Chapter 6
543 Words
Aria's POV
I dragged myself to work the next morning, exhaustion weighing down every step. The hotel lobby felt different somehow, like the walls themselves knew what had happened in that penthouse. Every guest who passed me, every coworker who nodded hello, I was convinced they could see it written on my face.
"You look tired," Sarah commented as we passed in the hallway. "Late night?"
Heat flooded my cheeks. "Couldn't sleep."
She shrugged and kept walking, but I felt exposed, like my secret was painted across my forehead in bright red letters.
I threw myself into work, scrubbing bathrooms with more vigor than necessary, changing sheets with military precision. Physical tasks helped quiet my racing thoughts. But every time the elevator dinged, or I heard footsteps in the hallway, my pulse spiked.
What if he came looking for me?
What if he didn't?
I wasn't sure which possibility terrified me more.
By noon, I'd successfully avoided the executive floors entirely. I took the stairs instead of the elevator, chose assignments on the lower levels, even volunteered to clean the basement storage areas. Anything to stay far away from that penthouse.
But I couldn't avoid him forever in a building this size.
I was restocking my cart from the supply closet when I heard his voice in the hallway, talking to someone on the phone. My blood turned to ice.
"...handle it personally. No, I don't want anyone else involved."
His footsteps were getting closer. I pressed myself against the supply shelves, heart hammering, praying he'd walk past without noticing the open closet door.
The footsteps stopped.
"I'll call you back," he said, and I heard the soft beep of a phone being disconnected.
Silence stretched between us like a held breath.
"Aria."
Just my name. Nothing else. But the way he said it made my knees weak.
I stepped out of the supply closet slowly, clutching a stack of towels like armor. He stood in the hallway, perfectly composed in his dark suit, gray eyes fixed on me with an intensity that made the air feel thin.
"Mr. Voss," I managed, proud that my voice didn't shake. "I was just"
"Avoiding me," he finished, stepping closer.
The towels trembled in my hands. "I wasn't."
"You were." His lips curved slightly, not quite a smile. All morning. "Different floors, different elevators, different routes through the building." He tilted his head. "Did you think I wouldn't notice?"
Heat flooded my face. Of course, he'd noticed. This was his hotel, his domain. Probably nothing happened here without his knowledge.
"I wasn't avoiding you," I lied. "I was working."
"Mmm." He moved closer, close enough that I could smell his cologne again that dark, rich scent that made my head spin. "And last night? What was that?"
My mouth went dry. "I... I don't know."
"I do." His voice dropped lower, more intimate. "That was the beginning."
Adrian's POV
She was running from me.
I'd known it the moment I walked into the hotel that morning and felt the unusual emptiness of the executive floors. Aria was deliberately avoiding this part of the building, staying as far from the penthouse as possible.
Smart girl. Self-preservation was a valuable instinct.
But it wouldn't save her from me.
- Writer
