His Dearest Obsession

Chapter 2 - The Man She Forgot

Aria Sinclair

For a moment, I became lost and distracted.

Damien Voss was still looking at me.

Not casually.

Not even like a CEO meeting a new business partner.

There was something in the way he looked at me that felt like he was looking at his long-time friend.

I forced myself to blink.

"Have we met before?" I asked with frustration evident in my voice.

A few people around the table glanced between us.

Damien didn't react.

At least, not visibly.

He leaned back in his chair and looked at me for another second before answering.

"I don't believe so," he replied with a faint smile.

His voice was calm.

And that calmness made me uneasy.

I frowned.

Then why did he say my name like that?

Before I could ask again, he extended a hand across the table.

"Damien Voss.”

I stared at his hand for a moment before taking it.

"Aria Sinclair."I replied.

His fingers closed around mine.

The contact lasted only a second, but something about it felt strange.

Not familiar exactly.

Just... unsettling.

He released my hand and turned his attention to the presentation.

"Please, continue."

I returned to my seat.

Maybe I was overthinking it.

Perhaps he'd seen my name in the documents before the meeting.

That was the obvious explanation.

Still, there was something about him I couldn't shake.

I opened the next slide.

It was my turn to present our next proposal.

I stood up and walked to the large screen.

"In addition to what my team member said, our proposed strategy focuses on expanding Voss Corporation's international reach without compromising the identity of the brand."

I continued speaking.

But I could feel his eyes on me.

Every few minutes, I'd glance toward him.

He was always watching.

Sometimes he looked at the presentation.

Sometimes at the other people speaking.

But most of the time, his attention seemed to return to me.

It was distracting.

And I didn't like being distracted.

I had spent years learning how to remain focused under pressure.

I wasn't about to let a strange man with an unsettling stare ruin my concentration.

Even if that man happened to be one of the most powerful business men in New York.

"Ms. Sinclair."

I looked toward the finance director.

"How do you intend to manage the additional costs?" he asked after carefully examining the proposal.

I answered immediately.

"We've already accounted for them in the revised budget. If you look at the figures on page twelve—"

I stopped midway.

Damien was looking at me again.

There was something almost thoughtful in his expression.

As though he wasn't listening to my answer.

As though he was trying to remember something.

I finished explaining the numbers and sat back.

The meeting continued for another forty minutes.

By the time it ended, I was ready to leave.

We exchanged formal goodbyes, collected our things, and began gathering our documents.

I stood and slipped my tablet into my bag.

As I turned toward the door, I felt that strange sensation again.

Someone was watching me.

I looked back.

Damien.

He hadn't moved.

His eyes followed me.

For some reason, the sight made my stomach tighten.

I quickly looked away.

"Aria." Elena called as I stepped out of the boardroom.

Elena was waiting beside the door.

"Are you coming?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied.

I followed her out.

The conference room doors closed behind us.

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

"Okay," Elena said.

I looked at her.

"What?" I asked, staring at her.

"Nothing." She replied and smiled.

"Elena." I called sternly

She laughed.

"I'm just saying, your first meeting with Damien Voss was interesting," She said with amusement.

"It was a business meeting," I replied as my mind went back to the way he looked at me.

"Sure." She said and laughed.

I rolled my eyes.

"Don't start."

"I'm not starting anything."

"Good."

She walked beside me toward the elevator.

Then her expression became serious.

"Did you know him before today?" she asked.

I stopped.

"No." I replied.

"Because he definitely looked like he knew you," Elena said.

I thought about his expression.

The way he'd said my name.

The strange familiarity in his eyes.

"I don't know," I said honestly.

The elevator doors opened and we stepped inside.

"Maybe he saw your name in the proposal," she asked again.

"Maybe," I replied.

But neither of us sounded convinced.

---

Damien Voss

The conference room was empty now.

I remained seated.

I tapped my fingers slowly against the armrest.

Aria Sinclair.

After all these years.

I had spent years wondering whether my memories of her were just an illusion.

But they were not, she was real.

The moment she walked into the room, I knew exactly who she was.

I could still remember her from that night.

The rain.

The darkness.

The pain.

And then her.

She was younger then.

Standing over me with a small medical kit she probably bought from a nearby pharmacy.

She didn't know who it was.

She didn't even care.

I remembered the way she had looked at me when I told her to leave.

She had simply ignored me.

"You'll bleed through the bandage if you keep moving," she said with concern.

I was irritated then, but she didn't mind.

That was what had stayed with me all those years.

Everyone who entered my world usually knew exactly who I was.

They treated me differently, and they chose their words carefully around me.

They always wanted something.

Aria had done none of those things.

She had looked at me like I was simply a man who needed help.

After that night, I tried my best to find her.

I had searched through every connection available to me.

But I found nothing.

Then I discovered that she had left New York.

I never understood why she left.

And eventually, life moved on.

Or maybe that was what I convinced myself to believe.

Now she was sitting across from me again.

Older.

More confident.

More difficult to read.

But still unmistakably Aria.

I stood up and walked towards the window.

I stared at New York beneath me.

I watched the cars moving through the streets below as a lot of things ran through my mind.

I should have been thinking about the partnership.

The negotiations.

The expansion.

Instead, I was thinking about a woman I believed I would never see again.

My office door opened and my assistant, Adrian Cole, stepped inside.

"Sir?"

I spoke without turning around.

"Find everything you can about Aria Sinclair."

He paused before asking.

"Ms. Sinclair from the agency?"

"Yes," I replied.

"What exactly are you looking for?" he asked again.

I turned and looked at him with a cold expression.

"Everything." I replied.

Adrian waited for me to finish.

"Where she's lived since she left New York. Her career. Her connections. The people she's close to." I continued.

A brief silence followed.

"And her family?" I added.

I tightened my jaw and looked at my assistant.

"Especially her family."

Adrian nodded.

"Understood."

He turned to leave.

"Adrian," I called, making him stop in his tracks.

I looked towards the closed conference.

e room doors.

"Don't let her know I'm looking."

"Of course."

The door closed.

I stood alone again, thinking about her face in the conference room.

For seven years, l had wondered where Aria Sinclair had gone.

Now that she had returned, I intended to find out exactly what had happened to her.

And this time, I am not going to lose her again.