Chapter 8
1223 Words
Chapter 8
The early morning light filtered through the blinds of my office, casting long shadows across the piles of documents strewn across my desk. I'd been here since dawn, desperately trying to lose myself in the intricacies of contract law and merger regulations. Anything to keep my mind off the events of last night.
Sophia Chen. Even thinking her name sent a jolt through me, memories flooding back unbidden. The softness of her skin under my fingertips. The way she'd gasped my name, her voice husky with desire. The look in her eyes as she'd fallen apart in my arms.
I shook my head, as if I could physically dislodge the thoughts. This was ridiculous. I was Derek Hawthorne, for Christ's sake. I didn't get hung up on women, especially not brilliant, infuriating, utterly captivating women who were on the opposite side of a major case.
A knock at the door interrupted my internal struggle. "Come in," I called, grateful for the distraction.
James sauntered in, looking far too chipper for this ungodly hour. "Good morning, sunshine," he said, his tone annoyingly cheerful. "You're here early."
I grunted in response, not looking up from the brief I was pretending to read. "Some of us actually take our work seriously, James."
My brother chuckled, dropping into the chair across from me. "Oh, I'm well aware of how seriously you take your work, big brother. Especially when it comes to a certain opposing counsel."
My head snapped up, meeting James's knowing smirk. "What are you talking about?"
James leaned back, studying me with an intensity that made me uncomfortable. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that you and Sophia Chen were seen leaving the Skyline Bar together last night? Or that you didn't come home until the wee hours of the morning?"
I felt heat rise to my cheeks, but I kept my expression neutral. "I don't know what you think you know, James, but I can assure you-"
"Save it," James interrupted, holding up a hand. "I'm not here to judge. I'm just... concerned."
I snorted, turning back to my papers. "Concerned? About what? That I might actually enjoy myself for once?"
"That you might be getting in over your head," James said softly. "Derek, I've never seen you like this over a woman before. And Sophia Chen isn't just any woman. She's-"
"I know exactly who she is," I snapped, my patience wearing thin. "She's opposing counsel on a major case. She's brilliant and frustrating and completely off-limits. What happened last night was a mistake. A lapse in judgment. It won't happen again."
James raised an eyebrow. "Won't it? Because from where I'm sitting, it looks like you're halfway to falling for her."
His words hit me like a physical blow. Falling for Sophia Chen? The idea was preposterous. Absurd. Completely...
Not entirely outside the realm of possibility.
I pushed the thought away, focusing instead on the anger bubbling up inside me. "You don't know what you're talking about, James. Sophia and I... we hate each other. Last night was just... blowing off steam. Nothing more."
"Uh-huh," James said, clearly unconvinced. "And that's why you're here at the crack of dawn, buried in work, looking like you haven't slept a wink?"
I glared at him. "I'm here because we have a case to win. A case that, need I remind you, is crucial for our firm's reputation."
James held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. I'll drop it. Just... be careful, okay? Mixing business and pleasure rarely ends well."
As he stood to leave, a thought occurred to me. "Wait. How did you know I was out last night? Don't tell me you're spying on me now."
James had the grace to look slightly embarrassed. "Not spying, exactly. I may have... run into Miranda last night. At the Skyline Bar."
I felt the blood drain from my face. "Mother was there? Did she-"
"Relax," James said quickly. "She didn't see you. But she did mention that she thought she saw Sophia Chen there. Alone. I just... put two and two together."
I nodded, relief warring with a strange sense of disappointment. Why should I care if my mother saw me with Sophia? It's not like there was anything to see. Right?
After James left, I tried to refocus on my work. But my mind kept drifting back to Sophia. To the way she'd looked in that black dress, all long legs and curves that made my mouth water. To the fire in her eyes as she'd argued with me, matching me point for point. To the vulnerability I'd glimpsed in the moments after, when she'd thought I wasn't looking.
I groaned, dropping my head into my hands. This was bad. This was very, very bad.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of meetings and phone calls. I threw myself into work with a fervor that had my colleagues eyeing me warily. Anything to keep my mind off Sophia Chen and the way she'd felt in my arms.
It wasn't until late afternoon, as I was preparing for the next day's negotiation session, that reality came crashing back. There, buried in a stack of documents, was a brief written by Sophia. Her neat handwriting filled the margins, sharp insights and clever arguments that both impressed and infuriated me.
Almost against my will, I found myself tracing her words with my fingertips, remembering how those same hands had roamed my body last night. The memory of her touch sent a jolt of heat through me, and I jerked my hand away as if burned.
"Pull yourself together, Hawthorne," I muttered to myself. "It was one night. It meant nothing."
But even as I said the words, I knew they were a lie. One night with Sophia Chen had shaken me to my core, upending everything I thought I knew about myself and what I wanted.
A knock at the door startled me out of my reverie. "Mr. Hawthorne?" my assistant's voice called. "The conference call with Tokyo is starting in five minutes."
"Thank you," I called back, grateful for the interruption. "I'll be right there."
As I gathered my notes for the call, I made a silent vow. I would get through this case. I would face Sophia Chen across that negotiating table and I would not let her see how much she affected me. I would win this merger for my client, prove once and for all that I was the best damn lawyer in this city.
And if my heart raced every time I thought of Sophia's smile, or the way she'd whispered my name in the darkness? Well, that was just... residual attraction. Nothing more.
It had to be nothing more. Because the alternative - that I, Derek Hawthorne, might actually be falling for Sophia Chen - was too terrifying to contemplate.
As I strode towards the conference room, I squared my shoulders and set my jaw. I was Derek Hawthorne, and I didn't let anyone get under my skin. Not even brilliant, beautiful, maddening Sophia Chen.
Tomorrow, I'd face her across that negotiating table. And I'd show her - and myself - that last night meant nothing. That she meant nothing.
Even if every fiber of my being screamed that I was lying to myself.
- Writer
