HER ONLY EXCEPTION

CHAPTER 3 - AFTER THEYCOLLIDED

The elevator doors slid open on the 50th floor, Andrea walked out clutching the orientation papers HR had given her onto her chest.

The building felt different up here; it was quieter, sharper and more controlled. Glass walls reflected moving figures in tailored suits, and conversations were carried out in low, efficient tones. Even the air here smelled expensive.

She took a deep breath, it was still hard to believe she actually worked here now.

Andrea adjusted the strap of her bag and glanced at the directions; Analytics department, on the third floor. Desk B47. The directions were simple enough, but the hallways stretched endlessly in identical polished lines.

She walked quickly, trying to look like she belonged. Though her attention split between office labels and the paper in her hand as she turned a corner.

Then "boom" she collided with someone.

The impact knocked the breath from her lungs. She stumbled, arms flailing, the orientation paper flying from her hands

"s**t," she muttered, dropping to her knees immediately and scrambling to gather them.

The man she'd hit stood perfectly still, looking down at the mess with an expression of mild annoyance.The kind of face that would've been handsome if it wasn't currently looking at her like she'd just ruined his day.

"I'm so sorry," Andrea said quickly, grabbing papers as fast as she could. "I wasn't looking where I was going…"

"Yeah…clearly." His voice was cold and clipped.

Andrea looked up sharply.

He was still standing there. Not helping. Just watching her scramble around on the floor like this was somehow entertaining. "Are you going to help, or just stand there?" she asked, her tone sharper than she intended.

His eyebrow arched. "I wasn't the one running through hallways like a missing baby,"

"I wasn't running. I was walking."

"Without looking."

Andrea felt her temper rising, she stood with papers clutched messily in her arms, and met his gaze head-on. "Look, I said I was sorry. What more do you want? Maybe if you watched where you’re going you too, you wouldn’t bump into people in the hallways.”

"Do I look like someone who isn't careful? You walked into me.” he said with a straight face “and what are you even doing on this floor, this isn’t your place of work."

Her face heated. "How do you know I'm on the wrong floor?

"Because this is the executive level." He tilted his head slightly. "And you're clearly not an executive." The condescension in his voice made her blood boil.

"Right...because only people like you are allowed up here?" Andrea crossed her arms, papers crinkling against her chest. "Maybe you should put up a velvet rope. It really makes it clear who belongs and who doesn't."

Something flickered in his eyes, something more like irritation. But before he could respond, heels clicked rapidly down the hallway. A woman in a tailored black suit appeared, slightly out of breath. Her eyes flicked nervously between them.

"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's nine o'clock and your…."

He raised one hand. The woman stopped mid-sentence. "Not now, Lindsay," he said, his eyes never leaving Andrea's face.

Lindsay's opened mouth, closed immediately. Then she nodded quickly and disappeared back down the hallway.

Andrea's irritation was now mixed with unwanted curiosity. “Who’s this man?”

"I can see you're clearly lost, Miss," he said with an unreadable expression

“I’m not…”

He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. "Your department is two floors down,"

Heat flooded Andrea's face, she forced her expression to remain neutral even as embarrassment crawled under her skin.

"Oh..." she said stiffly.

He stepped back, cleared his throat and adjusted his cuff with deliberate precision. "Try not to run into anyone else."

Andrea turned and walked toward the elevator with a spine rigid, refusing to let him see how flustered she was.

After a few steps, she couldn't bear the annoyance so she stopped and turned "....and try not to stand in hallways like a statue, it might help." she countered. Then walked away without waiting for a response.

Henry’s eyes gleamed. "A statue?"

He couldn’t believe his ears, no one has ever spoken to him like that. Most people could barely make eye contact with him. Women especially; they smiled too much around him, laughed at things that weren't funny, found excuses to touch his arm or lean in close when they talked.

But this particular woman had looked him straight in the eye, snapped at him twice and walked away like he was nothing more than an inconvenience.

Henry stood there, watching her as she walked towards the elevator. His mouth curved slightly.

Interesting.

He turned and headed toward his office, but his mind stayed on her. She was beautiful, that much was obvious but what caught his attention more was her fire, she had a spine. And Henry had spent two years surrounded by people who were too afraid to show him anything real.

When the elevator doors finally closed, she exhaled slowly. Her mind spiraling about who exactly the man she'd just bumped into was. Andrea shook her head, trying to clear the incident from her thoughts. He was probably just another arrogant executive who thought the building belonged to him.

The elevator opened on the correct floor this time. The analytics department looked calmer and more welcoming. She found Desk B47 quickly and set her bag down, grateful for something normal to focus on.

But as her computer powered on, her mind drifted back to the guy in the hallway again. “How did he even know where my department was?” Andrea pressed her lips together and forced herself to focus on the screen.

She had work to do.

Across the building, Henry Moore turned and headed toward his office, but his mind stayed on her. She was beautiful, that much was obvious but what caught his attention more was her fire, she had a spine. And Henry had spent two years surrounded by people who were too afraid to show him anything real.

His phone buzzed from a reminder about the nine o'clock meeting.

Henry pulled it out, and sent a message to one of the executives. "Reschedule... the board meeting?"

"For when, sir?" the guy on the other line replied immediately

"I'll let you know."

He didn't offer an explanation. Henry stood alone in his office, his hands in his pocket and his mind still on the lady he'd just met. He didn't know her name yet, but he would. Soon.

And when he did, he'd make sure she never looked at him like a stranger again.

Because the woman who'd just walked away from him; defiant, sharp-tongued, and completely unimpressed had done something no one else had managed to do in years, she'd made him curious.

And Henry Moore didn’t ignore things that caught his attention.