One Night Mistake, Two-Year Contract

The Scandal Explodes

Ava’s POV

I stood frozen inside Adrian’s office, the door clicked shut behind me sounding like a trap snapping close.

My fingers dug into the strap of my bag until the leather bit into my palm. Adrian sat behind his massive desk, typing something on his laptop. His face stayed blank, jaw tight and eyes fixed on the screen like I was just another item on his to-do list.

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. The soreness between my legs flared with the movement. I pressed my thighs together subtly, trying to ease it, but that only brought back flashes of his hands spreading me open, the way he thrust deep while I moaned against his neck.

My cheeks burned. I looked down at the carpet, counting the threads to keep myself grounded.

Adrian finally looked up. His grey eyes met mine for half a second. Something flickered there heat, maybe recognition before it vanished behind a wall of ice.

He leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping once on the desk. “We have a lot to catch up on. Sit.”

I moved towards the chair across from him on unsteady legs. My knees brushed the edge of the seat as I lowered myself down. The fabric of my skirt rode up a little. I tugged it down quickly, heart hammering against my ribs.

Adrian watched me for a moment longer than necessary. Then he looked back at his screen and kept typing.

I sat there with my hands folded tightly in my lap, nails pressing into my skin. The silence stretched. Every second felt heavier, I could still smell a faint trace of his cologne from last night, or maybe it was just in my head.

After what felt like forever, he spoke again without looking up.

“Prepare the quarterly reports for the board meeting tomorrow and book the conference room for three.”

“Yes, sir,” I whispered.

I stood up too fast. My chair scraped loudly against the floor. I turned toward the door, my legs feeling like they belonged to someone else. As I reached for the handle, I heard his chair shift behind me.

“Miss Mariani.”

I paused and swallowed, my hovering over the door.

“Don’t make this awkward,” he said quietly.

My throat tightened. I nodded once without turning around, then slipped out of his office as fast as I could.

The moment I stepped into the main executive area, everything felt different.

Heads turned and a few people quickly looked away, but not fast enough. Sarah from accounting leaned over her desk and whispered something to the girl next to her. Both of them glanced at me, then one covered her mouth with her hand.

I kept walking toward my desk, shoulders stiff, eyes fixed straight ahead. My phone started vibrating in my bag. Once, twice, then nonstop.

I sat down and pulled it out. The screen lit up with notification after notification.

My thumb trembled as I tapped the first one.

The headline screamed across the gossip site:

“Ava Mariani; CEO Adrian Vale’s Secret Hotel Rendezvous in Milan!”

Below it, clear photos. Me gripping Adrian’s shirt outside the elevator. His arm around my waist. Another shot of us stumbling down the hallway toward my room, my hair was messy and my dress already wrinkled.

My breath hitched. I scrolled faster, my heart pounding in my ears.

I saw more and more photos and articles. Someone had even posted our exact room number;1702 in bold letters.

Whispers grew louder around me. I felt eyes crawling over my skin. Someone at the desk behind me let out a soft laugh. A guy two rows over held up his phone like he was taking a picture of me.

I shoved my phone into my bag and stood up so fast my chair rolled backward and banged into the desk. A few more heads turned. Someone whispered “office w***e” loud enough for me to hear.

I grabbed my bag and walked quickly toward the bathroom, my heels clicking too loudly on the floor. I pushed through the bathroom door, locked myself in the last stall, and slid down the wall until I was sitting on the cold tiles.

My hands wouldn’t stop shaking as I pulled my phone out again. I couldn’t stop scrolling.

Photo after photo of us. My face was clear in almost every one. Headlines kept getting worse:

“CEO’s Steamy One-Night Stand with Secretary Exposed!”

“How Long Has This Been Going On?”

I pressed my forehead against my knees, and ignored the way my phone kept buzzing in my lap. More notifications, more messages from unknown numbers.

Outside the stall, I heard the bathroom door open. Two pairs of heels clicked in.

“Did you see the photos?” one girl whispered excitedly.

“Everyone’s talking about it. She slept with the boss in Milan, she's Bold.”

The other one laughed. “Guess that’s how she got the promotion so fast.”

I bit down hard on my lip. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. I stayed completely still, and pulled my knees tight to my chest, trying to disappear into the wall.

The girls eventually left and the bathroom went quiet again.

I stayed on the floor for a long time, my phone still buzzing every few seconds. Every new notification felt like another slap across my face.

One stupid night and one drunken mistake.

Now everything I had fought for was burning right in front of me.

I refreshed the page one last time, hoping it had somehow gotten better.

The top trending article now had a new headline in bold letters:

“Sources claim Ava Mariani seduced CEO Adrian Vale to secure her position.”

Below it, a new photo one I hadn’t seen before.

It was taken from inside the hotel bar… showing me pulling Adrian toward the elevator by his shirt, my body pressed against his, my face flushed with obvious desire.