Chapter six
1000 Words
Aria’s POV
The Kane Enterprise building cut the sky in half.
Black glass. No logo. It didn’t need one.
Noah parked in a reserved slot three spaces from the main entrance. Not valeted. Not up front.
The engine died.
Silence rushed back in. Thicker than it was on the highway.
I had my hand on the door handle before he moved.
I needed air. Needed space. Needed one second where I wasn’t counting his glances in the mirror.
The door opened with that same quiet, expensive thud.
I stepped out. Legs shaky. Like I’d been holding my breath for twenty minutes.
I didn’t look back.
I made it three steps before his voice hit my spine.
“Miss Sinclair.”
He called out to me.
I turned.
He was already out of the SUV. Tablet in hand. Walking toward the private elevator like I wasn’t there. Like I hadn’t just spent twenty minutes dissecting his reflection.
I followed quietly behind him.
We step inside the lobby.
The lobby was ice—marble, glass, silence. Employees parted when they saw Noah. Not for me. For him.
He didn’t smile. Didn’t nod. Didn’t acknowledge them.
He was a ghost in a black tee.
We entered his office, which had Floor-to-ceiling windows and the whole city at his feet.
He set his tablet on a desk that looked carved from obsidian and tapped once.
“Your itinerary.” A file slid across the surface toward me. “Damian wants the Q3 projections revised by four. Legal needs the merger addendum. Page seventeen, clause four. You’ll sit in on the 2 PM with West Corp.”
No please. No good morning.
Just data.
I picked up the file. “Got it.”
His pale eyes flicked to mine. One second.
Then back to his screen.
Dismissed.
I left before he could change his mind.
My office.
Closet-sized compared to his. But it had a door. And a lock I didn’t trust.
I dropped into the chair. Opened the file. Numbers blurred.
Lunch came and went. I didn’t move.
Food was for people who didn’t have grumpy bosses to impress.
The merger addendum needed focus. Clause four was a landmine.
I was halfway through rewriting it when the air changed.
Heavier, Warmer, and Dangerous.
“Can I help you.”
Not a question. Not with him.
I didn’t look up.
Didn’t need to.
The scent of his cologne took over my office. It probably cost more than everything I owned.
Luca leaned against my doorframe as if he owned it.
No knock. No suit. Henley pushed to his elbows. Forearms tanned. Veins.
He was holding two takeout containers. White. Grease is bleeding through the bottom.
Not coffee this time.
“Relax, sweetheart.” His grin was slow. Illegal. “You look like you might need this.”
My hands stilled on the keyboard. Need this. Like I was some stray he found in the rain.
His eyes caught mine. Grin faltering. “s**t— not like that. You look tired, that’s all.”
He stepped inside. Uninvited.
The container hit my desk with a soft thunk. Too close to the merger addendum.
I shot up. “Careful— that’s—”
He was already moving. One hand, lazy, sliding the Q3 projections out of the grease zone. Fingertips brushing mine for half a second.
“Now eat.” He tapped the lid. “You can’t bleed for Kane Enterprise all day.”
I dropped back into the chair. Crossed my arms. Used them as armor. “Mr. Kane wants this by four. So I’m finishing it.”
The title felt wrong and too formal.
Luca’s smile went sharp.
“Last I checked, I’m also Mr. Kane.” He leaned down. Both palms flat on my desk. Caging me in. Caging the food in. “And this Mr. Kane says eat.”
His voice dropped. “Or do you only take orders from my brother?”
My jaw locked.
I hated that my stomach picked that second to betray me. Loud.
Luca’s smirk deepened. “That wasn’t an order, sweetheart. That was your body calling my bluff.”
I grabbed the container before I could talk myself out of it. Plastic was still warm. Grease already seeping.
I popped the lid.
Steam hit my face, Burger, Fries, Salt, and char, and something sweet in the sauce.
My eyes closed. Not on purpose. Just… relief.
I’d skipped breakfast this morning because of Damian.
I took a bite.
A moan of satisfaction slipped out of my mouth.
“That good, huh?”
My eyes flew open.
Luca hadn’t moved. Still caged over my desk. But his eyes…
They weren’t on the burger.
They were on my mouth.
Heat slammed into my cheeks. I swallowed. Too fast. Almost choked. “Where did you—”
“Secret.” He pushed off the desk finally. Giving me air. Giving me space I didn’t ask for. “A Kane never reveals his sources.”
I shoved another fry in my mouth to avoid answering. To avoid thinking.
Because he was looking at me like I was the meal.
Like he’d been starving.
I blinked. Looked down. Looked back up.
The look was still there.
I dropped the fry.
We finished in silence. Me, pretending the Q3 projections were fascinating. Him, pretending he wasn’t cataloging every time I licked salt off my thumb.
Immediately the Container was empty.
I cleared my throat. Shoved the trash aside. “All done. Can I get back to work now?”
My voice came out sharp.
Like I was irritated.
Like I hadn’t just inhaled a burger because he brought it.
Luca just grinned. Stood. Straightened his Henley.
“See you later, Miss Sinclair .” He tapped the doorframe twice on his way out.
The door clicked shut.
My eyes dropped to the empty container. Grease spot shaped like a fingerprint on the Q3 projections.
Right over clause four.
The one Luca just touched.
Fuuuuckk.
- Writer
