Chapter Ten: Almost
1488 Words
By Monday morning, the hotel redevelopment project had become the subject of an important meeting at Carter Development Group.
The restoration reports were ready. The revised furniture budget had been approved, and Ava’s design proposal had received positive feedback from the project team.
All that remained was the final approval from the executive committee.
Ava sat at one end of the conference table with her presentation arranged neatly in front of her. She had spent most of Sunday preparing the final drawings, checking the numbers, and rehearsing how she would explain her design decisions.
She refused to let anyone think she had earned the opportunity through luck.
Ethan sat opposite her, listening as she explained the plan.
“The ballroom will retain its original character,” she said, pointing to the drawings. “We’ll restore the ceiling decorations, repair the existing windows, and refinish the wooden floor. The furniture will be modern enough for comfort without making the room feel disconnected from its history.”
One executive studied the budget.
“You’ve managed to reduce the projected furniture cost while keeping most of the original design.”
“Yes,” Ava replied. “We’re working with local furniture makers and restoring pieces that are still structurally sound. That also allows us to invest more in the parts of the building that genuinely need specialist attention.”
Another executive nodded.
“What about the timeline?”
Ava explained the proposed stages, including inspections, restoration work, furniture production, and final installation.
When she finished, the room fell silent for a moment.
Then the committee chair turned to Ethan.
“Mr. Carter, are you satisfied with this proposal?”
Ethan looked at Ava before answering.
“Yes. I recommend we proceed with Ms. Bennett’s design.”
Daniel Carter sat near the head of the table, his expression difficult to read.
“The proposal is acceptable,” he said at last. “Provided the team maintains strict oversight of the budget.”
Ava nodded professionally.
“Of course.”
The committee approved the next stage of the project.
Ava gathered her papers, trying not to look as relieved as she felt. This was a significant step for her studio. The hotel project could strengthen her portfolio, attract future clients, and give her small business the kind of recognition she had worked toward for years.
As the meeting ended, Ethan approached her.
“Congratulations.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
“You did well.”
“I know.”
He laughed.
“Do you ever get tired of being modest?”
“Not particularly.”
They walked together toward the elevators.
“Are you free this evening?” Ethan asked.
Ava glanced at him.
“For work?”
He hesitated just long enough for her to notice.
“I thought we could celebrate the approval.”
“There will be other meetings to celebrate things.”
“That wasn’t exactly an answer.”
She tried to look serious.
“What did you have in mind?”
“Dinner.”
“Dinner where?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“Very organized.”
“I was going to decide after you said yes.”
Ava looked at him, surprised by the faint nervousness beneath his usual confidence.
“Are you asking me to dinner, Ethan Carter?”
“I believe that is what people usually mean when they mention dinner.”
“Is this a business dinner?”
He opened his mouth, then closed it.
Ava smiled.
“That’s what I thought.”
The elevator arrived, and they stepped inside.
For a few seconds, neither spoke. Ethan looked at the floor numbers while Ava tried to ignore the fact that she was enjoying his uncertainty.
Finally, he said, “We could talk about the project if you prefer.”
“That sounds thrilling.”
“I can make it interesting.”
“Will there be spreadsheets?”
“If necessary.”
She laughed.
The elevator doors opened on the ground floor.
Ava stepped out, then turned back toward him.
“I have work to finish tonight.”
Ethan nodded, hiding his disappointment as best he could.
“Of course. Another time, then.”
“Another time,” she agreed.
She walked away before she could change her mind.
Outside, she stopped beside a flower stand and stared at the arrangements without really seeing them.
Why had she refused?
She had wanted him to ask. She had wanted to spend time with him outside the hotel, away from budgets and restoration reports.
But accepting would mean admitting that she was curious about him in a way that had nothing to do with work.
And that frightened her.
Ava had built her life by depending on herself. She knew how to work hard, how to make difficult decisions, and how to keep going when things became uncertain.
She did not know what to do with a man who made her want to lower her guard.
Her phone buzzed.
Maya: How did the meeting go?
Ava typed:
The project was approved.
Maya replied almost immediately.
Wonderful! Are you celebrating?
Ava hesitated.
Ethan asked me to dinner.
Three dots appeared.
Then:
AND WHAT DID YOU SAY?
Ava sighed.
I said I was busy.
Maya called her immediately.
“You did WHAT?”
Ava held the phone away from her ear.
“Please lower your voice.”
“I AM LOWERING IT. Why would you turn down a dinner invitation?”
“I have work.”
“You have a laptop. You could work tomorrow.”
“It’s not that simple.”
Maya’s voice softened.
“Are you afraid of liking him?”
Ava stared at the street.
“I barely know him.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Ava said nothing.
Maya sighed.
“You don’t have to decide whether he’s the love of your life today. You can have dinner with someone and see how you feel.”
“What if it gets complicated?”
“Then you deal with it when it happens. You’re very good at solving problems, Ava. Stop trying to solve the entire future before you take one step.”
After the call, Ava returned to her studio and worked until evening.
Across Manhattan, Ethan was having a similarly unproductive day.
Ryan had discovered that the dinner invitation had failed and was treating the situation as a personal tragedy.
“You asked her out and she said no?”
“She said she was busy.”
“Did she say she was busy, or did she say she was busy with you?”
Ethan glared at him.
Ryan held up his hands.
“I’m asking because the distinction matters.”
“She has a business to run.”
“And you have a habit of turning every emotion into a business problem.”
Ethan looked away.
Ryan sat across from him.
“Maybe she isn’t ready. Maybe she’s worried about mixing work and feelings. You can’t force her to be comfortable.”
“I know.”
“Good. Then give her space, but don’t pretend you weren’t asking because you wanted to spend time with her.”
Ethan stared at his phone.
He wanted to message Ava again. He wanted to tell her that the invitation had not been about the hotel or the project. He wanted to know whether she had felt even a fraction of what he had felt in the ballroom.
Instead, he put the phone down.
That evening, Ava was finishing the final notes for her studio when a message arrived.
Ethan: Congratulations again on the approval. You earned it.
She smiled.
Ava: Thank you. And thank you for supporting the proposal.
Ethan: You made it easy to support.
Ava read the message twice.
Then she typed:
Goodnight, Ethan.
His reply came a moment later.
Goodnight, Ava.
She placed the phone beside her laptop and leaned back in her chair.
They were getting closer. She could feel it in the small things: the way he remembered her coffee, the way their arguments had begun turning into jokes, the way he listened when she spoke about the work that mattered to her.
But closeness was not the same as trust.
Ethan was still the heir to a powerful company. His father still had expectations for him. Ava still had a business and a future she had fought hard to build.
There were differences between their worlds that affection alone would not erase.
There were fears neither had fully confessed, and questions neither was ready to ask.
For now, they remained on opposite sides of an invisible line, looking across at each other with growing curiosity.
Neither understood how difficult that line would become when family expectations, ambition, and hidden truths began to test them.
And neither knew that the next step toward each other would also bring them closer to the first real obstacle in their story.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD