Forbidden Obsession

Chapter 4: The Lunch Invitation

Elena stared down at the glowing screen of her phone, her thumb hovering over Aiden’s message. Her heart hammered against her ribs as she glanced up through the massive glass walls of the executive office.

Julian had already seated himself behind his sprawling mahogany desk. He had his reading glasses on, his eyes locked onto a thick stack of legal documents, his face a mask of absolute concentration. He looked completely detached, like the intense, suffocating encounter in the elevator had never happened.

Sucking in a quiet breath, Elena sat down at her new desk, which was positioned directly outside his double doors. She quickly typed out a reply to Aiden.

‘Thanks, Aiden, but I have a lot of work to catch up on up here. Maybe another time.’

She pressed send and flipped her phone face down on the desk, forcing herself to focus on the heavy stack of financial folders Julian had left for her. For the next three hours, the only sounds on the 50th floor were the soft clicking of her keyboard and the occasional murmur of Julian talking to international clients over his speakerphone.

Working so close to him was a form of beautiful torture. Every time he stood up to pace around his office while negotiating a deal, her eyes would involuntarily track the sharp line of his shoulders and the way his tailored trousers moved. Once or twice, she caught him looking through the glass directly at her, his gray eyes unreadable, before he smoothly looked away.

By 12:30 PM, Elena's stomach let out a quiet, traitorous growl. She sighed, rubbing her aching temples. Data entry was exhausting.

Clack.

The double doors of the office swung open. Elena jumped slightly, looking up to see Julian stepping out. He had put his charcoal suit jacket back on, looking every bit the pristine, untouchable tycoon.

"It’s lunchtime, Miss Vance," Julian said, his tone perfectly professional, though his eyes lingered on her tired face. "I am heading down to the executive dining room for a working lunch with some investors. I expect you to have the Q3 spreadsheets finalized by the time I return at two o'clock."

"Yes, Mr. Sterling," Elena murmured, keeping her voice formal.

Julian gave a single, tight nod, turned on his heel, and strode toward the private elevator. The doors closed behind him, leaving the 50th floor completely deserted.

Elena slumped back in her chair, letting out a long sigh. She didn't have access to the executive dining room, which meant she needed to head down to the main cafeteria on the 10th floor to grab a quick sandwich.

Five minutes later, she stepped out of the elevator onto the bustling cafeteria floor. The air smelled of grilled paninis and fresh coffee. She was scanning the crowded room for the sandwich line when a familiar, cheerful voice called out her name.

"Elena! Over here!"

She turned and saw Aiden waving at her from a corner table. He had a brilliant smile on his face, his messy blonde hair making him look incredibly out of place among the sea of serious corporate employees. Before she could even politely decline, Aiden had navigated through the crowd and stopped right in front of her.

"I thought you said you had too much work to have lunch," Aiden teased, his blue eyes crinkling with amusement.

"I do," Elena said, her cheeks warming up. "I was just going to grab a sandwich and eat it at my desk."

"Eating at your desk on your first day? That’s a corporate sin," Aiden laughed gently, taking the plastic tray from her hand. "Come on, sit with me for just fifteen minutes. I already bought an extra chicken Caesar wrap. Consider it a peace offering for getting you dragged up to the dragon's lair on the top floor."

Elena hesitated, looking toward the elevators. Julian wouldn't be back until two o'clock, and she was genuinely starving. Besides, Aiden was just being a friendly colleague. If she rejected him too harshly, it would make things incredibly awkward for the rest of the summer.

"Fine," Elena smiled, relenting. "Just fifteen minutes."

They sat down at the small corner table. True to his nature, Aiden was an easy, effortless conversationalist. Within minutes, he had her laughing quietly at his impressions of the strict internship coordinator from the morning orientation.

"I’m telling you, I think she watches us through the security cameras," Aiden whispered conspiratorively, leaning across the small table. He reached out, his fingers lightly brushing against Elena’s forearm to get her attention. "So, tell me the truth... how terrifying is Sterling up close? The guy looks like he eats interns for breakfast."

Elena pulled her arm back subtly, a complicated feeling tightening in her chest. "He’s just... very disciplined. He’s a close friend of my father, so he takes his work very seriously."

"Ah, a family friend. That explains why he rescued you from my charms," Aiden winked, leaning back with a playful grin. "But seriously, Elena, if he gives you a hard time up there, you can always come down to the 15th floor to vent to me. I'm an excellent listener."

Elena opened her mouth to reply, but the words caught in her throat.

The entire cafeteria suddenly grew strangely quiet. The background hum of hundreds of people chatting died down into a low, tense whisper.

Elena felt a sudden, freezing chill wash over her skin. Instinctively, her gaze flicked toward the cafeteria entrance.

Julian was standing there.

He wasn't at the executive dining room. He was right here, surrounded by three older investors in expensive suits, but Julian wasn't paying attention to them at all. His tall, imposing frame was perfectly rigid, and his piercing gray eyes were locked directly onto her table. More specifically, he was staring at the exact spot on her forearm where Aiden’s fingers had just been resting.

The look on Julian’s face was utterly terrifying. His jaw was clenched so tightly that the skin over his cheekbones looked strained, and his eyes burned with a dark, suffocating fury that made Elena’s breath completely vanish.

Julian murmured something to the investors beside him. They nodded and walked ahead toward the premium salad station, but Julian didn't join them. Instead, he began walking straight toward the corner table. Every step he took felt like a ticking time bomb.

"Oh, great," Aiden muttered, his playful demeanor vanishing as he noticed the billionaire approaching. He cleared his throat, adjusting his posture.

Julian stopped right at the edge of their table. His shadow completely engulfed them. He didn't look at Aiden; his dark, stormy gaze was pinned entirely on Elena, who was sitting frozen with her hands tightly clasped in her lap.

"Miss Vance," Julian said, his voice dropping into an incredibly low, quiet pitch that was for their ears only. It was smooth, but it carried the dangerous edge of a blade. "I believe I gave you a strict deadline for the Q3 spreadsheets."

"You said two o'clock, Mr. Sterling," Elena whispered, her heart hammering so hard against her ribs it was painful. "It’s only 12:45."

Julian leaned down slightly, resting his large hands on the back of Elena's empty chair. The proximity was overwhelming. The scent of his cedarwood cologne clashed violently with the cafeteria air.

"An efficient employee doesn't wait until the final minute to deliver subpar results, Miss Vance," Julian murmured, his eyes flashing with a raw, barely restrained possessiveness as he glanced coldly at Aiden. "Especially when they are handling confidential data. The 50th floor is where you belong during business hours. Not down here... wasting time."

Aiden, trying to show some courage, spoke up. "Mr. Sterling, it was my fault. I invited her to sit—"

"I am not speaking to you, Mr. Cross," Julian snapped, his voice cutting through the air like a whip. He didn't even look at the boy, his absolute dismissal of Aiden's existence entirely dominant.

Julian looked back at Elena, his gray eyes burning into hers, demanding obedience. "Pack your lunch, Miss Vance. You will finish eating in my office. Now."

Elena’s lips parted in shock. He was completely overstepping his bounds as a boss, but the raw, dark jealousy rolling off him was so heavy it made her entire body tremble. She couldn't breathe under his intense gaze.

Before she could move, her phone, which was sitting on the table, lit up with a new notification. Because the screen was facing up, the preview was completely visible to both Elena and Julian.

It was a text from her father, Marcus.

‘Elena, darling, Julian just told me you started your internship today! I’m so glad he’s looking out for you. Make sure you follow his rules.’

Julian’s eyes dropped to the screen, reading the text from his best friend. Elena watched as his face turned incredibly pale, the reality of his betrayal hitting him in real-time. He was losing his mind over his best friend's twenty-year-old daughter, right in the middle of his own company cafeteria.

Julian slowly lifted his gaze back to Elena, the dark jealousy in his eyes instantly clashing with a wave of deep, agonizing guilt.