me that morning without a word. No explanation. Nothing. And yet, seeing her here now… I felt a jolt I couldn’t name.

I tried to reason it. It was just one night. A mistake. Something fleeting. That was all it was supposed to be. Just a night.

But the truth? It didn’t feel like a mistake. Not in my chest. Not in the way my body remembered her. The way my mind kept replaying the weight of her in my arms. The warmth of her skin. The quiet sighs she hadn’t known I noticed.

And yet… she was a stranger. A professional stranger now. My employee.

I clenched my fists, forcing myself to focus. I couldn’t let her complicate this. I couldn’t let her, or that night, get in the way of my life, my business, my control.

I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes.

But even as I told myself it was just a night, just her scent, just the moment… I knew the truth.

She wasn’t leaving my mind. She wasn’t leaving my body. And for reasons I couldn’t yet name, I wasn’t ready to let her go.

Not now.

Not ever.