One Night Mistake, Two-Year Contract

Summoned

Ava’s POV

My phone buzzed on the desk.

I stared at it for three full seconds before picking it up. The message was short and cold

My office, now.

No name, no please. Just those three words from Adrian.

My stomach twisted. I pushed my chair back slowly, the wheels scraping against the floor. A few heads turned in my direction again. The whispers that had died down for a few minutes flared back up like dry grass catching fire.

I smoothed my skirt down with damp palms and started walking toward his office. My heels clicked too loudly, every step sent a dull reminder through my sore thighs. I kept my eyes straight ahead, but I could feel the stares burning into my back.

Sarah leaned over her desk and whispered something to her friend. They both giggled. I bit the inside of my cheek and kept moving.

The door to Adrian’s office loomed at the end of the hallway. I stopped in front of it, my heart slamming against my ribs. My fingers hovered over the handle for a moment.

I took a deep breath that shook on the way out, then knocked twice.

“Come in.”

His voice was low and controlled. It still sent a stupid flutter down my spine.

I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Adrian stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a glass of something dark. The late afternoon light cut across his sharp jaw and broad shoulders. He looked every inch the powerful CEO; calm, expensive and untouchable.

He turned slowly when I entered. His gray eyes locked onto me, for half a second something hot flashed across his face. Then it disappeared behind ice.

“Close the door,” he said.

I did, the soft click sounded final.

“Sit down, Mrs. Soon-to-be.”

The words hit me like a slap. My legs moved on their own, carrying me to the chair across from his desk. I lowered myself into it carefully, pressing my thighs together. The soreness from two nights ago flared again. I shifted slightly, trying to hide it.

Adrian walked around his desk and closed the door behind me with a deliberate push, the lock clicked. He stayed standing for a moment, towering over me before he sat down in his big leather chair.

His gray eyes looked silver under the office lights, sharp and dangerous.

He didn’t speak right away, he just watched me. The silence stretched until my skin felt too tight.

I swallowed hard and my throat clicked.

“What’s going on?” I asked, my voice quieter than I wanted.

Adrian leaned forward, elbows on the desk, his fingers laced together. The movement pulled his shirt tight across his chest, I looked away fast.

“My merger with Matteo Riva is collapsing,” he said. His voice was cold, but there was anger simmering underneath. “Because of the little stunt we pulled in Milan.”

My fingers curled into the fabric of my skirt. I stared at a spot on his desk instead of his face.

“He wants a stable, married CEO,” Adrian continued. “Not someone who f***s his secretary in a hotel room and lets the whole world watch.”

Heat flooded my cheeks. I pressed my lips together tight.

I remembered the way his hands had felt on my skin, the way he had groaned my name when he came and the way I had begged for more.

I hated how my body reacted even now.

“So what do you want from me?” I asked, forcing the words out.

Adrian’s eyes darkened, he leaned back in his chair and studied me for a moment.

“I need a wife,” he said simply. “For two years, public appearances only. We act like the perfect couple outside these walls. Inside? We keep it professional.”

My breath caught.

He continued before I could speak.

“And you… you need two hundred thousand dollars. Don’t you?”

The number hung in the air between us.

I felt my chest tighten. Two hundred thousand. Enough to cover Xavier’s treatment, enough to breathe for a while and enough to stop drowning.

But the way he said it; like he already knew everything about me made anger bubble up hot in my stomach.

“You think you can just buy me?” I asked, my voice shaking. “Like I’m some kind of… transaction?”

Adrian’s jaw flexed. He stood up slowly and walked around the desk until he was standing right in front of me.

I had to tilt my head back to look at him, my heart hammered wildly.

“I’m offering you a way out,” he said, voice low. “You get the money, your brother gets his treatment and I get my merger. Everybody wins.”

His eyes dropped to my lips for half a second before snapping back up.

I could smell his cologne, the same one that had been on my skin two mornings ago, my body instantly remembered.

“I hate you,” I whispered.

Adrian’s mouth curved into a cold, dangerous smile.

“Good,” he said. “Hate me all you want, as long as you say yes.”

He placed both hands on the arms of my chair, caging me in. His face was inches from mine. I could see the silver flecks in his gray eyes. And I felt the heat coming off his body.

“Think about it, Ava” he murmured.

“Two years. Then you walk away rich, your brother gets better and we never have to speak about Milan again.”

My breath came fast and shallow. I gripped the edge of the chair so tightly my knuckles turned white.

I wanted to slap him, I wanted to kiss him and I wanted to run away and never look back.

Adrian’s gaze dropped to my mouth again, his voice dropped lower.

“Or you can walk out of here right now and watch everything fall apart, your choice.”

The air between us felt thick, charged and dangerous.

I opened my mouth to answer, but before the words could come out, his phone rang sharply on the desk.

Adrian straightened up slowly, eyes still locked on mine. He picked up the phone and answered without looking away from me.

“Vale.”

He listened for a few seconds, then his jaw tightened.

“Tell him I’ll call him back in ten minutes.”

He hung up and placed the phone down carefully then he looked at me again.

“Two hundred thousand dollars, Ava. All you have to do is say yes.”

My heart was beating so hard I could hear it in my ears. My palms started sweating. I opened my mouth, ready to give him my answer.

But before I could speak, three sharp knocks came on the office door.

“Mr. Vale?” a voice called from outside. “The board is here. They want to see you immediately about the scandal.”

Adrian’s eyes never left mine.

The real storm was just beginning.