CHAPTER TWO DANGEROUS INTEREST
550 Words
Serena could still feel his eyes on her.
Even after escaping the ballroom, even after hiding inside the staff hallway, her heart refused to calm down.
“What were you thinking?” her manager hissed, storming toward her. “Do you even know who that man is?”
Serena groaned softly. “Yes. Loud and scary billionaire. I noticed.”
“This isn’t funny!”
“I said I was sorry.”
Her manager rubbed his forehead in frustration. “People lose jobs for less when it comes to Adrian Knight.”
Serena folded her arms stubbornly, though nervousness twisted inside her stomach. “It was an accident.”
Before the manager could reply, another staff member rushed toward them.
“Mr. Knight is asking for her.”
Silence.
Serena blinked. “What?”
The manager looked horrified. “You are finished.”
Great.
A few minutes later, Serena followed the nervous assistant through the luxurious hallways of the Knight Hotel.
Everything about this place screamed money.
Golden lights. Marble walls. Paintings that probably cost more than her apartment rent.
The assistant stopped in front of a private lounge.
“He’s inside.”
Serena inhaled deeply before pushing the door open.
Adrian stood beside the massive window overlooking the city skyline, one hand tucked into his pocket while the other held a glass of whiskey.
Even from behind, he looked intimidating.
“You wanted to see me?” Serena asked carefully.
Adrian turned slowly.
The stain from the wine was gone. He had changed suits already.
Of course he had.
“Sit,” he said calmly.
Serena frowned. “I’d rather stand.”
A small smile touched his lips.
Interesting.
Nobody refused Adrian Knight.
“Do you always talk back to people richer than you?” he asked.
“Do rich people always expect everyone to worship them?”
For a second, silence filled the room again.
Serena immediately regretted speaking.
But instead of anger, Adrian looked… amused.
“You’re brave,” he said.
“No. Just tired.”
That answer caught his attention more than he expected.
Most people lied around him. Pretended around him. Feared him.
But this girl looked at him like he was simply another annoying man in an expensive suit.
Adrian stepped closer slowly.
Serena’s breath caught.
“You work three jobs,” he said suddenly.
Her eyes widened. “How do you know that?”
“I know everything about the people inside my buildings.”
That should have sounded impressive.
Instead, it sounded terrifying.
Serena straightened. “If this is about firing me, just do it already.”
Adrian studied her face quietly before speaking again.
“How much are your mother’s hospital bills?”
Serena froze.
Cold panic rushed through her body.
“How do you know about my mother?”
Adrian ignored the question.
“I can pay them.”
Her jaw tightened instantly. “I don’t need your pity.”
“It isn’t pity.”
“Then what is it?”
Adrian walked closer until only a small distance remained between them.
His voice lowered.
“Interest.”
Serena’s heartbeat stumbled.
Dangerous.
That was the only word her mind could form around him.
Dangerous eyes. Dangerous voice. Dangerous man.
And somehow…
She had just become the center of his attention.
- Writer
