CHAPTER 8 – The Man Behind the Glass
1249 Words
By the following week, Elena had started noticing something strange about Adrian Wolfe.
The man barely seemed to have much of a life outside work.
Every morning, he was already at the office before most employees arrived.
Every evening, he was one of the last people to leave.
Sometimes she wondered if he secretly lived inside Wolfe Global.
The theory wasn’t entirely impossible.
At least not from what she’d seen.
Monday morning began with another mountain of work waiting on her desk.
Elena stared at the pile.
Then looked toward Adrian’s office.
Then back at the pile.
“He’s trying to kill me.”
Maya glanced up from her computer.
“Who?”
“Your favorite billionaire.”
Maya laughed.
“He’s your favorite billionaire too.”
“I never said that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Elena rolled her eyes and sat down.
Unfortunately, Maya wasn’t entirely wrong.
Over the past few weeks, her opinion of Adrian had begun to change.
The intimidating CEO still existed.
The demanding boss still existed.
The impossible perfectionist definitely still existed.
But there were moments now.
Small moments.
Moments that revealed something underneath.
Something human.
And those moments were becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
Just before lunch, Elena was called into Adrian’s office again.
She entered carrying her notebook.
Prepared.
Professional.
Ready for whatever impossible assignment awaited her.
Instead, Adrian handed her a folder.
“I need this reviewed.”
Elena opened it.
Then blinked.
It wasn’t impossible.
It wasn’t even difficult.
In fact, it was something that could’ve been completed by several other departments.
She looked up suspiciously.
“That’s all?”
“Is there a problem?”
“No.”
Adrian returned to his laptop.
Clearly dismissing her.
Elena remained seated.
“Mr. Wolfe?”
His eyes lifted.
“Yes?”
“You called me in here for this?”
A pause.
Then—
“Yes.”
That was somehow even stranger.
Elena narrowed her eyes.
Adrian simply stared back.
Expressionless.
Completely unreadable.
Finally, she stood.
“Okay.”
As she reached the door, his voice stopped her.
“Elena.”
The use of her name still felt unusual.
She turned.
“Yes?”
“How is your mother?”
The question caught her completely off guard.
For a second, she simply stared.
Because Adrian Wolfe rarely asked personal questions.
Actually—
Never.
Not once.
Yet here he was.
Waiting for an answer.
“She’s doing better.”
Something almost like relief flashed briefly across his face.
Gone a second later.
“Good.”
Elena left the office feeling oddly unsettled.
Not because of the question.
Because he’d remembered.
A few days earlier, she’d taken a call from her mother during lunch and mentioned a medical checkup while speaking with Maya.
It hadn’t been an important conversation.
At least, not to anyone else.
Yet somehow Adrian had noticed.
And somehow he had remembered.
The realization stayed with her throughout the day.
Because remembering mattered.
Especially to someone like Elena.
Most people heard things.
Then forgot them.
Adrian didn’t.
He paid attention.
Far more than people realized.
That evening, Wolfe Global hosted a small corporate networking event.
Nothing extravagant.
Just investors, department heads, and senior employees gathering after hours.
Elena attended because attendance was strongly encouraged.
And because saying no to corporate events wasn’t a good career strategy.
She stood near a refreshment table, quietly observing the room.
The event was elegant.
Sophisticated.
And slightly exhausting.
Everyone seemed to be discussing business.
Or pretending to enjoy discussing business.
Suddenly, someone appeared beside her.
“Eating your way through the evening?”
Ethan.
Elena smiled.
“I’m surviving.”
“Same thing.”
He picked up a drink.
“I’ve spent twenty minutes discussing quarterly growth projections.”
“You sound traumatized.”
“I am traumatized.”
She laughed.
Ethan grinned.
Success.
Making Elena laugh had become one of his favorite activities.
Unfortunately, someone else noticed.
Across the room.
Adrian.
He stood speaking with investors.
Yet his gaze drifted toward them more than once.
Not intentionally.
Not consciously.
But often enough.
Enough for him to realize something unpleasant.
He disliked seeing Ethan make her laugh.
The realization irritated him immediately.
Later that evening, Elena found herself standing alone near one of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The city sparkled below.
Thousands of lights stretching endlessly into the distance.
“Beautiful.”
She turned.
Adrian stood nearby.
Looking out at the skyline.
For a moment neither spoke.
Then Elena nodded.
“It is.”
Silence followed.
Comfortable silence.
Unexpected silence.
The kind that didn’t feel awkward.
Finally, Adrian spoke.
“Do you like New York?”
The question surprised her.
“Of course.”
“Why?”
She considered it.
“Because everyone is chasing something.”
Adrian looked at her.
“That sounds exhausting.”
“It probably is.”
“Yet you admire it.”
Elena smiled.
“A little.”
“What are you chasing?”
The question felt deeper than he probably intended.
Or perhaps exactly as deep.
She wasn’t sure.
“A better life.”
The answer came honestly.
Without hesitation.
Because it was the truth.
Everything she did.
Every sacrifice.
Every late night.
Every opportunity.
It all came back to that.
A better life.
For her family.
For herself.
For the future.
Adrian studied her quietly.
Then looked back toward the city.
“I hope you find it.”
Something about the way he said it made her chest tighten.
Because he sounded sincere.
Entirely sincere.
The event ended nearly an hour later.
By then, most guests had already left.
Elena collected her things and headed toward the elevator.
As she waited, she noticed movement down the hallway.
Adrian.
Still working.
Again.
She checked the time.
Almost ten.
“Does he ever stop?”
The question slipped out before she realized it.
“Rarely.”
Elena turned.
An older executive stood nearby.
One she’d met briefly before.
“He works too much.”
The man smiled faintly.
“He’s been doing it for years.”
“Why?”
A pause.
The executive considered the question.
Then shrugged.
“Some people don’t know what to do when they’re alone.”
The elevator arrived.
The man stepped inside.
Leaving Elena standing there.
Thinking.
Because suddenly she wasn’t picturing Adrian Wolfe the billionaire.
She was picturing Adrian.
The lonely little boy she’d heard stories about.
The teenager who watched Zara choose someone else.
The man who seemed incapable of slowing down.
The man who spent more time in his office than anywhere else.
And for reasons she didn’t fully understand…
The thought made her sad.
Upstairs, Adrian remained behind his desk long after everyone else had gone home.
The building had fallen silent.
The city lights reflected against the glass walls surrounding his office.
Yet he wasn’t working.
Not really.
The report in front of him hadn’t been touched in nearly fifteen minutes.
Instead, his thoughts kept drifting elsewhere.
To a woman standing by a window.
Talking about dreams.
Talking about family.
Talking about a better life.
Elena Hart.
The woman who was supposed to be part of a plan.
The woman who was becoming something else entirely.
Something far more dangerous.
Because every day she made it harder to remember why he’d hired her in the first place.
And every day he found himself wanting to know more about her.
The realization should have alarmed him.
Instead…
For the first time in years—
Adrian found himself smiling.
- Writer
